ktx/docs-site/content/docs/configuration/ktx-yaml.mdx

---
title: ktx.yaml reference
description: Every top-level block of the ktx.yaml project file, what it controls, accepted values, and defaults.
---

`ktx.yaml` is the single source of truth for a **ktx** project. The file lives
at the project root and tells **ktx** which databases to read, which context
sources to ingest, which LLM and embedding providers to use, how to store
state, and how the scan and agent layers behave. Every block below is optional
and falls back to a documented default, so a minimal `ktx.yaml` is just one
connection.

This page is the canonical reference for the file. For the guided flow that
writes it, see [`ktx setup`](/docs/cli-reference/ktx-setup).

## Where blocks fit

`ktx.yaml` has eight top-level keys. They group into three layers: what to
read, how to think, and where to put the results.

<figure
  className="not-prose my-8 overflow-hidden rounded-lg border border-fd-border bg-fd-card shadow-sm"
  aria-label="ktx.yaml block layout"
>
  <div className="border-b border-fd-border bg-fd-muted/35 px-4 py-3">
    <p className="text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-fd-muted-foreground">
      ktx.yaml at a glance
    </p>
    <p className="mt-1 text-sm leading-6 text-fd-muted-foreground">
      Inputs flow left to right. Storage and memory persist the result.
    </p>
  </div>
  <div className="grid gap-3 p-4 md:grid-cols-[1.1fr_1.1fr_1fr]">
    <div className="rounded-md border border-fd-border bg-fd-background p-4">
      <p className="text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-fd-muted-foreground">
        Inputs
      </p>
      <ul className="mt-3 space-y-2 text-sm leading-6 text-fd-foreground">
        <li><code className="text-[13px] font-semibold">connections</code> - warehouses, BI tools, dbt, Notion</li>
        <li><code className="text-[13px] font-semibold">setup</code> - which connections are primary databases</li>
      </ul>
    </div>
    <div className="rounded-md border-2 border-fd-primary bg-fd-background p-4">
      <p className="text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-fd-primary">
        Compute
      </p>
      <ul className="mt-3 space-y-2 text-sm leading-6 text-fd-foreground">
        <li><code className="text-[13px] font-semibold">llm</code> - provider, models, prompt cache</li>
        <li><code className="text-[13px] font-semibold">ingest</code> - adapters, embeddings, work units</li>
        <li><code className="text-[13px] font-semibold">scan</code> - enrichment, relationships</li>
        <li><code className="text-[13px] font-semibold">agent</code> - research-agent feature flags</li>
      </ul>
    </div>
    <div className="rounded-md border border-fd-border bg-fd-background p-4">
      <p className="text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-fd-muted-foreground">
        Persistence
      </p>
      <ul className="mt-3 space-y-2 text-sm leading-6 text-fd-foreground">
        <li><code className="text-[13px] font-semibold">storage</code> - state and search backends, git policy</li>
        <li><code className="text-[13px] font-semibold">memory</code> - agent memory commit policy</li>
      </ul>
    </div>
  </div>
</figure>

## Minimal config

A working `ktx.yaml` needs one entry in `connections`. Everything else accepts
defaults. The example below registers a local Postgres connection; building
context with `ktx ingest warehouse` also needs a model and embeddings, which
`ktx setup` configures.

```yaml
connections:
  warehouse:
    driver: postgres
    url: env:DATABASE_URL
```

## Secret references

Several fields accept either a literal value or a reference. References keep
secrets out of `ktx.yaml` so the file can stay in git.

| Form | Resolved to | Used for |
|------|-------------|----------|
| `env:VAR_NAME` | The value of the environment variable `VAR_NAME` at runtime | API keys, connection URLs, OAuth secrets |
| `file:/abs/path` or `file:~/path` | The first line of the referenced file, with `~` expanded to your home directory | Long-lived credentials kept under `.ktx/secrets/` |
| Literal string | Used as-is | Non-secret values such as `base_url` |

References work in: warehouse `url`, Metabase `api_key` / `api_key_ref`, Looker
`client_secret` / `client_secret_ref`, Notion / dbt / LookML / MetricFlow
`auth_token` / `auth_token_ref`, and any `api_key` under the `llm` and
`ingest.embeddings` blocks.

## `connections`

The `connections` block is a map from a connection ID you choose to the
configuration for that connector. The connection ID is what every other part
of **ktx** uses to address a connector - `ktx ingest warehouse`,
`ktx sql --connection warehouse`, the semantic-layer path
`semantic-layer/warehouse/`, and so on.

Each entry is discriminated by the `driver` field. Warehouse drivers and
context-source drivers share the map.

| Driver | Kind | Required fields | Common optional fields |
|--------|------|-----------------|------------------------|
| `postgres` | Warehouse | `driver` | `url`, `enabled_tables`, `historicSql`, `context.queryHistory` |
| `mysql` | Warehouse | `driver` | `url`, `enabled_tables` |
| `sqlite` | Warehouse | `driver` | `url` or `path`, `enabled_tables` |
| `sqlserver` | Warehouse | `driver` | `url`, `enabled_tables` |
| `bigquery` | Warehouse | `driver` | `credentials_json`, `dataset_ids`, `enabled_tables`, `historicSql` |
| `snowflake` | Warehouse | `driver` | `schema_names`, `enabled_tables`, `historicSql` |
| `clickhouse` | Warehouse | `driver` | `url`, `database`, `databases`, `enabled_tables` |
| `metabase` | Context source | `driver`, `api_url` | `api_key_ref`, `mappings` |
| `looker` | Context source | `driver`, `base_url`, `client_id` | `client_secret_ref`, `mappings` |
| `lookml` | Context source | `driver`, `repoUrl` | `branch`, `path`, `auth_token_ref`, `mappings` |
| `dbt` | Context source | `driver`, one of `source_dir` or `repo_url` | `branch`, `path`, `profiles_path`, `target`, `project_name` |
| `metricflow` | Context source | `driver`, `metricflow.repoUrl` | `metricflow.branch`, `metricflow.path`, `metricflow.auth_token_ref` |
| `notion` | Context source | `driver`, `auth_token_ref` | `crawl_mode`, `root_*_ids`, `max_*_per_run` |

### Warehouse drivers

Warehouse connections are open objects: the listed fields are validated, and
any other field is preserved and passed through to the connector. Use
`enabled_tables` to scope ingest to a specific list of
`schema.table` names - useful for smoke tests.

```yaml
connections:
  warehouse:
    driver: postgres
    url: env:DATABASE_URL
    enabled_tables:
      - public.orders
      - public.customers
```

Connector-specific scope fields let setup and scan use the same warehouse
boundary:

```yaml
connections:
  mysql-warehouse:
    driver: mysql
    url: env:MYSQL_URL
    schemas: [analytics, mart]
  clickhouse-warehouse:
    driver: clickhouse
    url: env:CLICKHOUSE_URL
    database: analytics
    databases: [analytics, mart]
  bigquery-warehouse:
    driver: bigquery
    credentials_json: file:./service-account.json
    location: US
    dataset_ids: [analytics, mart]
```

For Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, and Snowflake connections, set
`maxConnections` when scan or ingest work needs to stay below the target's
connection cap. Postgres, MySQL, and SQL Server default to `10`; Snowflake
defaults to `4`. This caps all concurrent SQL work for that connector instance,
including schema introspection, table sampling, relationship profiling,
relationship validation, and read-only SQL execution. BigQuery and ClickHouse
do not expose `maxConnections` because their connectors don't use client-side
connection pools.

For Postgres, BigQuery, and Snowflake, `historicSql` and `context.queryHistory`
toggle query-history ingest. The shape is connector-specific; the setup wizard
writes these fields when you pass `--enable-query-history`.

```yaml
connections:
  warehouse:
    driver: postgres
    url: env:DATABASE_URL
    context:
      queryHistory:
        enabled: true
        enabledSchemas:
          - orbit_raw
          - orbit_analytics
        minExecutions: 5
```

- `enabledSchemas`: Optional list of schema or dataset names that query-history
  ingest may mine. Omit it to let **ktx** derive the modeled schema floor from
  the connection and semantic-layer sources. Use `["*"]` to disable the floor
  for discovery runs.
- `filters.serviceAccounts`: Optional service-account filter block. During
  setup, when query history is enabled and no service-account block already
  exists, **ktx** can propose exact role patterns such as `^svc_loader$` from
  observed in-scope query history. The block uses `mode: exclude` and remains
  hand-editable.

### Metabase

```yaml
connections:
  metabase:
    driver: metabase
    api_url: https://metabase.example.com
    api_key_ref: env:METABASE_API_KEY
    mappings:
      databaseMappings:
        "1": warehouse        # Metabase DB id "1" -> ktx connection "warehouse"
      syncMode: ALL           # ALL | ONLY | EXCEPT
```

| Field | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| `api_url` | Metabase instance URL. Required. |
| `api_key` | Literal token. Prefer `api_key_ref`. |
| `api_key_ref` | Reference to the token (`env:` or `file:`). |
| `mappings.databaseMappings` | Map of Metabase database ID (positive-integer string) to a `ktx` warehouse connection ID. `null` explicitly unmaps. |
| `mappings.syncEnabled` | Per-database boolean toggle, keyed by Metabase DB ID. |
| `mappings.syncMode` | `ALL` (all mapped DBs), `ONLY` (those with `syncEnabled: true`), or `EXCEPT` (skip those with `syncEnabled: true`). Default `ALL`. |
| `mappings.selections.collections` / `items` | Optional Metabase collection or item IDs to scope ingest. |
| `mappings.defaultTagNames` | Default tag names attached to ingested artifacts. |
| `network_proxy` / `networkProxy` | Optional proxy configuration. |

### Looker

```yaml
connections:
  looker:
    driver: looker
    base_url: https://looker.example.com
    client_id: ktx-integration
    client_secret_ref: env:LOOKER_CLIENT_SECRET
    mappings:
      connectionMappings:
        prod_warehouse: warehouse
```

| Field | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| `base_url` | Looker instance URL. Required. |
| `client_id` | Looker OAuth client ID. Required. |
| `client_secret` / `client_secret_ref` | Literal secret or reference. Prefer the `_ref`. |
| `mappings.connectionMappings` | Map of Looker connection name to `ktx` warehouse connection ID. |

### LookML

```yaml
connections:
  lookml:
    driver: lookml
    repoUrl: git@github.com:org/lookml.git
    branch: main
    path: lookml/
    auth_token_ref: env:GITHUB_TOKEN
    mappings:
      expectedLookerConnectionName: prod_warehouse
```

| Field | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| `repoUrl` | Git URL of the LookML project (`https`, `ssh`, or `file:`). Required. Camel-case by convention. |
| `branch` | Branch to fetch. Defaults to `main`. |
| `path` | Subdirectory inside the repo when LookML lives in a monorepo. |
| `auth_token_ref` | Reference to a Git auth token for private repos. |
| `mappings.expectedLookerConnectionName` | Looker connection name LookML models must declare. Mismatches block semantic-layer writes during ingest. |

### dbt

```yaml
connections:
  dbt_main:
    driver: dbt
    source_dir: ../dbt-project
    target: prod
```

| Field | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| `source_dir` | Absolute or project-relative path to a local dbt project. |
| `repo_url` | Git URL of the dbt project. Use this instead of `source_dir` when fetching remotely. |
| `branch` | Branch to fetch when using `repo_url`. |
| `path` | Subdirectory inside the repo. |
| `auth_token_ref` | Git auth reference for private repos. |
| `profiles_path` | Override path to `profiles.yml`. |
| `target` | dbt target name (for example `dev`, `prod`). |
| `project_name` | Override the auto-detected dbt project name. |

### MetricFlow

```yaml
connections:
  metricflow:
    driver: metricflow
    metricflow:
      repoUrl: git@github.com:org/sl-config.git
      branch: main
      path: semantic_models/
      auth_token_ref: env:GITHUB_TOKEN
```

The MetricFlow connector wraps its fields in a nested `metricflow` block.
`repoUrl` is required; the rest mirrors the LookML / dbt git fields.

### Notion

```yaml
connections:
  notion:
    driver: notion
    auth_token_ref: env:NOTION_TOKEN
    crawl_mode: selected_roots
    root_database_ids:
      - 9f30c2c4d4f24a8d9a8d8e2c1b2a3d4e
    max_pages_per_run: 500
    max_knowledge_creates_per_run: 5
    max_knowledge_updates_per_run: 25
```

| Field | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| `auth_token` / `auth_token_ref` | Notion integration token. Prefer the `_ref`. |
| `crawl_mode` | `selected_roots` (requires at least one `root_*_ids`) or `all_accessible`. |
| `root_page_ids`, `root_database_ids`, `root_data_source_ids` | Notion IDs to crawl when `crawl_mode` is `selected_roots`. |
| `max_pages_per_run` | Max pages fetched per ingest run (1-10000). |
| `max_knowledge_creates_per_run` | Max new wiki pages created per run (0-25). |
| `max_knowledge_updates_per_run` | Max existing wiki pages updated per run (0-100). |

## `setup`

Captured by the setup wizard. The only field **ktx** still reads is
`database_connection_ids`, which tells the ingest layer which entries in
`connections` are primary warehouses. When omitted, every warehouse-typed
connection is treated as primary.

```yaml
setup:
  database_connection_ids:
    - warehouse
```

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `database_connection_ids` | `string[]` | `[]` | IDs in `connections` treated as primary warehouses by ingest and scan. |

## `storage`

`storage` controls where **ktx** keeps its own state and search index, and how
state changes are committed. Defaults work for a single-user local project.

```yaml
storage:
  state: sqlite          # sqlite | postgres
  search: sqlite-fts5    # sqlite-fts5 | postgres-hybrid
  git:
    auto_commit: true
    author: "ktx <ktx@example.com>"
```

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `state` | `sqlite` \| `postgres` | `sqlite` | Backend for ktx state. `sqlite` uses `.ktx/db.sqlite`; `postgres` expects a configured Postgres connection. |
| `search` | `sqlite-fts5` \| `postgres-hybrid` | `sqlite-fts5` | Backend for search indexes. `postgres-hybrid` combines lexical and vector search in Postgres. |
| `git.auto_commit` | `boolean` | `true` | When `true`, ktx auto-commits changes to the git-backed state store. |
| `git.author` | `string` | `ktx <ktx@example.com>` | Git author identity for auto-commits. Standard `Name <email>` form. |

## `llm`

The `llm` block selects the LLM provider, lets you override the model used for
specific roles, and tunes prompt caching.

```yaml
llm:
  provider:
    backend: anthropic
    anthropic:
      api_key: env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
  models:
    default: claude-sonnet-4-6
    triage: claude-haiku-4-5
  promptCaching:
    enabled: true
    systemTtl: 1h
    toolsTtl: 1h
    historyTtl: 5m
    vertexFallbackTo5m: true
```

### Provider

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `provider.backend` | `none` \| `anthropic` \| `vertex` \| `gateway` \| `claude-code` \| `codex` | `none` | Selected backend. `none` disables LLM features. `claude-code` uses the local Claude Code session and needs no API key. `codex` uses local Codex authentication and needs no API key. |
| `provider.anthropic.api_key` | `string` | - | Anthropic API key. Required when `backend: anthropic`. Accepts `env:` or `file:` references. |
| `provider.anthropic.base_url` | `string` | - | Override the Anthropic API base URL (proxy, self-hosted gateway). |
| `provider.gateway.api_key` / `base_url` | `string` | - | Credentials for an AI Gateway provider. Required when `backend: gateway`. |
| `provider.vertex.project` | `string` | - | Google Cloud project ID hosting the Vertex AI endpoint. |
| `provider.vertex.location` | `string` | - | Vertex AI region (for example `us-east5`). Required when the `vertex` block is present. |

Use `codex` when local Codex authentication should power **ktx** LLM work:

```yaml
llm:
  provider:
    backend: codex
  models:
    default: gpt-5.5
```

### Model roles

`models` overrides the per-role model. Keys are fixed; values are
provider-specific model identifiers.

| Role | Used for |
|------|----------|
| `default` | Catch-all when no role-specific override exists. |
| `triage` | Cheap routing decisions during ingest and scan. |
| `candidateExtraction` | Extracting relationship and entity candidates from data. |
| `curator` | Reconciling proposed context against accepted files. |
| `reconcile` | Resolving conflicts between incoming and existing context. |
| `repair` | Fixing invalid generated YAML before write. |

### Prompt caching

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `promptCaching.enabled` | `boolean` | backend default | Master switch for Anthropic-style prompt caching. |
| `promptCaching.systemTtl` | `5m` \| `1h` | backend default | Cache TTL for the system prompt segment. |
| `promptCaching.toolsTtl` | `5m` \| `1h` | backend default | Cache TTL for the tools/schema segment. |
| `promptCaching.historyTtl` | `5m` \| `1h` | backend default | Cache TTL for conversation-history breakpoints. |
| `promptCaching.vertexFallbackTo5m` | `boolean` | `false` | When `true`, downgrade `1h` TTLs to `5m` on Vertex, which does not support `1h` caching. |

## `ingest`

`ingest` controls how **ktx** builds context from your stack. It lists the
adapters to run, the embedding provider used when adapters embed documents,
and the concurrency and failure policy for work units.

```yaml
ingest:
  adapters:
    - live-database
    - dbt
    - metabase
  embeddings:
    backend: openai
    model: text-embedding-3-small
    dimensions: 1536
    openai:
      api_key: env:OPENAI_API_KEY
  workUnits:
    stepBudget: 40
    maxConcurrency: 2
    failureMode: continue
  rateLimit:
    enabled: true
    throttleThreshold: 0.8
    minConcurrencyUnderPressure: 1
    maxWaitMs: 600000
    retry:
      maxAttempts: 6
      baseDelayMs: 1000
      maxDelayMs: 60000
      jitter: true
```

### Adapters

`adapters` is a list of adapter IDs that should run. Each ID matches a
connector that **ktx** ships locally:

| Adapter ID | What it ingests |
|------------|-----------------|
| `live-database` | Live warehouse introspection (schemas, tables, columns, samples). |
| `historic-sql` | Query history from Postgres `pg_stat_statements`, BigQuery `INFORMATION_SCHEMA.JOBS`, or Snowflake query history. |
| `dbt` | dbt manifest models, sources, tests, and exposures. |
| `metricflow` | MetricFlow / Semantic Layer models and metrics. |
| `lookml` | LookML projects (models, explores, views, joins). |
| `looker` | Looker dashboards and looks via the API. |
| `metabase` | Metabase cards, dashboards, and database mappings. |
| `notion` | Notion pages and databases for wiki context. |
| `fake` | Test/demo adapter. Useful in fixtures. |

### Embeddings

The `embeddings` block can also appear inside `scan.enrichment`; that override
wins when present.

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `backend` | `none` \| `openai` \| `sentence-transformers` | `none` | Embedding provider. `none` disables embeddings. |
| `model` | `string` | - | Provider model ID, for example `text-embedding-3-small` or `all-MiniLM-L6-v2`. |
| `dimensions` | `int > 0` | `8` | Vector size. Default `8` is a placeholder that's only valid with `backend: none`. Set explicitly to match your model (1536 for `text-embedding-3-small`, 384 for `all-MiniLM-L6-v2`). |
| `openai.api_key` / `base_url` | `string` | - | OpenAI credentials. Required when `backend: openai`. |
| `sentenceTransformers.base_url` | `string` | `""` | URL of the sentence-transformers server. Empty when ktx manages the local daemon for you. |
| `sentenceTransformers.pathPrefix` | `string` | - | Optional URL path prefix prepended to embedding requests. |
| `batchSize` | `int > 0` | provider default | Texts per embedding API call. |

### Work units

A work unit is one unit of agent-driven ingest work (for example one table or
one Metabase question). These knobs bound how long it runs and how the run
handles failures.

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `workUnits.stepBudget` | `int > 0` | `40` | Maximum agent steps allowed per work unit before it's force-terminated. |
| `workUnits.maxConcurrency` | `int > 0` | `1` | How many work units run in parallel. |
| `workUnits.failureMode` | `abort` \| `continue` | `continue` | `abort` stops the whole ingest run on the first failure; `continue` records it and keeps going. |

### Rate limits

`rateLimit` controls provider-neutral pacing for LLM calls during ingest. When a
provider reports a subscription window, retry-after delay, or HTTP 429,
**ktx** pauses new work-unit model calls, shows a transient wait in the CLI,
and reduces work-unit concurrency while the provider is under pressure.

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `rateLimit.enabled` | `boolean` | `true` | Master switch for ingest LLM rate-limit pacing and visible waits. |
| `rateLimit.throttleThreshold` | `number between 0 and 1` | `0.8` | Fraction of a known provider window at which **ktx** starts reducing concurrency. |
| `rateLimit.minConcurrencyUnderPressure` | `int > 0` | `1` | Effective work-unit concurrency while a provider is under rate-limit pressure. |
| `rateLimit.maxWaitMs` | `int > 0` | unset | Caps how long a single provider-reset wait can last. This bounds each wait, not the whole run: after a capped wait elapses **ktx** retries and may pause again. Omit to wait until the provider's reset time. |
| `rateLimit.retry.maxAttempts` | `int > 0` | `6` | Maximum attempts for a single rate-limited LLM call before the failure surfaces (counts the first try). Also bounds how far opaque backoff grows for responses without a reset time or retry-after value. |
| `rateLimit.retry.baseDelayMs` | `int > 0` | `1000` | Initial opaque retry delay in milliseconds. |
| `rateLimit.retry.maxDelayMs` | `int > 0` | `60000` | Maximum opaque retry delay in milliseconds. |
| `rateLimit.retry.jitter` | `boolean` | `true` | Add jitter to opaque retry delays. |

## `scan`

`scan` configures how schema-level inputs become structured context:
column-level enrichment and inferred relationships between tables.

```yaml
scan:
  enrichment:
    mode: llm           # none | deterministic | llm
  relationships:
    enabled: true
    llmProposals: true
    validationRequiredForManifest: true
    acceptThreshold: 0.85
    reviewThreshold: 0.55
    maxLlmTablesPerBatch: 40
    maxCandidatesPerColumn: 25
    profileSampleRows: 10000
    profileConcurrency: 4
    validationConcurrency: 4
    validationBudget: all
```

### Enrichment

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `enrichment.mode` | `none` \| `deterministic` \| `llm` | `none` | How columns and tables get described. `deterministic` uses local heuristics; `llm` calls the configured provider. |
| `enrichment.embeddings` | embedding block | - | Optional override for enrichment-time vectorization. Falls back to `ingest.embeddings`. |

### Relationships

The relationship discovery step proposes joins between tables, scores them,
and optionally validates each one against the database before writing it to
the manifest.

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `relationships.enabled` | `boolean` | `true` | Master switch for relationship discovery. |
| `relationships.llmProposals` | `boolean` | `true` | When `true`, propose relationships using the LLM in addition to deterministic candidates. |
| `relationships.validationRequiredForManifest` | `boolean` | `true` | When `true`, only proposals that pass database-side validation reach the manifest. |
| `relationships.acceptThreshold` | `number 0-1` | `0.85` | Confidence at or above which a proposal is auto-accepted. |
| `relationships.reviewThreshold` | `number 0-1` | `0.55` | Confidence at or above which a proposal is surfaced for human review (but not auto-accepted). |
| `relationships.maxLlmTablesPerBatch` | `int > 0` | `40` | Max tables included in a single LLM relationship-proposal batch. |
| `relationships.maxCandidatesPerColumn` | `int > 0` | `25` | Max join partners considered per column. |
| `relationships.profileSampleRows` | `int > 0` | `10000` | Rows sampled per table when profiling values for relationship inference. |
| `relationships.profileConcurrency` | `int > 0` | `4` | Parallel relationship-profile queries against the database. For pooled connectors, effective database concurrency is also bounded by the connection's `maxConnections`. |
| `relationships.validationConcurrency` | `int > 0` | `4` | Parallel relationship validation queries against the database. |
| `relationships.validationBudget` | `all` \| `int ≥ 0` | runtime default | Cap on validation queries per scan. `all` means unlimited. |

## `agent`

`agent` carries feature flags for **ktx**-side agent behavior. Today the only
block is `run_research`, which gates the research agent invoked by
`ktx mcp` and CLI research tools.

```yaml
agent:
  run_research:
    enabled: true
    max_iterations: 20
    default_toolset:
      - sl_query
      - wiki_search
      - sl_read_source
```

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `run_research.enabled` | `boolean` | `false` | Master switch for the research agent. |
| `run_research.max_iterations` | `int ≥ 0` | `20` | Maximum tool-call iterations per research run. |
| `run_research.default_toolset` | `string[]` | `[sl_query, wiki_search, sl_read_source]` | Tool identifiers exposed to the research agent. |

## `memory`

`memory` controls the agent memory subsystem.

```yaml
memory:
  auto_commit: true
```

| Field | Type | Default | Purpose |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `auto_commit` | `boolean` | `true` | When `true`, ktx auto-commits memory updates to the git-backed store. |

## A full example

Combining the blocks above:

```yaml
connections:
  warehouse:
    driver: postgres
    url: env:DATABASE_URL
  metabase:
    driver: metabase
    api_url: https://metabase.example.com
    api_key_ref: env:METABASE_API_KEY
    mappings:
      databaseMappings:
        "1": warehouse
      syncMode: ALL
setup:
  database_connection_ids:
    - warehouse
storage:
  state: sqlite
  search: sqlite-fts5
  git:
    auto_commit: true
    author: "ktx <ktx@example.com>"
llm:
  provider:
    backend: claude-code
  models:
    default: sonnet
ingest:
  adapters:
    - live-database
    - metabase
  embeddings:
    backend: openai
    model: text-embedding-3-small
    dimensions: 1536
    openai:
      api_key: env:OPENAI_API_KEY
  workUnits:
    maxConcurrency: 2
scan:
  enrichment:
    mode: llm
  relationships:
    acceptThreshold: 0.85
    reviewThreshold: 0.55
agent:
  run_research:
    enabled: true
memory:
  auto_commit: true
```

## Validating your config

**ktx** validates `ktx.yaml` strictly: unknown keys at the top level or inside
strict blocks cause setup and CLI commands to fail with a precise path
(`scan.relationships.acceptThreshhold: Unrecognized key`). Warehouse
connections accept extra driver-specific fields, so passthrough values like
`historicSql` and `context.queryHistory` are allowed.

To re-validate without running anything else:

```bash
ktx status
```

`ktx status` parses `ktx.yaml`, surfaces validation issues, and reports which
inputs are ready.

## Related references

- [`ktx setup`](/docs/cli-reference/ktx-setup) - the guided flow that writes
  most of these fields for you.
- [`ktx status`](/docs/cli-reference/ktx-status) - readiness check for the
  current `ktx.yaml`.
- [LLM configuration](/docs/guides/llm-configuration) - provider-specific
  setup notes.
- [Primary sources](/docs/integrations/primary-sources) and
  [Context sources](/docs/integrations/context-sources) - connector-specific
  details and credentials.