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

# Configuration overview

> How Pulse reads server, MCP, storage, and Knowledge Graph settings.

# Configuration overview

You can configure Pulse with environment variables and an optional `.env` file. There is no YAML configuration file in the community runtime.

## How configuration works

Pulse uses `pydantic-settings`. Field names map to environment variables by uppercasing the field name, and environment variable lookup is case-insensitive.

```bash theme={null}
DATA_DIR=/srv/pulse KG_BASE_DIR=/srv/pulse okto-pulse serve --accept-terms
```

```text theme={null}
Pulse API/UI: http://127.0.0.1:8100
Pulse MCP:    http://127.0.0.1:8101/mcp
```

## Configuration by concern

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Environment variables" href="/configuration/environment-variables">
    Complete table of server, storage, MCP, KG, tracing, and Docker variables.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Server configuration" href="/configuration/server-config">
    Ports, bind hosts, CORS, terms, logging, and runtime behavior.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Storage paths" href="/configuration/storage-paths">
    SQLite, uploads, per-board `graph.lbug`, global discovery, backups, and volumes.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Hot-reload settings vs restart-required settings

Most process settings, including bind hosts and ports, require restart. KG queue and decay runtime settings can be updated through the settings API and are rescheduled in process.

## Related pages

* [MCP reference](/reference/mcp)
* [Docker operations](/operations/docker)
* [KG health](/kg-operations/health)