---
title: Configuration and environment reference
description: Full reference for server flags, environment variables, storage layout, and enterprise protocol settings.
---

The `existd` server daemon and `exist` CLI are configured through environment variables or command-line flags. Flags take precedence over environment variables.

## Server Daemon (`existd`)

### Environment Variables & Network Flags

| Variable | CLI Flag | Default | Description |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `EXIST_LISTEN_ADDR` | `--addr` | `127.0.0.1:8080` | Network address and port to bind the HTTP REST, MCP, and Web server |
| `EXIST_SSH_ADDR` | `--ssh-addr` | `0.0.0.0:2222` | Network address and port for the embedded pure-Go SSH server |
| `EXIST_SSH_HOST_KEY_PATH` | `--ssh-host-key` | (auto-generated) | Path to Ed25519/RSA host key PEM file for SSH server identity |
| `EXIST_DATA_DIR` | `--data-dir` | `data` | Directory where SQLite metadata, Git repos, and LFS objects are stored |
| `EXIST_PUBLIC_URL` | `--public-url` | `http://127.0.0.1:8080` | Publicly reachable base URL used for webhook callbacks and SSO redirects |
| `EXIST_GIT_URL` | `--git-url` | `127.0.0.1:8080` | Public host string returned in clone URLs |
| `EXIST_LFS_ENABLED` | `--lfs` | `true` | Enable or disable the Git Large File Storage (LFS) v1 Batch engine |
| `EXIST_LFS_STORAGE_DIR` | `--lfs-dir` | `<data-dir>/lfs` | Path to store Content-Addressable (CAS) binary objects |
| `EXIST_LOG_LEVEL` | `--log-level` | `info` | Minimum log verbosity level (`debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`) |

### Subcommand: `bootstrap`

Used for offline, one-time initialization of the SQLite database and creation of the primary administrator account:

```bash
existd bootstrap \
  --email <admin-email> \
  --namespace <namespace-slug> \
  [--data-dir <path>]
```

| Flag | Required | Default | Description |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `--email` | Yes | (none) | Email address for the root administrator account |
| `--namespace` | Yes | (none) | Namespace slug to create for the initial workspace |
| `--data-dir` | No | `./data` | Target directory for database and storage |

---

## On-Disk Storage Layout

When `--data-dir` is configured (for example, `./data`), `existd` organizes files in the following structure:

```text
data/
├── meta.db          # Primary SQLite metadata database
├── meta.db-wal      # SQLite Write-Ahead Log
├── meta.db-shm      # SQLite shared memory file
├── ssh/             # Auto-generated or custom host keys
│   └── id_ed25519   # Server host private key
├── lfs/             # Git LFS Content-Addressable Storage (CAS)
│   └── objects/
│       └── 4a/
│           └── f3/
│               └── 4af3a8... (SHA-256 payload)
└── repos/           # Bare Git repositories (go-git engine)
    └── acme/
        ├── demo-app.git/
        └── backend.git/
```

- **`meta.db`**: Stores users, password hashes, web sessions, tokens, namespaces, repository records, permissions, pull requests, review comments, status checks, rulesets, CIDR allowlists, SSH CAs, and SSO configurations.
- **`lfs/objects/{oid[0:2]}/{oid[2:4]}/{oid}`**: Sharded directory storing raw binary payloads indexed by their cryptographic SHA-256 hash.
- **`repos/{owner}/{repo}.git`**: Standard bare Git repositories storing commits, trees, blobs, refs, and packfiles managed via `go-git/v6`.

---

## SQLite Pragmas

`existd` automatically applies the following database pragmas upon connection:

- `PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL`: High-concurrency Write-Ahead Logging for zero-lock multi-reader execution.
- `PRAGMA busy_timeout = 5000`: 5-second wait on lock contention before returning busy error.
- `PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON`: Strict relational integrity for cascading deletes and reference checks.
- Connection limit: Single writer connection pool to eliminate SQLite database lock contention entirely.