Configuration¶

vlx works with no configuration at all. When you want to change something, settings come from four places; the first that sets a value wins:

Flags — --timeout 3s
Environment — VLX_TIMEOUT=3s
Config file — timeout: 3s
Defaults

The config file¶

The file lives at $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vlx/config.yaml, or ~/.config/vlx/config.yaml when XDG_CONFIG_HOME is unset — on macOS too; --config FILE uses another (vlx config init --config FILE creates it). Create a commented starter file with:

vlx config init

See what vlx is actually using, and from where:

vlx config show
vlx config path

Permissions

Because the config can enable writes, vlx refuses to load a config file that is writable by group or others, or owned by anyone other than you or root. vlx config init creates it with mode 0600.

Settings¶

Key	Flag	Environment	Default	Meaning
`allow_writes`	`--allow-writes`	`VLX_ALLOW_WRITES`	`false`	Allow WRITE and DANGER methods, after confirmation.
`timeout`	`--timeout`	`VLX_TIMEOUT`	`10s`	Connect and single-reply timeout.
`max_frame_size`	`--max-frame-size`	`VLX_MAX_FRAME_SIZE`	`16777216`	Largest message accepted, in bytes.
`max_replies`		`VLX_MAX_REPLIES`	`1000`	Stream replies kept in the TUI.
`preview`	`--no-preview`	`VLX_PREVIEW`	`true`	Introspect services as the cursor moves, and for search.
`search_paths`	`--search`		`[]`	Extra directories to search for sockets.
`redact`			see below	Keys whose values are hidden in the TUI.
`safety`			empty	Classification overrides.
`output`	`-o`, `--output`	`VLX_OUTPUT`	`text`	`text` or `json`.
`no_color`	`--no-color`	`VLX_NO_COLOR`, `NO_COLOR`	`false`	Disable colour.

Example¶

~/.config/vlx/config.yaml

timeout: 5s

# My own services live here.
search_paths:
  - /run/myapp

redact:
  - "*password*"
  - "*secret*"
  - "*privatekey*"
  - "hashedpassword"
  - "privileged"
  - "*token*"
  - "*credential*"

safety:
  read:
    - "com.example.Thing.Peek*"
  danger:
    - "com.example.*.Purge*"
    - "io.systemd.Unit.SetProperties"

Safety overrides¶

safety.read, safety.write and safety.danger are lists of glob patterns matched against qualified method names, such as io.systemd.Unit.SetProperties or com.example.*. When several match, the most severe class wins, and overrides beat vlx's built-in rules. Use them to mark your own services' read methods as READ, or to make a method you are nervous about DANGER.