Configuration

How to configure GoModel using environment variables, .env files, and YAML.

Good defaults

GoModel uses a good defaults philosophy. This means that the default settings should be enough to use it.

How to override the default settings?

We use a three-layer configuration pipeline. Every setting has a sensible default, so you can start the server with zero configuration.

As GoModel works out of the box with no configuration files, you can try it in a minute.

Start here: Quick Start

GoModel automatically discovers providers from well-known environment variables.

Configuration Methods

1. Environment Variables

The most common way to configure GoModel. Set any of the variables below to override defaults.

Server

Variable	Description	Default
PORT	HTTP server port	8080
BASE_PATH	Mount path prefix, for example /g	/
GOMODEL_MASTER_KEY	Authentication key for securing the gateway	(empty, unsafe mode)
BODY_SIZE_LIMIT	Max request body size (e.g., 10M, 1024K, 500KB)	(no limit)
USER_PATH_HEADER	Header used to read/write request user_path values	X-GoModel-User-Path

MCP Gateway

See MCP Gateway for the full feature guide.

Variable	Description	Default
MCP_ENABLED	Expose the MCP endpoints /mcp and /mcp/{server}	true
MCP_SERVERS	JSON object of upstream MCP servers, merged over the mcp.servers YAML map per name (entries are read-only in the dashboard)	(none)

Logging

Runtime logger output. For the persisted API audit trail (request/response bodies, headers), see Audit Logging below.

Variable	Description	Default
LOG_FORMAT	text for colorized human output, json for structured logs. Unset auto-detects: text on a TTY, JSON otherwise. Force json in production / CloudWatch / Datadog / GCP setups.	(auto-detect)
LOG_LEVEL	Minimum log level: debug, info, warn, error. Aliases dbg, inf, warning, err are also accepted.	info

Cache

Variable	Description	Default
GOMODEL_CACHE_DIR	Directory for local cache files	.cache
CACHE_REFRESH_INTERVAL	Seconds between provider model re-discovery runs	3600 (1h)
PROVIDER_RECHECK_INTERVAL	Seconds between re-probes of providers whose last refresh failed (0 disables)	60
REDIS_URL	Redis connection URL	(empty)
REDIS_KEY_MODELS	Redis key for model cache	gomodel:models
REDIS_KEY_RESPONSES	Redis key for response cache	gomodel:response:
REDIS_TTL_MODELS	TTL in seconds for model cache	86400 (24h)
REDIS_TTL_RESPONSES	TTL in seconds for response cache	3600 (1h)

See Cache for exact-cache behavior, response headers, analytics endpoints, and the note that user_path alone does not partition the exact cache.

CACHE_REFRESH_INTERVAL also sets how often the dashboard re-checks provider health (“Last checked”), and PROVIDER_RECHECK_INTERVAL how quickly a failed provider is re-probed for recovery. See Resilience.

Storage

Storage is shared by audit logging, usage tracking, and future features like IAM.

Variable	Description	Default
STORAGE_TYPE	Backend: sqlite, postgresql, or mongodb	sqlite
SQLITE_PATH	SQLite database file path	data/gomodel.db
POSTGRES_URL	PostgreSQL connection string	(empty)
POSTGRES_MAX_CONNS	PostgreSQL connection pool size	10
MONGODB_URL	MongoDB connection string; a database named in its path is used	(empty)
MONGODB_DATABASE	MongoDB database name; overrides the URL path	gomodel

Audit Logging

Variable	Description	Default
LOGGING_ENABLED	Enable audit logging	false
LOGGING_LOG_BODIES	Log request/response bodies	true
LOGGING_LOG_AUDIO_BODIES	Log audio endpoint inputs/outputs	false
LOGGING_LOG_HEADERS	Log headers (sensitive ones auto-redacted)	true
LOGGING_ONLY_MODEL_INTERACTIONS	Only log AI model endpoints	true
LOGGING_BUFFER_SIZE	In-memory buffer before flush	1000
LOGGING_FLUSH_INTERVAL	Flush interval in seconds	5
LOGGING_RETENTION_DAYS	Auto-delete after N days (0 = forever)	30

When LOGGING_LOG_BODIES is enabled, request and response bodies are stored in full. These may contain sensitive data such as PII or API keys embedded in prompts.

LOGGING_LOG_AUDIO_BODIES refines LOGGING_LOG_BODIES for audio endpoints — it has no effect unless body logging is enabled. With both on, /v1/audio/speech stores its text input and the generated audio (base64, capped at 8 MB) so the dashboard can play it back, and /v1/audio/transcriptions stores the uploaded audio (base64, capped at 8 MB, also playable) plus its upload metadata. It defaults to false because audio payloads are large and grow the audit store quickly. When body logging is on but this is off, audio bodies (the speech response and the transcription upload, which keeps its metadata) are recorded as a lightweight {__audio__, content_type, bytes, stored: false} placeholder; when body logging is off, no audio body is stored at all.

Token Usage Tracking

Variable	Description	Default
USAGE_ENABLED	Enable token usage tracking	true
USAGE_PRICING_RECALCULATION_ENABLED	Enable the admin usage pricing recalculation action when supported	true
ENFORCE_RETURNING_USAGE_DATA	Auto-add include_usage to streaming requests	true
USAGE_BUFFER_SIZE	In-memory buffer before flush	1000
USAGE_FLUSH_INTERVAL	Flush interval in seconds	5
USAGE_RETENTION_DAYS	Auto-delete after N days (0 = forever)	90

Budgets

Budgets use tracked usage cost records. If usage tracking is disabled, GoModel starts with budget management disabled and logs a warning.

Variable	Description	Default
BUDGETS_ENABLED	Enable budget management and workflow budget checks when usage tracking is enabled	true
SET_BUDGET_<PATH>	Seed budget limits for a user path, such as daily=10	(empty)

SET_BUDGET_<PATH> supports the standard periods hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly. The <PATH> suffix is lowercased; use double underscores (__) between path segments, while single underscores stay inside a segment. For example, SET_BUDGET_TEAM__ALPHA__SERVICE="daily=10" configures /team/alpha/service, and SET_BUDGET_TEAM_ALPHA="daily=10" configures /team_alpha. This differs from provider <SUFFIX> variables below, which convert underscores to hyphens in provider names.

SET_BUDGET_="monthly=500" means a literal environment variable named SET_BUDGET_, which configures the root path /. POSIX permits that name, but some shells and orchestrators, including some Kubernetes validators, may reject it. Use YAML or the dashboard when your environment cannot set it.

Migration note: budget management depends on usage tracking. If USAGE_ENABLED=false, GoModel starts with budgets disabled and logs a warning, even when BUDGETS_ENABLED=true. Set both USAGE_ENABLED=true and BUDGETS_ENABLED=true to enforce budgets.

See Budgets for YAML examples, periods, matching, and workflow enforcement.

Metrics

Prometheus support is experimental. See the Prometheus Metrics guide for details.

Variable	Description	Default
METRICS_ENABLED	Enable Prometheus metrics (experimental)	false
METRICS_ENDPOINT	HTTP path for metrics	/metrics

Admin

Variable	Description	Default
ADMIN_ENDPOINTS_ENABLED	Enable the admin REST API	true
ADMIN_UI_ENABLED	Enable the admin dashboard UI	true
DASHBOARD_LIVE_LOGS_ENABLED	Stream realtime dashboard audit/usage previews	true
DASHBOARD_LIVE_LOGS_BUFFER_SIZE	In-memory replay window for live dashboard events	10000
DASHBOARD_LIVE_LOGS_REPLAY_LIMIT	Max events replayed to one reconnecting client	1000
DASHBOARD_LIVE_LOGS_HEARTBEAT_SECONDS	Idle stream heartbeat interval in seconds	15

Live dashboard logs are compact previews for the Audit Logs and Usage pages. They update rows before the async database flush finishes. The stored audit and usage tables remain the source of truth; if a browser reconnects with a cursor outside the replay window, the dashboard reloads from the normal REST APIs.

HTTP Client

These control timeouts for upstream API requests to LLM providers.

Variable	Description	Default
HTTP_TIMEOUT	Overall request timeout in seconds	600 (10 min)
HTTP_RESPONSE_HEADER_TIMEOUT	Time to wait for response headers in seconds	600 (10 min)

Provider API Keys

Set these to automatically register providers. No YAML configuration required.

Variable	Provider
OPENAI_API_KEY	OpenAI
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Anthropic
GEMINI_API_KEY	Google Gemini
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY	DeepSeek
OPENROUTER_API_KEY	OpenRouter
ZAI_API_KEY	Z.ai
XAI_API_KEY	xAI (Grok)
GROQ_API_KEY	Groq
AZURE_API_KEY	Azure OpenAI (AZURE_BASE_URL also required)
ORACLE_API_KEY	Oracle GenAI (ORACLE_BASE_URL also required)
OLLAMA_BASE_URL	Ollama (no API key needed)
VLLM_BASE_URL	vLLM (no API key needed unless upstream requires)

Most providers can use a custom base URL via <PROVIDER>_BASE_URL (for example OPENAI_BASE_URL). DeepSeek defaults to https://api.deepseek.com; set DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL only for a compatible proxy or alternate DeepSeek endpoint. OpenRouter defaults to https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 and can be overridden with OPENROUTER_BASE_URL. Z.ai defaults to https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4; set ZAI_BASE_URL=https://api.z.ai/api/coding/paas/v4 for the GLM Coding Plan endpoint. vLLM defaults to http://localhost:8000/v1 when VLLM_API_KEY is set, but keyless deployments should set VLLM_BASE_URL explicitly to register the provider. Azure uses AZURE_BASE_URL for its deployment base URL and accepts an optional AZURE_API_VERSION override; otherwise it defaults to 2024-10-21. Oracle requires ORACLE_BASE_URL because its OpenAI-compatible endpoint is region-specific.

Every provider type also accepts a comma-separated configured model list via <PROVIDER>_MODELS, for example OPENROUTER_MODELS, ORACLE_MODELS, AZURE_MODELS, or VLLM_MODELS. By default, CONFIGURED_PROVIDER_MODELS_MODE=fallback uses configured lists only when upstream /models fails, returns nil, or returns an empty list. Set CONFIGURED_PROVIDER_MODELS_MODE=allowlist to expose only configured models for providers that define a list and skip their upstream /models calls. YAML providers.<name>.models provides the same model-list input for named provider blocks.

For OpenRouter, GoModel also sends default attribution headers unless the request already sets them. Override those defaults with OPENROUTER_SITE_URL and OPENROUTER_APP_NAME.

2. .env File

GoModel automatically loads a .env file from the working directory at startup. This is convenient for local development.

# .env
PORT=3000
BASE_PATH=/g
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

Copy .env.template to .env and uncomment the values you need:

cp .env.template .env

Real environment variables always override values from the .env file. The .env file is only loaded if it exists — missing it is not an error.

3. Configuration File (YAML)

For more complex setups, you can use an optional YAML configuration file. GoModel looks for it in two locations (in order):

1. config/config.yaml
2. config.yaml

If you are deciding whether you need YAML at all, see config.yaml.

To get started, copy the example:

cp config/config.example.yaml config/config.yaml

Then uncomment and edit the settings you want to change:

server:
  port: "3000"
  base_path: "/g"
  user_path_header: "X-GoModel-User-Path"
  master_key: "my-secret-key"

cache:
  model:
    redis:
      url: "redis://my-redis:6379"

budgets:
  enabled: true
  user_paths:
    - path: "/team/alpha"
      limits:
        - period: "daily"
          amount: 10.00
        - period: "weekly"
          amount: 50.00

providers:
  openai:
    type: openai
    api_key: "sk-..."

  anthropic:
    type: anthropic
    api_key: "sk-ant-..."

  # Custom OpenAI-compatible provider
  my-custom-llm:
    type: openai
    base_url: "https://api.example.com/v1"
    api_key: "..."

The YAML file supports environment variable expansion using ${VAR} and ${VAR:-default} syntax:

server:
  port: "${PORT:-8080}"

providers:
  openai:
    type: openai
    api_key: "${OPENAI_API_KEY}"

The YAML file is entirely optional. Any setting you can put in YAML can also be set via environment variables. Use YAML when you need per-provider resilience overrides, generated provider names are not enough, or you prefer a structured config file.

Provider Configuration

Auto-Discovery from Environment Variables

The simplest way to add providers. GoModel checks for well-known API key environment variables and automatically registers providers:

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."      # Registers "openai" provider
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..." # Registers "anthropic" provider
export GEMINI_API_KEY="..."          # Registers "gemini" provider
export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY="..."        # Registers "deepseek" provider
export XAI_API_KEY="..."             # Registers "xai" provider
export GROQ_API_KEY="gsk_..."        # Registers "groq" provider
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-..." # Registers "openrouter" provider
export ZAI_API_KEY="..."             # Registers "zai" provider
# Optional: export ZAI_BASE_URL="https://api.z.ai/api/coding/paas/v4"
export AZURE_API_KEY="..."           # Registers "azure" provider when paired with AZURE_BASE_URL
export AZURE_BASE_URL="https://your-resource.openai.azure.com/openai/deployments/your-deployment"
export ORACLE_API_KEY="..."          # Registers "oracle" provider when paired with ORACLE_BASE_URL
export ORACLE_BASE_URL="https://inference.generativeai.us-chicago-1.oci.oraclecloud.com/20231130/actions/v1"
export ORACLE_MODELS="openai.gpt-oss-120b,xai.grok-3" # Optional configured model list
export OPENROUTER_MODELS="openai/gpt-oss-120b,anthropic/claude-sonnet-4"
export CONFIGURED_PROVIDER_MODELS_MODE="fallback" # fallback or allowlist
export OLLAMA_BASE_URL="http://localhost:11434/v1" # Registers "ollama" provider
export VLLM_BASE_URL="http://localhost:8000/v1" # Registers keyless "vllm" provider
# Optional: export VLLM_API_KEY="token-abc123"

Use suffixed variables to register more than one instance of the same provider type without YAML. GoModel normalizes the suffix to lowercase and converts underscores to hyphens in the configured provider name:

export OPENAI_EAST_API_KEY="sk-..." # Registers "openai-east", type "openai"
export OPENAI_EAST_BASE_URL="https://east.example.com/v1"

export OPENAI_WEST_API_KEY="sk-..." # Registers "openai-west", type "openai"
export OPENAI_WEST_BASE_URL="https://west.example.com/v1"

The same pattern works for every registered provider type: <PROVIDER>_<SUFFIX>_API_KEY, <PROVIDER>_<SUFFIX>_BASE_URL, and <PROVIDER>_<SUFFIX>_MODELS. Azure also supports <PROVIDER>_<SUFFIX>_API_VERSION. Azure and Oracle still require their suffixed BASE_URL values because their endpoints are deployment- or region-specific.

Google Vertex AI uses the VERTEX_* prefix and follows the same suffix-to-name rule as other providers:

export VERTEX_PROJECT="prod-ai"
export VERTEX_LOCATION="us-central1" # Registers "vertex", type "vertex"

export VERTEX_US_PROJECT="prod-ai"
export VERTEX_US_LOCATION="us-central1" # Registers "vertex-us", type "vertex"

YAML Provider Blocks

For more control (custom names, per-provider resilience, or larger structured settings), use the YAML file:

models:
  # fallback is the default. Use allowlist when configured provider model lists
  # should hide upstream models and skip upstream /models calls.
  configured_provider_models_mode: fallback

providers:
  # Override OpenAI base URL
  openai:
    type: openai
    api_key: "sk-..."
    base_url: "https://my-proxy.example.com/v1"

  # Add a second OpenAI-compatible endpoint
  azure:
    type: azure
    base_url: "https://my-resource.openai.azure.com/openai/deployments/gpt-4"
    api_key: "..."
    api_version: "2024-10-21"

  # Add Oracle's OpenAI-compatible endpoint
  oracle:
    type: oracle
    base_url: "https://inference.generativeai.us-chicago-1.oci.oraclecloud.com/20231130/actions/v1"
    api_key: "..."
    models:
      - openai.gpt-oss-120b
      - xai.grok-3

  # Add DeepSeek. GoModel translates /v1/responses to DeepSeek chat completions.
  deepseek:
    type: deepseek
    base_url: "https://api.deepseek.com"
    api_key: "..."

  # Add a vLLM OpenAI-compatible server
  vllm:
    type: vllm
    base_url: "http://localhost:8000/v1"
    # api_key is optional; set it only when vllm serve uses --api-key.
    # api_key: "token-abc123"

  # Configure a model list for fallback or allowlist mode
  gemini:
    type: gemini
    api_key: "..."
    models:
      - gemini-2.0-flash
      - gemini-1.5-pro

  # Add Google Vertex AI. Project and location are required.
  vertex:
    type: vertex
    auth_type: gcp_adc
    vertex_project: "prod-ai"
    vertex_location: "us-central1"
    api_mode: native
    models:
      - google/gemini-2.5-flash

models: works for every provider block. In fallback mode it is a safety net when upstream /models is unavailable or empty. In allowlist mode it becomes the exposed inventory for that provider and skips upstream /models. For Oracle GenAI, see the Oracle GenAI guide for the required OCI policy and a tested configuration.

Ollama (Local Models)

Ollama does not require an API key. Set the base URL to enable it:

export OLLAMA_BASE_URL="http://localhost:11434/v1"

Or in YAML:

providers:
  ollama:
    type: ollama
    base_url: "http://localhost:11434/v1"

vLLM

vLLM uses its OpenAI-compatible /v1 API. In Docker, set VLLM_BASE_URL to register a keyless vLLM server:

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 \
  -e GOMODEL_MASTER_KEY="change-me" \
  -e VLLM_BASE_URL="http://host.docker.internal:8000/v1" \
  enterpilot/gomodel

If the upstream server was started with vllm serve ... --api-key token-abc123, also set:

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 \
  -e GOMODEL_MASTER_KEY="change-me" \
  -e VLLM_BASE_URL="http://host.docker.internal:8000/v1" \
  -e VLLM_API_KEY="token-abc123" \
  enterpilot/gomodel

You can also register more than one vLLM instance without YAML:

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 \
  -e GOMODEL_MASTER_KEY="change-me" \
  -e VLLM_BASE_URL="http://host.docker.internal:8000/v1" \
  -e VLLM_TEST_BASE_URL="http://host.docker.internal:8000/v1" \
  enterpilot/gomodel

This registers providers vllm and vllm-test. Use YAML only when the generated provider names are not enough or you need a larger structured block.

Provider Behavior Notes

Anthropic max_tokens default

Anthropic requires max_tokens on every /v1/messages request. If a client omits it, GoModel injects a fallback so the request still succeeds. OpenAI and Gemini treat the field as optional and GoModel does not inject a default for them.

Variable	Description	Default
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS	Value injected when the caller omits max_tokens	4096

Raise this for newer models that routinely produce longer outputs (Sonnet 4.6, Opus 4.7). Setting max_tokens explicitly on a request always wins over the env-driven default. Invalid or non-positive values fall back to 4096.