Environment Variables

All EDGECRAB_* variables are applied via apply_env_overrides() in config.rs. They override the corresponding config.yaml values at runtime.

Core Agent Variables

Variable	Type	Default	Description
`EDGECRAB_HOME`	path	`~/.edgecrab`	Override the EdgeCrab home directory
`EDGECRAB_MODEL`	string	`anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514`	Default LLM model
`EDGECRAB_MAX_ITERATIONS`	integer	`90`	Max tool call iterations per session
`EDGECRAB_TIMEZONE`	string	(system)	IANA timezone (e.g. `America/New_York`)
`EDGECRAB_REASONING_EFFORT`	string	`""`	Reasoning budget: `low`, `medium`, `high`, `xhigh`
`EDGECRAB_SAVE_TRAJECTORIES`	bool	`false`	Log full trajectory to file
`EDGECRAB_SKIP_CONTEXT_FILES`	bool	`false`	Skip SOUL.md and AGENTS.md loading
`EDGECRAB_SKIP_MEMORY`	bool	`false`	Disable memory for this session
`EDGECRAB_MANAGED`	bool	`false`	Block all config writes (`1` to enable)

Gateway Variables

Variable	Type	Description
`EDGECRAB_GATEWAY_HOST`	string	Gateway bind host (default: `127.0.0.1`)
`EDGECRAB_GATEWAY_PORT`	integer	Gateway bind port (default: `8080`)
`EDGECRAB_GATEWAY_WEBHOOK`	bool	Enable/disable webhook endpoint

Telegram Variables

Variable	Type	Description
`TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`	string	Required. Auto-enables Telegram platform
`TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS`	csv	Comma-separated allowed Telegram usernames
`TELEGRAM_HOME_CHANNEL`	string	Chat ID for proactive messages

Discord Variables

Variable	Type	Description
`DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN`	string	Required. Auto-enables Discord platform
`DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS`	csv	Comma-separated Discord user IDs
`DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL`	string	Channel ID for proactive messages

Slack Variables

Variable	Type	Description
`SLACK_BOT_TOKEN`	string	Required (with `SLACK_APP_TOKEN`). Auto-enables Slack
`SLACK_APP_TOKEN`	string	Required (with `SLACK_BOT_TOKEN`). Socket Mode app token
`SLACK_ALLOWED_USERS`	csv	Comma-separated Slack user IDs

Signal Variables

Variable	Type	Description
`SIGNAL_HTTP_URL`	string	Required (with `SIGNAL_ACCOUNT`). signal-cli HTTP daemon URL
`SIGNAL_ACCOUNT`	string	Required (with `SIGNAL_HTTP_URL`). Registered phone number

WhatsApp Variables

Variable	Type	Description
`WHATSAPP_ENABLED`	bool	Enable WhatsApp (`1`, `true`, or `yes`)
`WHATSAPP_MODE`	string	Bridge mode: `self-chat` or `any-sender`
`WHATSAPP_ALLOWED_USERS`	csv	Comma-separated phone numbers
`WHATSAPP_BRIDGE_PORT`	integer	Bridge port (default: `3000`)
`WHATSAPP_BRIDGE_URL`	string	Override bridge URL
`WHATSAPP_SESSION_PATH`	path	Bridge session storage path
`WHATSAPP_REPLY_PREFIX`	string	Text prepended to all replies

TTS / STT Variables

Variable	Type	Description
`EDGECRAB_TTS_PROVIDER`	string	TTS provider: `edge-tts`, `openai`, `elevenlabs`
`EDGECRAB_TTS_VOICE`	string	TTS voice name
`ELEVENLABS_API_KEY`	string	ElevenLabs API key

Provider API Keys

These are not EDGECRAB_* variables — they are standard API key env vars detected by setup.rs:

Variable	Provider
`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`	OpenRouter (default endpoint)
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Anthropic
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	OpenAI
`GOOGLE_API_KEY`	Google Gemini
`XAI_API_KEY`	xAI Grok
`DEEPSEEK_API_KEY`	DeepSeek
`HUGGING_FACE_HUB_TOKEN`	HuggingFace
`ZAI_API_KEY`	ZAI
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	GitHub Copilot

Ollama and LM Studio require no API key.

Other Service Variables

Variable	Service	Description
`HONCHO_API_KEY`	Honcho	Enables cloud sync (auto-sets `honcho.cloud_sync: true`)
`HA_URL`	Home Assistant	Base URL (enables Home Assistant tools)
`HA_TOKEN`	Home Assistant	Long-lived access token
`CDP_URL`	Browser	Chrome DevTools Protocol endpoint (instead of local Chrome)

Boolean Parsing

Variables marked as bool accept: 1, true, yes, on (case-insensitive) to enable. Any other value (including empty) is treated as disabled.

CSV Parsing

Variables marked as csv accept comma-separated values with optional whitespace: "user1, user2, user3".

Common Configurations (FAQ)

Set a different model for one session without editing config.yaml:

EDGECRAB_MODEL=anthropic/claude-opus-4-5 edgecrab run "big refactor task"

Debug all environment overrides at startup:

RUST_LOG=edgecrab_core=debug edgecrab run "test" 2>&1 | grep "env override"

Disable all file-writing (read-only managed mode):

EDGECRAB_MANAGED=1 edgecrab run "read and summarize src/"

Run the gateway on a public interface:

EDGECRAB_GATEWAY_HOST=0.0.0.0 EDGECRAB_GATEWAY_PORT=8443 edgecrab gateway start

Combine multiple platforms at once:

export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...
export DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=...
edgecrab gateway start  # both platforms start automatically

What order do settings merge in? Config resolution: defaults → ~/.edgecrab/config.yaml → EDGECRAB_* env vars → CLI flags. Environment variables always win over the config file, but CLI flags win over everything.