Config files

Most of the time, you manage C5 through the web interface in Settings.

Behind the scenes, C5 keeps your API keys, local coordinator addresses, and bootstrap settings in a single file on your computer:

~/.growther/config/c5.yaml

(If you used an older version of C5, this replaces the deprecated ~/.growther/.env file.)

What is in c5.yaml #

The file is organized into clear sections:

• Core & System Settings — Your license key seed, port, and home directory.
• API & MCP Services — Search tokens (Brave), GitHub access tokens, and chat integrations.
• LLM Coordinators & Agent Platforms — Base URLs and keys for local model runners like LM Studio, Ollama, and llama.cpp.
• Cloud LLM Providers — API keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, AWS Bedrock, and others.
• Custom Keys — Any extra environment variables you add yourself.

Here is a short example of what it looks like:

# --- 1. C5 Core & System Settings ---
PORT: "4299"

# --- 2. API & MCP Services ---
BRAVE_API_KEY: "BSAHohpa..."
GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN: ""

# --- 3. LLM Coordinators & Agent Platforms ---
LMSTUDIO_BASE_URL: "http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1"
LMSTUDIO_API_KEY: ""
OLLAMA_BASE_URL: "http://127.0.0.1:11434"
LLAMACPP_BASE_URL: "http://127.0.0.1:8080/v1"
OPENROUTER_API_KEY: ""

# --- 4. Cloud LLM Providers ---
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: "sk-ant-api03-..."
OPENAI_API_KEY: ""
GEMINI_API_KEY: ""

How changes take effect #

You can update your settings in two ways:

1. In the web interface — Go to Settings › LLMs or Settings › Integrations, paste your key or address, and click Save.
2. By editing the file — Open ~/.growther/config/c5.yaml in your favorite text editor, make your changes, and save the file.

Live updates (Hot reloading) #

When you update a coordinator Base URL (like moving LM Studio or Ollama to another machine or port) or add an API key:

• C5 picks up the changes immediately.
• You do not need to restart the C5 server.
• The model scanner instantly uses your new address to find available models.

When C5 writes to this file after you click Save in the app, it preserves your existing comments, blank lines, and custom keys.

File permissions and security #

Your c5.yaml file holds sensitive passwords and tokens. C5 saves it with owner-only (0600) permissions:

• Only your user account can read or write to it.
• Other user accounts on the same computer cannot open it.

Where to go next #

• Model providers — how to connect cloud and local models.
• Settings — a full map of the settings screen.
• Guardrails — safety limits and network allowlists.