Configuration

Lific reads TOML configuration from lific.toml. Every section and key is optional. Missing values use built-in defaults.

File discovery

Lific uses the first configuration file that exists in this order.

1. The path passed with --config <PATH>. This path is used alone. Lific does not search other locations.
2. ./lific.toml in the current directory.
3. The user configuration directory.
4. The system configuration directory.

User and system paths vary by platform.

A file that exists but cannot be read or parsed is a fatal error. Lific stops and names the file and the error; it does not fall through to the next location. Unknown keys are rejected, so a typo such as allow_signupp fails instead of being ignored. An explicit --config path that does not exist is also an error. If automatic discovery finds no file, Lific uses its built-in defaults.

Defaults do not create a database. Ordinary local commands refuse a missing database and name the expected path. Run lific init first, restore a backup, or use the explicit container bootstrap. lific doctor can diagnose an absent or unreadable config; it skips checks that depend on that config rather than silently using defaults.

Relative database.path values resolve relative to the directory containing the selected configuration file. A relative backup directory then resolves relative to the database directory.

Command line overrides

The following command line flags override configuration values.

src/config.rs does not define environment variable overrides for lific.toml keys. Other commands use environment variables for their own inputs. For example, lific doctor --key can use LIFIC_API_KEY, and import commands can use source-specific credentials.

start --init-if-missing reads LIFIC_INIT_ADMIN_NAME and LIFIC_INIT_ADMIN_PASSWORD to create the first administrator on a fresh instance. These are bootstrap inputs, not general overrides of configuration or existing accounts. Multi-instance MCP uses a separate TOML file for server aliases and credential sources.

Default configuration

This is the built-in default configuration. Optional server keys are omitted because their default is unset.

[server]
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 3456
cors_origins = []
trusted_proxies = []

[database]
path = "lific.db"

[backup]
enabled = true
dir = "backups"
interval_minutes = 60
retain = 24

[log]
level = "info"

[auth]
allow_signup = true
required = true

[server]

Use an HTTPS URL for public_url when Lific is exposed through a public HTTPS endpoint. The server includes the configured hostname in its MCP host allowlist for reverse proxy requests.

trusted_proxies identifies proxy hops, not trusted clients. Forwarding headers are ignored unless the immediate TCP peer is in this list. For a trusted peer, Lific walks X-Forwarded-For from right to left, skips configured proxy addresses, and uses the first untrusted address as the client IP. It uses X-Real-IP only when X-Forwarded-For is absent. Malformed or entirely trusted chains fall back to the TCP peer, and IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses are normalized. List every proxy layer you operate; do not add client networks merely because they appear in a header.

mcp_path_token bypasses API key and OAuth authentication. Anyone who knows the resulting URL can use the endpoint. Use a long random token and HTTPS when this key is configured.

[database]

The attachment directory is named attachments and is stored beside the database file.

A relative --db path is resolved against the current working directory. lific init --db <PATH> records the resulting absolute path in its config, so later commands select the same database regardless of their working directory. It refuses a conflicting path already named by the selected config.

[backup]

Automatic backups use the same archive format as lific dump.

[log]

[auth]

When required = false, a request with no credential is treated as an operator request. In the web UI, the browser automatically signs in as the first administrator; an instance with no accounts shows signup instead, so an attribution identity can be created. A request with an invalid credential still fails authentication.

Lific refuses to start with required = false or web_auto_login enabled if [server] host is not loopback, or if a nonempty server.public_url cannot be identified as loopback or private-network. Public DNS names and unparseable URLs fail this check. A loopback bind alone does not exempt a public URL.

secure_cookies is not a TOML key. Setting it under [auth] is now an unknown-key error; remove it if an older configuration file carries it. Lific derives the runtime value at startup: false only when server.public_url explicitly begins with http://, true for HTTPS and for an unset public URL.

What lific init writes

On a fresh install, lific init resolves an auth mode and edits the configuration file in place, leaving every other section and setting alone.

web_auto_login lives in the database rather than in lific.toml; change it later with lific instance set --auto-login <BOOLEAN>. Enabling it through the CLI checks the selected configuration using the same rule as startup and the web settings page. Disabling it remains available for recovery. Login-free mode writes a loopback bind; changing that bind or adding a public URL can make the instance refuse to start.

Example public configuration

This example sets an external HTTPS URL and restricts browser CORS requests to one origin. Replace the example values with values for the deployment.

[server]
host = "127.0.0.1"
port = 3456
public_url = "https://lific.example.com"
cors_origins = ["https://lific.example.com"]
trusted_proxies = []

[database]
path = "/var/lib/lific/lific.db"

[backup]
enabled = true
dir = "/var/backups/lific"
interval_minutes = 60
retain = 24

[log]
level = "info"

[auth]
allow_signup = true
required = true