ares_config

Production

ares_config

Responsibility

ares_config owns the entire configuration surface for ARES. It reads a YAML file, applies layered defaults, merges environment-variable overrides, and runs a section-by-section validation pass before handing a fully populated Config to the bootstrap layer. It also guards against path-traversal attacks when an allowed config directory is configured.

The package defines every configuration struct the server understands: server, LLM (with fallbacks and scorer rate limits), agents, tools, prompts, output, validation, workflow, storage (with pgvector), memory (session, profile, distillation, RAG, archive), knowledge (AKG retrieval), MCP servers, dashboard, evolution (GA, LLM scoring, deployment), embedding, and discovery.

Architecture

flowchart TD
    YAML[YAML file] --> Load
    Load[Load path] --> Sec[Path-traversal guard]
    Sec --> Read[os.ReadFile]
    Read --> Unmarshal[yaml.Unmarshal -> Config]
    Env[Environment variables] -.override.-> Unmarshal
    Unmarshal --> Defaults[setDefaults]
    Defaults --> Validate[Validate]
    Validate --> Sections[server/llm/agents/output/storage<br/>memory/knowledge/mcp/dashboard<br/>evolution/discovery]
    Sections --> Cfg[Validated *Config]
    Cfg --> Bootstrap[ares_bootstrap]

Load is the single entry point: it secures the path, parses YAML, calls setDefaults to fill zero values with sensible defaults, then calls Validate. LoadFromEnv is applied separately to let environment variables override the YAML-derived values. Defaults are conditional: RAG, distillation, and knowledge retrieval parameters are only filled when their respective enable flag is true, so opting out keeps those subsystems inert.

External interfaces

// Load reads configuration from a YAML file, applies defaults, and validates it.
func Load(path string) (*Config, error)

// LoadFromEnv loads configuration from environment variables (overrides YAML).
func LoadFromEnv(cfg *Config) error

// SetAllowedConfigDir sets the allowed directory for config files (security).
func SetAllowedConfigDir(dir string)

// Validate validates the configuration values.
func (c *Config) Validate() error

// IsEnabled reports whether archiving is active (nil/true = enabled).
func (a ArchiveConfig) IsEnabled() bool

// DefaultArchiveDir is the default round-archive directory.
const DefaultArchiveDir = ".context/rounds"

// DefaultTaskDistillationPrompt is the default prompt for task distillation.
const DefaultTaskDistillationPrompt = "Please concisely summarize..."

Key types and methods

Type / Method	Purpose
`Config`	Top-level struct aggregating every config section.
`ServerConfig`	Host and port for the HTTP server.
`LLMConfig`	Provider, API key, model, timeouts, scorer rate/burst, fallbacks.
`AgentsConfig` / `LeaderConfig` / `SubAgentConfig`	Leader and sub-agent tuning.
`MemoryConfig`	Session, profile, distillation, RAG, archive settings.
`ArchiveConfig`	Round-archive dir and max rounds; `IsEnabled()` default-on semantics.
`KnowledgeConfig`	Optional AKG retrieval (TopK, MinScore).
`StorageConfig` / `PGVectorConfig`	Postgres/SQLite storage and pgvector.
`MCPConfig` / `MCPServerEntry` / `TransportEntry`	MCP server stdio/SSE transports.
`EvolutionConfig`	GA population, mutation, selection, deployment, LLM scoring.
`LLMScoringConfig`	Opt-in LLM-backed strategy scorer with seed and call budget.
`EmbeddingConfig`	Embedding client for experience distillation.
`DiscoveryConfig`	Optional service discovery engine.
`Load(path)`	Read, default, and validate a YAML config.
`LoadFromEnv(cfg)`	Overlay environment variables onto a config.
`setDefaults()`	Internal: conditional default filling.
`Validate()`	Internal: section-by-section validation.

Module collaboration

Consumed by ares_bootstrap as the input to Bootstrap.
EvolutionConfig.Deployment references internal/evolution/deployment.DeploymentConfig.
Validation errors are wrapped via internal/errors before propagation.
Memory and knowledge defaults feed ares_memory and the knowledge runtime so RAG/AKG retrieval only activates when explicitly enabled.

Extension points

Add a new top-level section by defining a struct, adding a field to Config with a yaml tag, populating its defaults in setDefaults, and adding a validate<Section>() method called from Validate.
Add a new environment override by extending LoadFromEnv with a os.Getenv branch that maps to the target field.
Restrict config file locations by calling SetAllowedConfigDir at startup; Load then rejects any path that resolves outside that directory.
Opt into closed-loop memory by setting memory.enable_rag: true; the defaults layer fills RAGTopK (5) and RAGMinScore (0.4) only when enabled.
Opt into LLM strategy scoring by setting evolution.llm_scoring.enabled: true and tuning max_calls_per_generation to cap API cost per generation.

Bilingual status

English source is canonical. The Chinese page mirrors structure, signatures, and technical content; all code identifiers, type names, and YAML keys remain in English in both pages.

Maturity

ares_config is covered by config_test.go, config_closed_loop_test.go, and archive_config_test.go. It is integrated into the SDK bootstrap path and contains no experimental markers.

Production