Ori environment variables

Ori reads its settings from environment variables. You can export them in your shell, or put them in a config file so they apply to every run.

Where variables come from

Every setting resolves through one list, and the first source that carries a valid value for it wins:

The machine policy file: /etc/ori/config.json, or %ProgramData%\ori\config.json on Windows
A command-line flag, for the six update flags listed below
The process environment, meaning whatever your shell exports
.ori/config.json in the working directory
~/.ori/config.json in your home directory
Ori’s own default

A project file beats your home file, matching how most tools treat local configuration. The machine policy file sits above everything, including flags, so a policy your administrator sets cannot be turned off from a shell or a project. Only --auto-update, --auto-update-restart, --update-interval, --drain-timeout, --alpha, and --stable name a setting that also has a variable, so those are the only flags in the list. Every other flag is an argument to its command and does not take part. A config file can carry an env object of plain strings, named fields, or both. The two spellings feed the same setting:

{
  "channel": "stable",
  "autoUpdate": { "level": "patch", "intervalMs": 21600000 },
  "env": {
    "ORI_DISABLE_UPDATES": "1"
  }
}

A missing file is fine, and a malformed one contributes nothing. A value Ori cannot make sense of is skipped per variable, so one bad entry does not discard the rest of the file, and the next source down answers instead. Config files currently set the update and installation variables plus the sign-in method Ori remembers. The other variables on this page are read from the environment only, so put those in your shell or your process manager for now. Anywhere the table below says a variable is a switch, Ori treats an empty value, 0, and false as off, and any other value as on. 1 is the conventional way to turn one on.

Updates and installation

Variable	Accepts	What it does
`ORI_DISABLE_UPDATES`	switch	Turns off automatic updates, hides the update notice, and makes `ori update` refuse to replace the install. Set this when your builds arrive through your own tooling.
`ORI_DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER`	switch	Turns off automatic updates and hides the update notice. An explicit `ori update` still runs.
`ORI_AUTO_UPDATE`	`off`, `patch`, `minor`, `major`	Largest version jump `ori start` and the TUI may install on their own. Defaults to `off`.
`ORI_CHANNEL`	`stable`, `alpha`	Release channel `ori update` and the background updater follow. With no channel set anywhere, an alpha build stays on alpha and everything else takes stable.
`ORI_NO_UPDATE_CHECK`	switch	Skips the background update check for this run. An explicit `--auto-update` flag overrides it wherever it came from, machine policy included, so use `ORI_DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER` for a fleet you want quiet.
`ORI_UPDATE_INTERVAL`	milliseconds	How long Ori waits between background update checks.
`ORI_UPDATE_RESTART`	`reexec`, `exit`	Whether a long-running Ori re-executes itself after an update or exits for your supervisor to restart.
`ORI_DRAIN_TIMEOUT`	milliseconds	How long an update waits for in-flight work to finish before restarting.
`ORI_INSTALL_DIR`	directory path	Where the installer writes the `ori` binary. By default it reinstalls over the `ori` already on your `PATH`, and only falls back to `~/.local/bin` for a first install.

Variable	Accepts	What it does
`ORI_DISABLE_OAUTH_LOGIN`	switch	Removes browser sign-in from `ori login`.
`ORI_DISABLE_API_KEY_LOGIN`	switch	Removes pasting an API key from `ori login`.
`ORI_DISABLE_ENV_KEY_LOGIN`	switch	Stops Ori accepting an `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` it finds in the environment.
`ORI_REQUIRE_LOGIN`	switch	Refuses to run on any credential that `ori login` did not establish, including an inherited `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` or one in a project dotenv file.
`ORI_FORCE_OPENROUTER_API_KEY`	switch	Always uses the `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` from the environment instead of a stored credential.

Models and output

Variable	Accepts	What it does
`ORI_MODEL`	model slug	Default model for `ori harness` and `ori code`.
`ORI_OPENROUTER_BASE_URL`	URL	OpenRouter API base URL to send inference to.
`ORI_OUTPUT`	`human`, `json`	Output mode for commands that support both. Ori otherwise picks `human` for a terminal.
`ORI_TELEMETRY`	`0` or `false` to disable	Turns off Ori’s usage telemetry.

Terminal appearance

Variable	Accepts	What it does
`ORI_TUI_THEME`	palette name	Built-in palette for the chat TUI.
`ORI_TUI_THEME_FILE`	file path	Palette file to load instead of a built-in one.
`ORI_TUI_DENSITY`	`compact`, `cozy`, `verbose`	How much vertical space the transcript uses. Defaults to `cozy`.
`ORI_TUI_WORKING_INDICATOR`	`verb`, `tokens`, `minimal`, `wave`, `bar`, `shimmer`, `glider`, `quadrant`, `meter`	Animation shown while the agent works. Defaults to `glider`.
`ORI_TUI_WORKING_VERB_MODE`	`rotating`, `gliding-only`	Whether the working line rotates through verbs.
`ORI_TUI_WORKING_CADENCE`	`calm`, `steady`, `fast`	Animation speed of the working indicator.
`ORI_TUI_WORKSPACE_ROW`	`top`, `bottom`, `off`	Where the workspace row sits, or `off` to hide it.

Files

Variable	Accepts	What it does
`ORI_STATE_DIR`	directory path	Where Ori keeps its local state database. See where Ori writes files.
`ORI_LOG_MAX_RUNS`	count	How many run logs Ori keeps before pruning the oldest.

Locking updates for a fleet

To ship Ori through your own tooling and stop users updating it themselves, write this to /etc/ori/config.json on each machine, or to %ProgramData%\ori\config.json on Windows:

{
  "env": {
    "ORI_DISABLE_UPDATES": "1"
  }
}

Ori then stops checking for releases, never prints an update notice, and answers ori update with a message saying the installation is managed by your organization. Use ORI_DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER instead if you want the background updater quiet while users can still update by hand. Add "channel": "stable" to the same file to hold the fleet on one channel, including against a --alpha flag.

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Ori environment variables

Where variables come from

Updates and installation

Models and output

Terminal appearance

Files

Locking updates for a fleet

​Where variables come from

​Updates and installation

​Sign-in

​Models and output

​Terminal appearance

​Files

​Locking updates for a fleet

Where variables come from

Updates and installation

Sign-in

Models and output

Terminal appearance

Files

Locking updates for a fleet