> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openlit.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# CLI Configuration

> Configure the openlit CLI - endpoint, API key, content capture, and precedence rules

The CLI reads its settings from flags, environment variables, and a config file. The fastest way to set it up is `openlit configure`.

## Configure once

```bash theme={null}
openlit configure \
  --endpoint https://openlit.example.com:4318 \
  --api-key  $OPENLIT_API_KEY
```

This writes a `KEY=VALUE` file to:

* **Linux / macOS** - `~/.config/openlit/config.env` (honors `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME`)
* **Windows** - `%APPDATA%\openlit\config.env`

The file is written with mode `0600` (owner-readable only).

To inspect the effective configuration without writing anything - including which source each value came from - use `--show`:

```bash theme={null}
openlit configure --show
```

## `configure` flags

| Flag                 | Maps to                          | Description                                                          |
| -------------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--endpoint`         | `OPENLIT_OTLP_ENDPOINT`          | OTLP/HTTP endpoint URL (e.g. `http://localhost:4318`)                |
| `--api-key`          | `OPENLIT_API_KEY`                | API key, sent as `Authorization: Bearer <key>`                       |
| `--environment`      | `OPENLIT_ENVIRONMENT`            | Deployment environment (e.g. `production`, `staging`)                |
| `--application-name` | `OPENLIT_APPLICATION_NAME`       | Application name (default `openlit-cli`)                             |
| `--content-capture`  | `OPENLIT_CODING_CONTENT_CAPTURE` | Coding-agent content capture: `minimal` \| `metadata_only` \| `full` |
| `--show`             | -                                | Print resolved config (and its source) without writing               |

## Precedence

Settings resolve highest-to-lowest:

1. **CLI flags** (`--endpoint`, `--api-key`, …)
2. **`OPENLIT_*` environment variables**
3. **`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_*` environment variables** (standard OpenTelemetry fallback)
4. **Config file** (`~/.config/openlit/config.env`, allow-listed keys only)
5. **Built-in defaults**

For headless / fleet rollouts, prefer environment variables or flags - they take precedence over the file. Existing OpenTelemetry users can reuse their standard `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_*` setup.

## Environment variables

| Variable                         | Purpose                                                                   | Default                 |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------- |
| `OPENLIT_OTLP_ENDPOINT`          | OTLP/HTTP base URL                                                        | `http://127.0.0.1:4318` |
| `OPENLIT_API_KEY`                | Authenticates the OTLP exporter (`Authorization: Bearer <key>`)           | -                       |
| `OPENLIT_ENVIRONMENT`            | Deployment environment label                                              | `default`               |
| `OPENLIT_APPLICATION_NAME`       | App name for OTel resource attributes                                     | `openlit-cli`           |
| `OPENLIT_CODING_CONTENT_CAPTURE` | Coding-agent content capture mode                                         | `full`                  |
| `OPENLIT_CODING_REPO_ALLOWLIST`  | Comma/newline-separated repo patterns for personal-vs-work classification | -                       |
| `OPENLIT_USER`                   | Override the resolved user identity (`gen_ai.user.name`)                  | auto                    |
| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`    | Standard OTel endpoint (fallback)                                         | -                       |
| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS`     | Extra headers as comma-separated `k=v` pairs                              | -                       |
| `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`       | Standard OTel resource attributes                                         | -                       |
| `OPENLIT_DEBUG_PAYLOAD_DIR`      | Tee raw hook payloads to JSONL for debugging                              | -                       |

<Warning>
  The `OPENLIT_API_KEY` value is never promoted into a launched agent's child-process environment, and the config file is written `0600`. The CLI never reads your shell rc files (`~/.zshrc`, `~/.bashrc`) - if you set `OPENLIT_*` vars in a shell rc, source them before launching the agent.
</Warning>

## Content capture modes

`OPENLIT_CODING_CONTENT_CAPTURE` controls how much of each coding-agent interaction is captured. Tier-1 secret redaction runs on every export regardless of mode.

| Mode               | What's captured                                                                |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `minimal`          | Session bookends and counters only - good for cost + activity dashboards       |
| `metadata_only`    | Per-event spans **without** prompt bodies or tool-arg bodies                   |
| `full` *(default)* | Complete prompt + response bodies and tool I/O, secret-scrubbed on the way out |

<Tip>
  `full` is the default so the trace-detail view is useful on first use. Switch to `metadata_only` when rolling out across a team where prompts may carry confidential material, or `minimal` if you only need cost and activity rollups.
</Tip>

## Endpoint normalization

The CLI accepts scheme-less, `http://`, or `https://` endpoints, with or without a path/trailing slash. For non-loopback hosts it auto-upgrades plain `http://` to `https://`. Loopback and private-range hosts (`localhost`, `127.0.0.1`, `::1`, `10.*`, `192.168.*`, `172.16–31.*`, `169.254.*`) are left on `http://`.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Command reference" href="/latest/cli/commands" icon="terminal">
    Every command, subcommand, and flag
  </Card>

  <Card title="Wire your coding agents" href="/latest/openlit/coding-agents/setup-and-configure" icon="code">
    The end-to-end setup guide
  </Card>
</CardGroup>