> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getbifrost.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Quick Start > Configure Bifrost using a config.json file - GitOps-friendly, no-UI deployments, and multinode OSS setups **Full schema reference:** [`https://www.getbifrost.ai/schema`](https://www.getbifrost.ai/schema) `config.json` lets you configure every aspect of Bifrost through a single declarative file. It is the right choice for GitOps workflows, CI/CD pipelines, headless deployments, and multinode OSS setups where a central configuration file is shared across all replicas. *** ## Two Configuration Modes Bifrost supports **two mutually exclusive modes**. You cannot run both at the same time. | Mode | When | Behaviour | | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Web UI / database** | No `config.json`, or `config.json` with `config_store` enabled | Full UI available, configuration stored in SQLite or PostgreSQL | | **File-based (`config.json`)** | `config.json` present, `config_store` disabled | UI disabled, all config loaded from file at startup, restart required for changes | See [Setting Up](/quickstart/gateway/setting-up#two-configuration-modes) for a full explanation of both modes and how `config_store` bootstrapping works. *** ## Minimal Working Example ```json theme={null} { "$schema": "https://www.getbifrost.ai/schema", "encryption_key": "env.BIFROST_ENCRYPTION_KEY", "client": { "drop_excess_requests": false, "enable_logging": true }, "providers": { "openai": { "keys": [ { "name": "openai-primary", "value": "env.OPENAI_API_KEY", "models": ["*"], "weight": 1.0 } ] } }, "config_store": { "enabled": false } } ``` Save this as `config.json` in your app directory and start Bifrost: ```bash theme={null} # NPX npx -y @maximhq/bifrost -app-dir ./data # Docker docker run -p 8080:8080 \ -v $(pwd)/data:/app/data \ -e OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... \ -e BIFROST_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-32-byte-key \ maximhq/bifrost ``` Make your first call: ```bash theme={null} curl http://localhost:8080/v1/chat/completions \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "model": "openai/gpt-4o-mini", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}] }' ``` *** ## Environment Variable References Never put secrets directly in `config.json`. Use the `env.` prefix to reference any environment variable: ```json theme={null} { "encryption_key": "env.BIFROST_ENCRYPTION_KEY", "providers": { "openai": { "keys": [ { "name": "primary", "value": "env.OPENAI_API_KEY", "weight": 1.0 } ] } } } ``` Set the actual values through your deployment platform - shell environment, Docker `-e`, Kubernetes Secrets mounted as env vars, or a `.env` file. *** ## Schema Validation Add `$schema` to every `config.json` for IDE autocomplete and inline validation: ```json theme={null} { "$schema": "https://www.getbifrost.ai/schema" } ``` Editors (VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim with LSP) will show completions and flag invalid fields as you type. *** ## Production Example A production-ready file with PostgreSQL storage, multi-provider setup, governance, and common plugins: ```json theme={null} { "$schema": "https://www.getbifrost.ai/schema", "encryption_key": "env.BIFROST_ENCRYPTION_KEY", "client": { "initial_pool_size": 500, "drop_excess_requests": true, "enable_logging": true, "log_retention_days": 90, "enforce_auth_on_inference": true, "allowed_origins": ["https://app.yourcompany.com"] }, "providers": { "openai": { "keys": [ { "name": "openai-primary", "value": "env.OPENAI_API_KEY", "models": ["*"], "weight": 1.0 } ], "network_config": { "default_request_timeout_in_seconds": 120, "max_retries": 3 } }, "anthropic": { "keys": [ { "name": "anthropic-primary", "value": "env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", "models": ["*"], "weight": 1.0 } ] } }, "config_store": { "enabled": true, "type": "postgres", "config": { "host": "env.PG_HOST", "port": "5432", "user": "env.PG_USER", "password": "env.PG_PASSWORD", "db_name": "bifrost", "ssl_mode": "require" } }, "logs_store": { "enabled": true, "type": "postgres", "config": { "host": "env.PG_HOST", "port": "5432", "user": "env.PG_USER", "password": "env.PG_PASSWORD", "db_name": "bifrost", "ssl_mode": "require" } } } ``` *** ## Enterprise Example: Postgres + etcd + Access Profiles Use this pattern when you want enterprise access-profile configuration to be seeded directly from `config.json`, while running clustered nodes with etcd discovery. ```json theme={null} { "$schema": "https://www.getbifrost.ai/schema", "cluster_config": { "enabled": true, "discovery": { "enabled": true, "type": "etcd", "service_name": "bifrost-cluster", "etcd_endpoints": ["http://localhost:2379"] } }, "config_store": { "enabled": true, "type": "postgres", "config": { "host": "localhost", "port": "5432", "user": "postgres", "password": "env.PG_PASSWORD", "db_name": "bifrost-config", "ssl_mode": "disable" } }, "logs_store": { "enabled": true, "type": "postgres", "config": { "host": "localhost", "port": "5432", "user": "postgres", "password": "env.PG_PASSWORD", "db_name": "bifrost-config", "ssl_mode": "disable" } }, "mcp": { "client_configs": [ { "client_id": "echo_http", "name": "echo_http", "connection_type": "http", "connection_string": "https://mcpplaygroundonline.com/mcp-echo-server", "auth_type": "none", "tools_to_execute": ["echo"] } ] }, "access_profiles": [ { "name": "platform-default", "description": "Default profile for enterprise access-profile testing", "is_active": true, "tags": ["platform", "test"], "provider_configs": [ { "provider_name": "OpenAi", "all_models_allowed": false, "allowed_models": ["gpt-4o-mini"] } ] }, { "name": "platform-readonly-mcp", "description": "Profile for validating MCP include/exclude behavior", "is_active": true, "tags": ["mcp", "test"], "mcp_servers": [ { "mcp_server_id": "echo_http" } ], "mcp_tool_overrides": [ { "mcp_client_id": "echo_http", "tool_name": "echo", "action": "include" }, { "mcp_client_id": "github", "tool_name": "create_pull_request", "action": "exclude" } ] } ] } ``` `access_profiles` is an enterprise capability. For OSS-only deployments, use `governance.virtual_keys` and related governance resources instead. *** ## Example Configs Ready-to-use reference configurations from the [examples/configs](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/tree/main/examples/configs) directory on GitHub: | Example | Description | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [noconfigstorenologstore](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/noconfigstorenologstore/config.json) | Bare-minimum file-only mode - no database, no UI, providers loaded from file | | [partial](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/partial/config.json) | SQLite config store with a minimal provider setup | | [v1compat](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/v1compat/config.json) | `"version": 1` for v1.4.x array semantics (empty = allow all) | | Example | Description | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [withconfigstore](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withconfigstore/config.json) | SQLite config store (Web UI enabled) | | [withconfigstorelogsstorepostgres](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withconfigstorelogsstorepostgres/config.json) | PostgreSQL for both config store and logs store | | [withlogstore](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withlogstore/config.json) | SQLite logs store | | [withobjectstorages3](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withobjectstorages3/config.json) | S3 object storage offload for logs | | [withobjectstoragegcs](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withobjectstoragegcs/config.json) | GCS object storage offload for logs | | [withvectorstoreweaviate](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withvectorstoreweaviate/config.json) | Weaviate vector store (with [docker-compose](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withvectorstoreweaviate/docker-compose.yml)) | | Example | Description | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | | [withsemanticcache](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withsemanticcache/config.json) | Semantic cache backed by Weaviate | | [withsemanticcachevalkey](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withsemanticcachevalkey/config.json) | Semantic cache backed by Valkey / Redis | | Example | Description | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | [withauth](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withauth/config.json) | Admin username/password auth (`governance.auth_config`) | | [withvirtualkeys](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withvirtualkeys/config.json) | Virtual keys with provider/model allowlists | | [withteamscustomers](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withteamscustomers/config.json) | Teams and customers with budgets and rate limits | | [withroutingrules](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withroutingrules/config.json) | CEL-based routing rules for dynamic provider/model selection | | [withpricingoverridesnostore](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withpricingoverridesnostore/config.json) | Pricing overrides in file-only mode | | [withpricingoverridessqlite](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withpricingoverridessqlite/config.json) | Pricing overrides with SQLite config store | | Example | Description | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | [withobservability](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withobservability/config.json) | Prometheus metrics (telemetry always active, custom labels via `client.prometheus_labels`) | | [withprompushgateway](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withprompushgateway/config.json) | Prometheus Push Gateway for multi-instance deployments | | [withotel](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withotel/config.json) | OpenTelemetry traces and metrics | | Example | Description | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [withdynamicplugin](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withdynamicplugin/config.json) | Loading a custom `.so` plugin at startup | | [withcompat](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withcompat/config.json) | SDK compatibility shims (`should_drop_params`, `convert_text_to_chat`) | | [withframework](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withframework/config.json) | Custom model pricing catalog URL and sync interval | | [withlargepayload](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withlargepayload/config.json) | Large payload optimization (streaming without full materialisation) | | [withwebsocket](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withwebsocket/config.json) | WebSocket / Realtime API connection pool tuning | | [withnginxreverseproxy](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withnginxreverseproxy/config.json) | 3-node Bifrost behind NGINX reverse proxy (includes [docker-compose](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withnginxreverseproxy/docker-compose.yml), [nginx.conf](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withnginxreverseproxy/nginx.conf), [helm values](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withnginxreverseproxy/helm-values.yaml), and [k8s ingress](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withnginxreverseproxy/k8s-ingress.yaml)) | | [withpostgresmcpclientsinconfig](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/withpostgresmcpclientsinconfig/config.json) | MCP client definitions seeded from config.json with PostgreSQL store | | [encryptionmigration](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/blob/main/examples/configs/encryptionmigration/config.json) | Migrating to a new encryption key | *** ## Configuration Guides Every top-level key, its type, default, and where it is documented Pool size, logging, CORS, header filtering, compat shims, MCP settings OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure, Bedrock, Vertex, Groq, self-hosted config\_store, logs\_store, vector\_store - SQLite, PostgreSQL, object storage Semantic cache, OTel, Maxim, Datadog, custom plugins Cluster mode with static peers or discovery backends (enterprise) Virtual keys, budgets, rate limits, routing rules, admin auth Content moderation providers and CEL-based rules (enterprise) *** ## Next Steps 1. Configure [provider keys](/providers/supported-providers/overview) 2. Enable [plugins](/plugins/getting-started) 3. Set up [observability](/features/observability/default) 4. Configure [governance](/features/governance/virtual-keys) 5. Deploy [multiple nodes](/deployment-guides/how-to/multinode) with a shared `config.json`