Configuration — smartly

Where the file lives

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/smartly/config.yaml

If XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not set, ~/.config/smartly/config.yaml is used instead.

The config commands

smartly config init    # write a default config.yaml
smartly config show    # print the resolved config (secrets redacted)
smartly config path    # print the resolved config file path

config show prints the configuration smartly actually resolved, which is the fastest way to check whether a file you edited is being read at all. It never prints the API key value.

Full schema

Every field is optional. A field you leave out keeps its default rather than being zeroed.

provider: anthropic          # anthropic | openai | claude-cli | codex-cli

execution:
  mode: auto                 # auto | confirm

context: light                # none | light | full

log:
  path: ~/.config/smartly/history.log

providers:
  anthropic:
    model: claude-opus-5
    api_key_env: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
    api_key: ""              # fallback only, used if the env var is unset
    base_url: ""              # optional: self-hosted/proxy endpoint

  # also drives any OpenAI-compatible API — see Providers
  openai:
    model: ""                 # required if provider: openai — no default shipped
    api_key_env: OPENAI_API_KEY
    api_key: ""
    base_url: ""              # e.g. https://api.fireworks.ai/inference/v1

  claude-cli:
    model: haiku               # required — see CLI-based authentication
    binary: claude
    max_budget_usd: 0.50

  codex-cli:
    model: ""                  # optional; omitted if unset
    binary: codex

Key settings

`provider`

Which backend generates the command. Four values: anthropic, openai, claude-cli, codex-cli. See Providers for what each one needs and how they differ.

`execution.mode`

auto runs the generated command immediately. confirm prints it and asks [y/N] first. Covered in Execution and safety.

`context`

How much of your surroundings is sent with the request: none, light or full. full includes shell history and should be turned on deliberately — see Context.

`log.path`

Where the JSONL history log is written. YAML values are read literally, so a leading ~ is expanded by smartly rather than by your shell. What the log contains is described in Logging.

How API keys are resolved

For anthropic and openai, in order:

The environment variable named by api_key_env, if that variable is set.
The provider’s default environment variable — ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY.
The api_key value in the config file, as a fallback.

The key value is never printed by config show.