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Configuration

CommandLane auto-generates pkb.config.json on first run. This guide covers all configuration options.

Default Configuration​

{
  "ai_classification_use_tinybert": false,
  "ai_classification_model_path": ".models/tinybert-tasknote/",
  "watcher_enabled_by_default": false,
  "watcher_show_toggle_in_ui": true,
  "storage": {
    "backend": "sqlite",
    "sqlite_db_path": "pkb_data.db"
  }
}

Classification Settings​

TinyBERT Fast Classification​

Enable local ML classification (10-15x faster than LLM):

{
  "ai_classification_use_tinybert": true,
  "ai_classification_model_path": ".models/tinybert-tasknote/"
}

Benefits:

  • 99% accuracy
  • 13.3ms average classification time
  • No API keys or internet required
  • Pre-trained model included

When to use:

  • Default for most users
  • Offline environments
  • High-volume capture (>100 entries/day)

LLM Fallback​

Configure optional LLM fallback when TinyBERT is uncertain:

{
  "ai_classification_use_llm": true,
  "ai_classification_llm_model": "phi3:mini"
}
Performance Impact

LLM classification takes 14-31s. Only enable if classification accuracy is critical.

Storage Settings​

SQLite Configuration​

{
  "storage": {
    "backend": "sqlite",
    "sqlite_db_path": "pkb_data.db",
    "enable_fts5": true,
    "enable_vector_search": true
  }
}

Options:

  • sqlite_db_path - Database file location (default: pkb_data.db)
  • enable_fts5 - Full-text search (default: true)
  • enable_vector_search - Semantic search (default: true)

Export Settings​

Optional markdown export:

{
  "storage": {
    "export_enabled": true,
    "export_path": "exports/"
  }
}

Watcher Settings​

Configure background monitoring:

{
  "watcher_enabled_by_default": true,
  "watcher_show_toggle_in_ui": true,
  "watcher_interval_seconds": 3,
  "watcher_cooldown_seconds": 300,
  "watcher_max_items": 5
}

Options:

  • watcher_enabled_by_default - Auto-start with UI (default: false)
  • watcher_show_toggle_in_ui - Show enable/disable toggle (default: true)
  • watcher_interval_seconds - Check frequency (default: 3)
  • watcher_cooldown_seconds - Min time between popovers (default: 300)
  • watcher_max_items - Max items per popover (default: 5)

UI Settings​

Customize the capture window:

{
  "ui_enabled": true,
  "ui_hotkey_keys": ["ctrl", "shift", "c"],
  "ui_window_width": 600,
  "ui_window_height": 80,
  "ui_window_alpha": 0.95,
  "ui_animation_duration_ms": 150
}

Options:

  • ui_enabled - Enable UI features (default: true)
  • ui_hotkey_keys - Global hotkey combo (default: ["ctrl", "shift", "c"])
  • ui_window_width - Window width in pixels (default: 600)
  • ui_window_height - Window height in pixels (default: 80)
  • ui_window_alpha - Transparency 0.0-1.0 (default: 0.95)
  • ui_animation_duration_ms - Fade animation speed (default: 150)

Search Settings​

Tune hybrid search performance:

{
  "search": {
    "hybrid_weights": [0.3, 0.7],
    "rrf_k": 50,
    "max_results": 50
  }
}

Options:

  • hybrid_weights - [keyword_weight, semantic_weight] (default: [0.3, 0.7])
  • rrf_k - Reciprocal Rank Fusion parameter (default: 50)
  • max_results - Max results per backend (default: 50)

Tuning Tips:

  • Increase keyword weight (e.g., [0.5, 0.5]) for exact phrase matching
  • Increase semantic weight (e.g., [0.2, 0.8]) for conceptual search
  • Lower rrf_k (e.g., 30) to favor top-ranked results
  • Higher rrf_k (e.g., 80) to blend results more evenly

Environment Variables​

Override config settings with environment variables:

# UI Settings
$env:PKB_UI_ENABLED = "true"
$env:PKB_UI_HOTKEY_KEYS = "ctrl,shift,c"
$env:PKB_UI_WINDOW_WIDTH = "600"

# AI Settings
$env:OPENAI_API_KEY = "sk-..."

Advanced Configuration​

Context-Aware Classification​

Configure automatic PARA tagging based on active window:

{
  "context": {
    "enabled": true,
    "contexts_file": "contexts.json"
  }
}

See contexts.json.example for configuration format.

Performance Tuning​

For large databases (>50k entries):

{
  "storage": {
    "sqlite_cache_size": 10000,
    "sqlite_journal_mode": "WAL",
    "sqlite_synchronous": "NORMAL"
  },
  "rag": {
    "background_worker_enabled": true,
    "batch_size": 100
  }
}

Security Settings​

{
  "security": {
    "max_text_length": 10000,
    "validate_inputs": true,
    "atomic_writes": true
  }
}

Configuration Locations​

CommandLane searches for configuration in this order:

  1. ./pkb.config.json (project directory)
  2. ~/.config/animus/pkb.config.json (user config)
  3. Environment variables (highest priority)

Validation​

Test your configuration:

# Validate config file
pkb --validate-config

# Show current config (merged from all sources)
pkb --show-config

Common Configurations​

Minimal (Offline, No AI)​

{
  "ai_classification_use_tinybert": true,
  "ai_classification_use_llm": false,
  "watcher_enabled_by_default": false
}

Performance Optimized​

{
  "ai_classification_use_tinybert": true,
  "search": {
    "hybrid_weights": [0.4, 0.6]
  },
  "storage": {
    "sqlite_cache_size": 10000
  }
}

Always-On Background​

{
  "watcher_enabled_by_default": true,
  "ui_enabled": true,
  "ai_classification_use_tinybert": true
}