Settings

ClawIDE provides multiple ways to configure its behavior: CLI flags, environment variables, a JSON config file, and an in-app settings page.

ClawIDE Settings
The in-app settings page for configuring ClawIDE options

Configuration Options

SettingFlagEnv VarDefaultDescription
Host--hostCLAWIDE_HOSTlocalhostListen address
Mobile--mobile—falseBind to 0.0.0.0 for mobile/LAN access
Port--portCLAWIDE_PORT9800Listen port
Projects Dir--projects-dirCLAWIDE_PROJECTS_DIR~/projectsRoot directory for projects
Max Sessions--max-sessionsCLAWIDE_MAX_SESSIONS10Maximum concurrent terminal sessions
Scrollback Size—CLAWIDE_SCROLLBACK_SIZE65536Terminal scrollback buffer size (bytes)
Claude Command--claude-commandCLAWIDE_CLAUDE_COMMANDclaudeClaude CLI binary name
Log Level--log-levelCLAWIDE_LOG_LEVELinfoLog level (debug, info, warn, error)
Data Dir--data-dirCLAWIDE_DATA_DIR~/.clawideDirectory for state, config, and PID file
Restart--restart—falseKill existing instance and start a new one

Configuration Sources

ClawIDE loads configuration from three sources. When the same setting is defined in multiple sources, the highest-precedence source wins:

  1. CLI Flags (highest precedence) — Passed when launching ./clawide
  2. Environment Variables — Set in your shell or .env file
  3. Config File (lowest precedence) — Stored at ~/.clawide/config.json

Examples

CLI flags:

./clawide --port 8080 --projects-dir /home/user/code --log-level debug

Environment variables:

CLAWIDE_PORT=8080 CLAWIDE_PROJECTS_DIR=/home/user/code ./clawide

Config file (~/.clawide/config.json):

{
  "host": "localhost",
  "port": 8080,
  "projects_dir": "/home/user/code",
  "max_sessions": 20,
  "log_level": "debug"
}

In-App Settings Page

ClawIDE also provides a settings page accessible from the navigation bar:

  1. Click Settings in the top navigation.
  2. View and modify configuration options through the form.
  3. Changes are saved to the config file and take effect without restarting.

Restart Flag

If ClawIDE is already running and you want to replace the existing instance:

./clawide --restart

This kills the running ClawIDE process (identified by the PID file at ~/.clawide/clawide.pid) and starts a new one. Without --restart, ClawIDE exits with an error if another instance is already running.

See the full Configuration Reference for additional details.