Server configuration

The sync server reads its settings from an optional server.yaml. Without the file, the server uses built-in defaults. The server never reads the client config.yaml.

Upgrading a server that used config.yaml? Follow the migration guide.

Where server.yaml lives

server.yaml sits in the directory that holds the server storage:

Deployment	Server storage	server.yaml
Bare process	~/.local/state/aven/server/sync-server.sqlite	~/.local/state/aven/server/server.yaml
systemd with StateDirectory=	$STATE_DIRECTORY/sync-server.sqlite	$STATE_DIRECTORY/server.yaml
Docker or Compose	/data/sync-server.sqlite	/data/server.yaml, on the data volume

With --data PATH, the file is server.yaml beside PATH. To keep it elsewhere, pass --config PATH or set AVEN_SERVER_CONFIG. The flag takes precedence over the environment variable. The server logs the path it uses at startup.

aven server setup writes a commented template when the file does not exist. Run setup as the user the server runs as, with the same --data or --config. A systemd unit with StateDirectory= sets STATE_DIRECTORY only for the service, so pass --data from a shell.

Settings

Every setting is optional:

attachments:
  grace_days: 30
  workspace_quota_bytes: 10737418240

Setting	Default	Purpose
attachments.grace_days	30	Minimum age before an unused server image becomes eligible for cleanup.
attachments.workspace_quota_bytes	10 GiB	Maximum unique image storage for one server workspace.

Restart after every change

The server reads server.yaml at startup. Restart it after changing the file:

Deployment	Restart
Bare process	Stop aven server and start it again with the same options.
systemd user unit	systemctl --user restart aven-server
Compose	docker compose restart aven
Plain Docker	docker restart aven-server

Invalid configuration stops the server

An unknown key, a value out of range, or a file that does not parse stops the server at startup. The error identifies the file and the invalid setting.