Configuration

The Oracle AI Optimizer and Toolkit (the AI Optimizer) can be configured using environment files (.env.*) to pre-configure settings at startup. This is optional — the application will start and function without any environment file, but features like RAG, settings persistence, and the Testbed require access to a “CORE” database.

How It Works

On startup, the AI Optimizer loads variables from a .env.{AIO_ENV} file located in the src/ directory. The AIO_ENV environment variable determines which file is loaded, defaulting to dev if not set.

Variables set in the .env.* file will not overwrite existing environment variables. This means exported environment variables and container ENV directives always take precedence.

Precedence

The AI Optimizer follows this precedence order (highest to lowest):

1. Exported environment variables (e.g. export AIO_DB_USERNAME=demo)
2. Variables in the .env.* file
3. Config file values (e.g. ~/.oci/config)
4. Application defaults

Getting Started

To create an environment file, copy the provided example:

cp src/.env.example src/.env.dev

Edit src/.env.dev and uncomment/set the values you need.

Available Variables

The following variables can be set in the .env.* file. All variables use the AIO_ prefix.

Authentication

Database

Database variables configure the CORE database connection. For more details, see Database Configuration.

Logging

Server

Client

OCI CLI Overrides

These override the DEFAULT OCI profile. For more details, see OCI Configuration.

OCI GenAI

Model Overrides

These set API keys or URLs to automatically enable models at startup.