Configuration¶

Config File¶

Location: config.yaml (project root or ~/.mcp-ariel-memory/config.yaml)

# Memory settings
memory:
  max_l1_size: 50          # ReflexBuffer ring buffer size
  max_l2_sessions: 100     # EpisodicMemory max sessions
  max_l3_entries: 500      # SessionStore max entries
  max_l4_facts: 5000       # CoreMemory max facts

# RAG settings
rag:
  chunk_size: 512
  chunk_overlap: 50
  search_strategy: auto    # fts | mib | hybrid | auto

# Crypto
crypto:
  master_key_hex: ""       # Override keychain (dev only)

# Hooks
hooks:
  user_importance_gate: 0.3
  agent_importance_gate: 0.3

Environment Variables¶

Variable	Default	Description
`MCP_MASTER_KEY`	auto-generated	Master key for envelope encryption
`MCP_MEMORY_DATA_DIR`	`~/.mcp-ariel-memory`	Data directory for SQLite databases
`MCP_AUTH_TOKEN`	auto-generated	Bearer token for HTTP transport
`MCP_SERVER_PORT`	8000	HTTP server port
`BACKUP_CRON_DISABLED`	false	Disable backup cron daemon

Key Resolution Order¶

Master key is resolved in this order:

OS keychain (keyring library) — recommended for production
config.yaml (crypto.master_key_hex)
.env file (MCP_MASTER_KEY=...) — local development only
Environment variable (MCP_MASTER_KEY)
Auto-generate — creates key and saves to .env

Transports¶

stdio (default)¶

python -m mcp_server --transport stdio

HTTP (Streamable)¶

python -m mcp_server --transport http --port 8000

With auth¶

python -m mcp_server --transport http --auth