Configuration

Lific reads TOML configuration from lific.toml. Every section and key is optional. Missing values use built-in defaults.

File discovery

Lific uses the first configuration file that exists in this order.

1. The path passed with --config <PATH>. This path is used alone. Lific does not search other locations.
2. ./lific.toml in the current directory.
3. The user configuration directory.
4. The system configuration directory.

User and system paths vary by platform.

A file that exists but cannot be read or parsed is a fatal error. Lific stops and names the file and the error; it does not warn and fall through to the next location, because quietly running on different settings than the ones you wrote is the more surprising outcome. Unknown keys are rejected for the same reason, so a typo such as allow_signupp fails loudly instead of being ignored. If no file exists at any of these paths, Lific uses its built-in defaults.

Relative database.path values resolve relative to the directory containing the selected configuration file. A relative backup directory then resolves relative to the database directory.

Command line overrides

The following command line flags override configuration values.

src/config.rs does not define environment variable overrides for lific.toml keys. Other commands use environment variables for their own inputs. For example, lific doctor --key can use LIFIC_API_KEY, and import commands can use source-specific credentials.

Default configuration

This is the built-in default configuration. Optional server keys are omitted because their default is unset.

[server]
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 3456
cors_origins = []
trusted_proxies = []

[database]
path = "lific.db"

[backup]
enabled = true
dir = "backups"
interval_minutes = 60
retain = 24

[log]
level = "info"

[auth]
allow_signup = true
required = true

[server]

Use an HTTPS URL for public_url when Lific is exposed through a public HTTPS endpoint. The server includes the configured hostname in its MCP host allowlist for reverse proxy requests.

trusted_proxies identifies proxy hops, not trusted clients. Forwarding headers are ignored unless the immediate TCP peer is in this list. For a trusted peer, Lific walks X-Forwarded-For from right to left, skips configured proxy addresses, and uses the first untrusted address as the client IP. It uses X-Real-IP only when X-Forwarded-For is absent. Malformed or entirely trusted chains fall back to the TCP peer, and IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses are normalized. List every proxy layer you operate; do not add client networks merely because they appear in a header.

mcp_path_token bypasses API key and OAuth authentication. Anyone who knows the resulting URL can use the endpoint. Use a long random token and HTTPS when this key is configured.

[database]

The attachment directory is named attachments and is stored beside the database file.

[backup]

Automatic backups use the same archive format as lific dump.

[log]

[auth]

When required = false, a request with no credential is treated as an operator request. In the web UI, the browser automatically signs in as the first administrator; an instance with no accounts shows signup instead, so an attribution identity can be created. A request with an invalid credential still fails authentication.

Lific refuses to start with required = false when [server] host is not loopback. The guard reads the bind host rather than server.public_url, so the check and the listening socket describe the same thing. The same rule applies to the database-backed web_auto_login setting: with auto-login enabled and a non-loopback bind, the server refuses to start. Behind a loopback bind with an HTTPS public_url, Lific starts and logs a warning instead.

secure_cookies is not a TOML key. Setting it under [auth] is now an unknown-key error; remove it if an older configuration file carries it. Lific derives the runtime value at startup: false only when server.public_url explicitly begins with http://, true for HTTPS and for an unset public URL.

What lific init writes

On a fresh install, lific init resolves an auth mode and edits the configuration file in place, leaving every other section and setting alone.

web_auto_login lives in the database rather than in lific.toml; change it later with lific instance set --auto-login <BOOLEAN>. Login-free mode writes the loopback bind precisely so the startup guard above is satisfied by the instance it just created. Editing host afterwards to a non-loopback address makes that instance refuse to start.

Example public configuration

This example sets an external HTTPS URL and restricts browser CORS requests to one origin. Replace the example values with values for the deployment.

[server]
host = "127.0.0.1"
port = 3456
public_url = "https://lific.example.com"
cors_origins = ["https://lific.example.com"]
trusted_proxies = []

[database]
path = "/var/lib/lific/lific.db"

[backup]
enabled = true
dir = "/var/backups/lific"
interval_minutes = 60
retain = 24

[log]
level = "info"

[auth]
allow_signup = true
required = true