Configuration and environment

Every component follows the same pattern: a JSON config file in a predictable home directory, optionally relocated by an env var, with a handful of runtime environment variables on top. This page maps them all.

Config files at a glance#

Component	Default config	Home override	Format
NullHub	`~/.nullhub/`	—	JSON, edited via UI or `nullhub config <c>/<n> --edit`
NullClaw	`~/.nullclaw/config.json`	—	JSON (OpenClaw-compatible, snake_case)
NullBoiler	`~/.nullboiler/config.json`	`NULLBOILER_HOME` or `--config <file>`	JSON
NullTickets	`~/.nulltickets/config.json`	`NULLTICKETS_HOME` or `--config <file>`	JSON
NullWatch	`~/.nullwatch/config.json`	—	JSON
NullPantry	`${NULLPANTRY_HOME}/nullpantry.json`	`NULLPANTRY_HOME`, `--config`, `NULLPANTRY_CONFIG`	JSON, strict (unknown fields rejected)
nllclw	`~/.config/nllclw/config.json`	`$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` (Windows: `%APPDATA%\nllclw`)	Flat JSON, unknown keys rejected, 16 KiB cap
NullDesk	`<workspace>/.nulldesk/config.json`	per-workspace	JSON

For NULLBOILER_HOME and NULLTICKETS_HOME, relative paths inside the config (like db) resolve relative to that directory.

Environment variables#

NullHub#

Variable	Purpose
`NULLHUB_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	Comma-separated CORS origins
`NULLBOILER_URL` / `NULLBOILER_TOKEN`	Reverse proxy target for the NullBoiler UI
`NULLTICKETS_URL` / `NULLTICKETS_TOKEN`	Reverse proxy target for the store browser
`NULLWATCH_URL` / `NULLWATCH_TOKEN`	Reverse proxy target for the Flight Recorder

NullClaw#

Config values are literal (no ${VAR} expansion inside config.json), but some runtime env vars apply:

Variable	Purpose
`NULLCLAW_PORT` / `NULLCLAW_BIND`	Gateway port and bind address
`NULLCLAW_WEB_TOKEN` / `NULLCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN`	Access tokens
`BRAVE_API_KEY`, `TAVILY_API_KEY`, etc.	Web-search providers

Config sections: providers under models.providers, default model under agents.defaults.model.primary, plus memory, gateway, autonomy, runtime, tunnel, secrets, security, mcp_servers, bindings, a2a. The repo ships config.example.json and .env.example.

NullWatch#

Defaults, verbatim:

{ "host": "127.0.0.1", "port": 7710, "data_dir": "data", "api_token": null }

data_dir resolves relative to the config file, so data lands in ~/.nullwatch/data.

NullPantry#

Layered precedence: defaults < home defaults < config file < environment < CLI flags.

Variable	Purpose
`NULLPANTRY_TOKEN` / `NULLPANTRY_TOKEN_PRINCIPALS`	Auth tokens and per-token principals
`NULLPANTRY_SCOPES` / `NULLPANTRY_CAPABILITIES`	Default scopes and capabilities
`NULLPANTRY_DATABASE_URL`	Postgres canonical store
`NULLPANTRY_AGENT_MEMORY_BACKEND` / `NULLPANTRY_VECTOR_BACKEND`	Backend selection
`NULLPANTRY_AGENT_MEMORY_STORES` / `NULLPANTRY_VECTOR_STORES`	Named multi-store JSON configs
`NULLPANTRY_REDIS_URL` / `NULLPANTRY_HOME` / `NULLPANTRY_CONFIG`	Redis, home dir, config path

nllclw#

Precedence: OS environment > config.json > .env; environment always wins. Config keys are NLLCLW_* names lowercased without the prefix (api_key for NLLCLW_API_KEY).

Variable	Purpose
`NLLCLW_PROVIDER`	`openai` \| `openrouter` \| `compatible` (required)
`NLLCLW_API_KEY` / `NLLCLW_MODEL`	Credentials and model (required)
`NLLCLW_BASE_URL`	Endpoint for `compatible` (HTTPS required; loopback HTTP needs `NLLCLW_ALLOW_HTTP_BASE_URL=on`)
`NLLCLW_TOOLS`, `NLLCLW_FILE_READ`, `NLLCLW_FILE_WRITE`, `NLLCLW_SCHEDULE_TOOLS`, `NLLCLW_SHELL`	Capability gates
`NLLCLW_SEARCH_BRAVE_KEY`	Web search
`NLLCLW_TOOL_MAX_ROUNDS` / `NLLCLW_TOOL_OUTPUT_MAX_BYTES`	Tool-loop bounds
`NLLCLW_PERSONA`	`neutral` \| `friendly` \| `technical` \| `witty`

Editing hub-managed instances#

For components under NullHub, prefer the hub's paths — structured editors in the dashboard, raw JSON when needed, or:

nullhub config nullclaw/<instance> --edit

The hub knows each component's config schema from its manifest, which is how updates can migrate configs.