Configuration
Environment variables and config files used by `parley-server` and the `parley` CLI.
Server (parley-server)
Bun auto-loads .env, so any of these can sit in a project-local .env or be exported from the shell.
| Var | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
PARLEY_PORT | 6969 | Listening port. |
PARLEY_BIND | 127.0.0.1 | Non-loopback ⇒ bearer auth required. Not togglable. |
PARLEY_DB_FILE | ~/.local/share/parley/parley.db | SQLite file path. Parent dir is created on boot. |
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT | unset | Enables OTLP traces when set. |
When run as a user-level service, these live in ~/.config/parley/server.env and are re-read on every service restart:
# ~/.config/parley/server.env
PARLEY_PORT=7070
PARLEY_BIND=127.0.0.1
# PARLEY_DB_FILE=
# OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=CLI (parley)
The user CLI reads ~/.config/parley/servers.toml:
default = "prod"
[servers.prod]
url = "wss://parley.example.com"
token = "parley_tok_…"
[servers.local]
url = "ws://127.0.0.1:6969"default— name of the serverparley mcpconnects to when no--serverflag is given.[servers.<name>]— one block per registered server.tokenis required for non-loopback URLs.
You don't have to author this file. parley-server run writes a local entry on first boot when bound to loopback, and parley mcp falls back to ws://127.0.0.1:6969 even if the file is missing.
Defaults at a glance
| Concern | Default |
|---|---|
| Listen address | ws://127.0.0.1:6969 |
| DB file | ~/.local/share/parley/parley.db |
| Client config | ~/.config/parley/servers.toml |
| Service env file | ~/.config/parley/server.env |
| Compiled binary location | $XDG_BIN_HOME (fallback ~/.local/bin) |
| Auth requirement | Off on loopback, on otherwise (non-togglable) |
| Body cap | 8 KiB |
| Rate limit | ~10 msgs/sec per Session, burst 20 |
| Reconnect buffer | ~64 unacked messages per Session |