Configuration

Environment Variables

Override any YeePilot configuration setting using environment variables

Last updated: February 27, 2026

Overview

Every YeePilot configuration option can be overridden using environment variables. This is useful for CI/CD pipelines, containerized deployments, temporary overrides, and keeping secrets out of config files.

Environment variables always take precedence over values in ~/.yeepilot/config.yaml.

Naming Convention

Environment variables follow a consistent pattern:

Start with the YEEPILOT_ prefix.
Convert the config key to UPPERCASE.
Replace dots and nested keys with underscores.

Examples

Config Key	Environment Variable
`ai.provider`	`YEEPILOT_AI_PROVIDER`
`ai.model`	`YEEPILOT_AI_MODEL`
`ai.api_key`	`YEEPILOT_AI_API_KEY`
`ai.max_tokens`	`YEEPILOT_AI_MAX_TOKENS`
`ai.token_mode`	`YEEPILOT_AI_TOKEN_MODE`
`security.mode`	`YEEPILOT_SECURITY_MODE`
`sandbox.enabled`	`YEEPILOT_SANDBOX_ENABLED`
`sandbox.use_namespaces`	`YEEPILOT_SANDBOX_USE_NAMESPACES`
`personality.language`	`YEEPILOT_PERSONALITY_LANGUAGE`
`tui.theme`	`YEEPILOT_TUI_THEME`
`update.auto_check`	`YEEPILOT_UPDATE_AUTO_CHECK`

Configuration Precedence

When the same setting is defined in multiple places, YeePilot resolves them in this order (highest priority first):

Environment variables -- Always win.
Config file (~/.yeepilot/config.yaml) -- Used if no env var is set.
Built-in defaults -- Used if neither env var nor config file value exists.

bash

# This overrides whatever is in config.yaml
export YEEPILOT_AI_PROVIDER=anthropic
export YEEPILOT_AI_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-20250514
 
yeepilot run

Common Environment Variables

AI Provider Settings

bash

# Select provider and model
export YEEPILOT_AI_PROVIDER=openai
export YEEPILOT_AI_MODEL=gpt-4o
 
# API key (preferred over config file for security)
export YEEPILOT_AI_API_KEY=sk-...
 
# Custom API endpoint (e.g., for local models)
export YEEPILOT_AI_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434/v1
 
# Token management
export YEEPILOT_AI_MAX_TOKENS=8192
export YEEPILOT_AI_TOKEN_MODE=saver
 
# Agent and thinking
export YEEPILOT_AI_AGENT_MODE=true
export YEEPILOT_AI_THINK_MODE=medium
export YEEPILOT_AI_AUTONOMY_PROFILE=strict_review

Security Settings

bash

# Security posture
export YEEPILOT_SECURITY_MODE=strict
export YEEPILOT_SECURITY_REQUIRE_CONFIRMATION=true
 
# Audit log location
export YEEPILOT_SECURITY_AUDIT_LOG_PATH=/var/log/yeepilot/audit.log

Sandbox Settings

bash

# Disable namespaces (useful on macOS or restricted environments)
export YEEPILOT_SANDBOX_USE_NAMESPACES=false
 
# Adjust resource limits
export YEEPILOT_SANDBOX_MAX_CPU_SECONDS=600
export YEEPILOT_SANDBOX_MAX_MEMORY_MB=1024

Personality and Display

bash

# Language and tone
export YEEPILOT_PERSONALITY_LANGUAGE=de
export YEEPILOT_PERSONALITY_TONE=professional
export YEEPILOT_PERSONALITY_VERBOSITY=brief
 
# TUI theme
export YEEPILOT_TUI_THEME=dark

Direct API Key Variables

In addition to YEEPILOT_AI_API_KEY, YeePilot also recognizes the standard API key environment variables used by each provider:

Variable	Provider
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	OpenAI
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Anthropic
`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`	OpenRouter

These work without the YEEPILOT_ prefix and are checked automatically when no other API key is configured.

bash

# These are equivalent for OpenAI:
export YEEPILOT_AI_API_KEY=sk-abc123
# or
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-abc123

If both YEEPILOT_AI_API_KEY and a provider-specific variable are set, YEEPILOT_AI_API_KEY takes precedence.

Practical Examples

Temporary Provider Switch

Switch to a different provider for a single session without changing your config file:

bash

YEEPILOT_AI_PROVIDER=anthropic \
YEEPILOT_AI_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-20250514 \
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... \
yeepilot run

Production Server Lockdown

Set strict security via environment for all users on a shared server:

bash

# Add to /etc/environment or /etc/profile.d/yeepilot.sh
export YEEPILOT_SECURITY_MODE=strict
export YEEPILOT_AI_AUTONOMY_PROFILE=strict_review
export YEEPILOT_SANDBOX_ENABLED=true
export YEEPILOT_SANDBOX_USE_NAMESPACES=true
export YEEPILOT_SANDBOX_NETWORK_ACCESS=false

CI/CD Pipeline

Use YeePilot in a non-interactive pipeline:

bash

export YEEPILOT_AI_PROVIDER=openai
export YEEPILOT_AI_MODEL=gpt-4o-mini
export OPENAI_API_KEY="${OPENAI_SECRET}"
export YEEPILOT_SECURITY_MODE=strict
export YEEPILOT_AI_AUTONOMY_PROFILE=high
 
yeepilot exec "check disk usage and report servers over 80%"

Cost-Conscious Configuration

Minimize token usage and API costs:

bash

export YEEPILOT_AI_TOKEN_MODE=saver
export YEEPILOT_AI_MAX_TOKENS=2048
export YEEPILOT_AI_CONVERSATION_MAX_HISTORY=5
export YEEPILOT_AI_OUTPUT_TRUNCATE_LENGTH=200

Shell Configuration

To make environment variables persist across sessions, add them to your shell profile:

Bash

bash

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile
export YEEPILOT_AI_PROVIDER=openai
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

Zsh

bash

# Add to ~/.zshrc
export YEEPILOT_AI_PROVIDER=openai
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

Fish

fish

# Add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish
set -gx YEEPILOT_AI_PROVIDER openai
set -gx OPENAI_API_KEY sk-...

After editing, reload your shell or run source ~/.bashrc (or the equivalent for your shell).

Dev Mode

The YEEPILOT_DEV_MODE variable is a special case. It only takes effect when used with a development build of YeePilot (compiled with the dev build tag). Production binaries ignore this variable entirely.

bash

# Only works with dev builds
export YEEPILOT_DEV_MODE=1

This is used by contributors during development and is not relevant for normal usage.

Verifying Your Configuration

To see which settings are active (including environment variable overrides), run:

bash

yeepilot status

This displays the current provider, model, security mode, and other active settings, showing where each value comes from.

Configuration Reference

Configuration

Linux Setup

Platform Setup