Configuration

Chat Gipitty can be configured through multiple methods to customize its behavior for your needs. This page covers all the configuration options available and how to set them.

Configuration Methods

Chat Gipitty supports configuration through:

Configuration file (config.toml)
Environment variables
Command-line options

Configuration is applied in order of precedence:

Command-line options (highest priority)
Environment variables
Configuration file (lowest priority)

Configuration File

Location

The configuration file is located in your system's configuration directory:

Linux: ~/.config/cgip/config.toml
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/cgip/config.toml
Windows: %APPDATA%\cgip\config.toml

File Format

The configuration file uses TOML format:

# Chat Gipitty Configuration File

# Default model to use
model = "gpt-4"

# Custom API base URL (optional)
base_url = "https://api.openai.com"

# Default system prompt (optional)
system_prompt = "You are a helpful assistant."

# Show progress indicator by default
show_progress = false

# Default to markdown output
markdown = false

# Session configuration
session_name = ""

# File input settings
default_file_extensions = [".txt", ".md", ".rs", ".py", ".js"]

Available Options

Core Settings

model (string)

Default model to use for queries
Default: "gpt-4"
Example: "gpt-3.5-turbo", "gpt-4-turbo"

base_url (string)

Custom API base URL for alternative providers
Default: "https://api.openai.com"
Example: "http://localhost:11434/v1" for Ollama

system_prompt (string)

Default system prompt for all queries
Default: None
Example: "You are a coding assistant"

Display Settings

show_progress (boolean)

Show progress indicator by default
Default: false
Equivalent to -p, --show-progress

markdown (boolean)

Format output in markdown by default
Default: false
Equivalent to -m, --markdown

show_context (boolean)

Show context by default
Default: false
Equivalent to -c, --show-context

Session Settings

session_name (string)

Default session name
Default: Empty (no sessions)
Can be overridden by CGIP_SESSION_NAME environment variable

no_session (boolean)

Disable sessions by default
Default: false
Equivalent to -n, --no-session

Using the Config Command

The config subcommand allows you to view and modify configuration values:

View Configuration

# View all configuration
cgip config

# View specific setting
cgip config --get model
cgip config --get base_url

Set Configuration

# Set model
cgip config --set model=gpt-4-turbo

# Set custom API endpoint
cgip config --set base_url=http://localhost:11434/v1

# Set system prompt
cgip config --set system_prompt="You are a helpful coding assistant"

# Enable progress indicator by default
cgip config --set show_progress=true

Examples

# Configure for OpenAI GPT-4
cgip config --set model=gpt-4
cgip config --set base_url=https://api.openai.com

# Configure for local Ollama
cgip config --set model=llama2
cgip config --set base_url=http://localhost:11434/v1

# Configure for daily sessions
cgip config --set session_name=$(date -I)

# Set a default system prompt
cgip config --set system_prompt="You are an expert programmer. Provide concise, accurate answers."

Environment Variables

Environment variables override configuration file settings:

Required Variables

OPENAI_API_KEY

Your API key for the configured provider
Required for most functionality

Optional Variables

OPENAI_BASE_URL

Custom API endpoint
Overrides base_url in config file

CGIP_SESSION_NAME

Session name for session management
Overrides session_name in config file

Examples

# Basic OpenAI setup
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-your-key-here"

# Custom provider setup
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-provider-key"
export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api.provider.com/v1"

# Session management
export CGIP_SESSION_NAME=$(date -I)

Command-Line Options

Command-line options have the highest precedence and override both environment variables and configuration file settings.

Model Selection

# Override configured model
cgip -M gpt-3.5-turbo "query"

# List available models
cgip -l

Output Control

# Show progress (overrides config)
cgip -p "long running query"

# Show context (overrides config)
cgip -c "query with context"

# Markdown output (overrides config)
cgip -m "formatted query"

Session Control

# Disable session for this query
cgip -n "isolated query"

Configuration Examples

Developer Setup

Configuration for software development:

# config.toml
model = "gpt-4"
system_prompt = "You are an expert software developer. Provide concise, practical solutions."
show_progress = true
show_context = false

# Environment
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-key"
export CGIP_SESSION_NAME="dev-$(date +%Y%m%d)"

Data Analysis Setup

Configuration for data analysis tasks:

# config.toml
model = "gpt-4-turbo"
system_prompt = "You are a data analyst. Focus on insights and actionable recommendations."
markdown = true
show_progress = true

Local AI Setup

Configuration for local AI models via Ollama:

# config.toml
model = "llama2"
base_url = "http://localhost:11434/v1"
show_progress = true

# Environment (Ollama doesn't need real API key)
export OPENAI_API_KEY="ollama"

Multi-Provider Setup

Using shell functions for different providers:

# In ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc

# OpenAI function
openai() {
    OPENAI_API_KEY="$OPENAI_KEY" \
    OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api.openai.com" \
    cgip -M gpt-4 "$@"
}

# Local function
local() {
    OPENAI_API_KEY="ollama" \
    OPENAI_BASE_URL="http://localhost:11434/v1" \
    cgip -M llama2 "$@"
}

# Claude function (via proxy)
claude() {
    OPENAI_API_KEY="$CLAUDE_KEY" \
    OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://claude-proxy.com/v1" \
    cgip -M claude-3 "$@"
}

Configuration Validation

Check Current Configuration

# View all current settings
cgip config

# Test configuration
cgip "test query"

# Verify model availability
cgip -l

Common Configuration Issues

Invalid Model:

cgip config --set model=gpt-4
cgip -l  # Verify model is available

Wrong API Endpoint:

cgip config --set base_url=https://api.openai.com
# Test with a simple query
cgip "hello"

Missing API Key:

export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-key"
# Or check if it's set
echo $OPENAI_API_KEY

Advanced Configuration

Project-Specific Configuration

Create project-specific configuration with shell functions:

# In project directory
project_cgip() {
    local config_file="$(pwd)/.cgip.toml"
    if [[ -f "$config_file" ]]; then
        CGIP_CONFIG_FILE="$config_file" cgip "$@"
    else
        cgip "$@"
    fi
}

Conditional Configuration

Configure based on environment:

# In ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
if [[ "$ENVIRONMENT" == "development" ]]; then
    export OPENAI_BASE_URL="http://localhost:11434/v1"
    export OPENAI_API_KEY="ollama"
else
    export OPENAI_API_KEY="$PRODUCTION_OPENAI_KEY"
fi

Configuration Templates

Save common configurations as templates:

# Save current config as template
cp ~/.config/cgip/config.toml ~/.config/cgip/templates/dev.toml

# Load template
cp ~/.config/cgip/templates/dev.toml ~/.config/cgip/config.toml

Troubleshooting Configuration

Debug Configuration

# Check where config file should be
cgip config --get model 2>&1 | grep -i "config"

# Verify environment variables
env | grep -E "(OPENAI|CGIP)"

# Test with explicit options
cgip -M gpt-3.5-turbo "test"

Reset Configuration

# Remove config file to reset to defaults
rm ~/.config/cgip/config.toml

# Or reset specific settings
cgip config --set model=gpt-4
cgip config --set base_url=https://api.openai.com

Configuration Precedence Testing

# Test precedence (command line > env > config)
# 1. Set in config file
cgip config --set model=gpt-3.5-turbo

# 2. Override with environment
CGIP_MODEL=gpt-4 cgip "test"

# 3. Override with command line
CGIP_MODEL=gpt-4 cgip -M gpt-4-turbo "test"

Security Considerations

API Key Security

Never commit API keys to version control
Use environment variables for sensitive data
Consider using secret management systems
Rotate keys regularly

Configuration File Permissions

# Secure config file
chmod 600 ~/.config/cgip/config.toml

# Verify permissions
ls -la ~/.config/cgip/config.toml

Environment Variable Security

# Use env files that are gitignored
echo "OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key" > .env
echo ".env" >> .gitignore
source .env

Chat GipiTTY