Hive
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Configuration

Reference for Hive paths, authentication, networking, concurrency, backups, providers, and integrations.

Hive reads configuration from environment variables and locally stored settings. Environment-backed secrets override stored values.

Core settings

Variable Default Purpose
PORT 3001 Production HTTP port
HIVE_HOME ~/.hive State, agents, logs, backups, and auth token
HIVE_DB_PATH $HIVE_HOME/hive.db SQLite database path
HIVE_BIND_HOST 127.0.0.1 Server bind address
HIVE_AUTH_TOKEN generated Protects the UI and API
HIVE_ALLOWED_ORIGINS local origins Additional browser origins
LOG_LEVEL info Server log verbosity
LOG_SWALLOWED disabled Log errors normally suppressed by fallback handling

On first boot, Hive generates an auth token and saves it under HIVE_HOME. Treat it as a password. Binding beyond localhost expands the threat boundary; use a trusted reverse proxy, TLS, and strict allowed origins.

Sandboxing and concurrency

Variable Default Purpose
HIVE_SANDBOX_NETWORK none none blocks container egress; bridge enables it
HIVE_MAX_CONCURRENT_AUTOMATION_RUNS 4 Combined unattended automation concurrency
HIVE_MAX_CONCURRENT_COLONY_RUNS 2 Concurrent Colony runs
HIVE_MAX_COLONY_RUN_ATTEMPTS 3 Colony retry ceiling
HIVE_OUTBOX_MAX_ATTEMPTS 5 Durable delivery retry ceiling

Enable sandbox network access only for tools that require it. Network access does not grant repository or GitHub write authority; those permissions remain separately scoped.

Rate limits

Variable Default
HIVE_MUTATION_RATE_LIMIT 120
HIVE_MUTATION_RATE_WINDOW_MS 60000
HIVE_WEBHOOK_RATE_LIMIT 60
HIVE_WEBHOOK_RATE_WINDOW_MS 60000

Backups

Variable Default Purpose
HIVE_BACKUP_INTERVAL_HOURS 24 Online backup interval
HIVE_BACKUP_RETENTION 7 Number of protected backups retained

Providers and integrations

Supported secret variables include ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, LLM_GATEWAY_URL, LLM_GATEWAY_KEY, DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN, and NGROK_AUTHTOKEN.

GitHub authentication resolves in this order: a stored Hive setting, GITHUB_TOKEN, GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN, GH_TOKEN, then the active gh CLI token.

Copy .env.example from the repository for a launch-ready template. Never commit populated secret values.