Configuration

Bee is configured through environment variables today, with CLI flags available to override behavior per run.

Section

Environment variables

Variable	Description
BEE_PROVIDER	Choose `demo` or `adapter`.
BEE_ADAPTER_CMD	Command used by the adapter backend.
BEE_ADAPTER_ARGS	JSON array of extra adapter arguments.
BEE_MODEL	Model label sent to the provider.
BEE_APPROVAL_MODE	Use `manual` or `auto`.
BEE_STATE_DIR	Override where Bee stores local state.
BEE_SYSTEM_PROMPT	Replace the default system prompt.
BEE_ALLOW_READ_ROOTS	Add readable roots outside the workspace.
BEE_ALLOW_LIST_ROOTS	Add listable roots outside the workspace.
BEE_ALLOW_WRITE_ROOTS	Add writable roots outside the workspace.

Section

CLI overrides

bash

bee --provider demo -p "review this workspace"
bee --provider adapter --adapter-command bee-openai-adapter --model gpt-4o-mini
bee --approval-mode manual --state-dir .bee-local
bee --allow-read-root /tmp/reference-code -p "compare these trees"

Section

Default behavior

Provider defaults to `demo` when nothing else is configured.
Approval mode defaults to manual.
State defaults to `<project>/.bee`.
Additional filesystem access must be declared explicitly.

Authentication

Commands