Config File Reference

Every configuration option, organized by section.

`[node]` — Basic Node Settings

Option	Type	Default	Description
`listen_port`	integer	`8800`	Port for web dashboard and P2P networking
`data_dir`	path	Platform-specific	Where SwarmLLM stores data
`contribution`	string	`"minimal"`	Resource contribution: `"minimal"`, `"moderate"`, `"maximum"`
`contribution_auto`	boolean	`true`	R121: auto-scale contribution at swarm saturation. Read at runtime via the `state.models.contribution_auto` AtomicBool so the Settings panel can flip Auto/Manual without a daemon restart.

`[resources]` — Resource Limits

Option	Type	Default	Description
`max_gpu_vram_mb`	integer	`0`	Max GPU memory in MB. `0` = auto-detect
`max_ram_mb`	integer	`0`	Max system RAM in MB. `0` = auto
`max_disk_mb`	integer	`50000`	Max disk space in MB for model storage
`max_bandwidth_mbps`	integer	`0`	Max upload bandwidth. `0` = unlimited

`[resources.schedule]` — Usage Schedule

Option	Type	Default	Description
`enabled`	boolean	`false`	Enable scheduled resource reduction
`reduced_hours_start`	integer	`22`	Hour (0-23) to start reduced mode
`reduced_hours_end`	integer	`8`	Hour (0-23) to end reduced mode
`reduced_contribution`	string	`"minimal"`	Contribution level during reduced hours
`prune_aggressiveness`	string	`"normal"`	Shard pruning during reduced hours: `"normal"`, `"aggressive"`, `"conservative"`

`[network]` — Networking

Option	Type	Default	Description
`bootstrap_peers`	list	`[]`	Peer addresses to connect on startup
`enable_mdns`	boolean	`true`	LAN peer discovery
`gossip_network_id`	string	none	Custom network ID for private networks
`peer_exchange`	boolean	`true`	Share peer lists with connected nodes
`enable_relay`	boolean	`true`	Act as relay for peers behind firewalls
`enable_relay_client`	boolean	`true`	Use relays when behind a firewall
`max_peers`	integer	`200`	Max simultaneous peer connections
`auto_relay`	boolean	`true`	Auto-use relay when NAT detected
`relay_max_circuit_duration_secs`	integer	`3600`	Max relay circuit duration
`relay_max_circuits`	integer	`16`	Max relay circuits to serve
`enable_encryption`	boolean	`true`	E2E encryption for tensor forwards and control messages
`enable_autonat`	boolean	`true`	NAT detection. Disable on WSL2 to reduce noise
`enable_dcutr`	boolean	`true`	Hole punching. Disable on WSL2 to reduce noise
`tensor_compression`	boolean	`true`	Zstd compression for tensor payloads
`prefix_kv_compression`	boolean	`false`	Zstd compression for cross-node prefix-KV snapshot wire frames. Default off — meaningful win on WAN where wire size is the bottleneck; roughly neutral on localhost. Receivers always decompress regardless of this flag.
`tensor_compress_level`	integer	`1`	Zstd compression level (1-22, 1 = fastest). Shared between tensor and prefix-KV.
`tensor_compress_threshold`	integer	`1024`	Min payload bytes before compression. Shared between tensor and prefix-KV.

`[inference]` — AI Model Inference

Option	Type	Default	Description
`default_model`	string	`""`	Default model. Empty = first available
`session_timeout_seconds`	integer	`600`	Chat session memory lifetime (10 min)
`max_concurrent_requests`	integer	`10`	Max parallel requests
`model_path`	path	none	Path to a GGUF model file
`gpu_layers`	integer	`0`	Layers to offload to GPU. `0` = CPU only
`kv_cache_ttl_secs`	integer	`600`	KV-cache lifetime
`max_batch_size`	integer	`1`	Max request batch size. `1` = no batching. When `> 1`, both local and remote forward requests batch together via `BatchForwarder`, filling pipeline bubbles in distributed inference
`batch_timeout_ms`	integer	`50`	Ms to wait for additional requests before dispatching a partial batch. `0` = dispatch immediately (purely opportunistic batching)
`speculative_decoding`	boolean	`false`	Enable speculative decoding
`speculative_gamma`	integer	`4`	Draft tokens per verification step
`draft_model_path`	path	none	Path to draft model
`max_split_model_memory_mb`	integer	none	Max GPU memory for split model cache
`tp_max_latency_ms`	integer	`10`	Max peer latency (ms) for tensor parallelism groups
`local_embedding_privacy`	boolean	`false`	Embed tokens locally before sending to first segment. Remote nodes never see raw token IDs
`encrypted_pipeline`	boolean	`false`	Force first+last segment to local node (boomerang topology). No remote sees plaintext. Adds ~1 RTT/token. Per-model override via API. Requires shard 0 + final shard locally

`[logging]` — Log Output

Option	Type	Default	Description
`level`	string	`"info"`	Log level: `"error"`, `"warn"`, `"info"`, `"debug"`, `"trace"`
`format`	string	`"pretty"`	Log format: `"pretty"` or `"json"`
`file`	path	none	Write logs to file

`[ui]` — Web Interface

Option	Type	Default	Description
`open_browser_on_start`	boolean	`true`	Open dashboard on launch
`theme`	string	`"dark"`	Color theme: `"dark"` or `"light"`

`[api]` — API Authentication

Option	Type	Default	Description
`api_key`	string	none	Bearer token. Empty = auto-generated
`rate_limit_rpm`	integer	`60`	Rate limit for `/v1/` endpoints (requests/min)
`rate_limit_admin_rpm`	integer	`200`	Rate limit for `/api/admin/` endpoints (requests/min)

`[model]` — Model Storage

Option	Type	Default	Description
`shard_size_mb`	integer	`512`	Shard size in MB. Range: 64-2048

`[auto_manage]` — Automatic Shard Management

Option	Type	Default	Description
`enabled`	boolean	`true`	Auto-download popular shards (only for models at DemandVerified+ or Pinned trust level)
`max_storage_mb`	integer	`0`	Max disk for auto-downloads. `0` = 50% of max_disk_mb
`interval_minutes`	integer	`5`	Check interval for new shards
`max_shards`	integer	`0`	Max shards. `0` = unlimited
`max_concurrent_downloads`	integer	`3`	Max parallel downloads
`prune_enabled`	boolean	`true`	Auto-remove over-replicated shards
`min_replicas`	integer	`2`	Min network replicas before pruning
`prune_cooldown_secs`	integer	`300`	Seconds between prune actions per model
`max_holder_load_for_prune`	integer	`3`	Block pruning if holders are busy
`hf_watcher_enabled`	boolean	`true`	Background poll of HF trending GGUF feed (hourly). Disable for air-gapped / bandwidth-constrained nodes
`wishlist_gossip_publish`	boolean	`false`	Opt-in: publish your wishlist as cross-pool demand gossip (R130)
`auto_switch_quants`	boolean	`true`	R141 default flip: auto-acquire the recommended quant variant when the recommender (R133) suggests a better one. Set `false` on metered links to keep the current quant
`parallax_auto_rebalance`	boolean	`true`	Bias scoring toward Parallax allocator recommendations (C.2)
`default_model_shard_cap`	integer	`0`	Max shards auto-manage acquires per model. `0` = unlimited

`[pool]` — Device Pool

Option	Type	Default	Description
`max_pool_size`	integer	`10`	Max devices in a pool
`invitation_ttl_hours`	integer	`24`	Invitation validity period
`rate_limit_per_hour`	integer	`10`	Max pool operations per hour
`gossip_interval_secs`	integer	`600`	Pool state gossip interval
`private_mode`	bool	`false`	Restrict inference to pool members only. Toggleable at runtime via API/UI
`private_mode_allow_lan`	bool	`true`	Also allow LAN peers (mDNS-discovered) when private mode is on
`offline_mode`	bool	`false`	Air-gapped: no bootstrap peers, no HF downloads, mDNS-only discovery

`[pool.credit_rates]` — Credit Rates

Option	Type	Default	Description
`inference_serve`	integer	`10`	Credits earned per layer per token served
`inference_consume`	integer	`10`	Credits spent per layer per token consumed
`shard_hosting`	integer	`1`	Credits per GB per hour hosting
`shard_seeding`	integer	`5`	Credits per GB seeding
`relay_service`	integer	`2`	Credits per connection hour relaying
`penalty_serve_failure`	integer	`50`	Credits deducted per failure

`[updates]` — Auto-Update

Option	Type	Default	Description
`auto_update`	string	`"disabled"`	Policy: `"disabled"`, `"stable"`, `"all"`. Default flipped to disabled in R88 (security — users opt in via `[updates] auto_update = "stable"`).
`check_interval_hours`	integer	`6`	Update check frequency

`[identity]` — Your Identity

Option	Type	Default	Description
`region`	string	none	Country code for network map (e.g., `"US"`)

`[providers.claude_subscription]` — Claude Subscription (feature-gated)

Requires --features claude-subscription at build time. Managed via the dashboard or PUT /api/admin/providers.

Option	Type	Default	Description
`enabled`	boolean	`false`	Route `claude-*` model requests through the local CLI
`claude_binary`	string	`"claude"`	Path to the `claude` binary
`default_model`	string	none	Override model for all requests
`max_concurrent`	integer	`3`	Maximum concurrent subprocess invocations
`timeout_secs`	integer	`300`	Per-request timeout in seconds
`working_dir`	string	(temp dir)	Working directory for the subprocess. Empty or `"none"` uses system temp dir (recommended for API proxy use). Set to a project path for context-aware responses.