Configuration

dp stores configuration in ~/.dp/config.toml. You can view and update settings using the dp config command or by editing the file directly.

Config File Location

By default: ~/.dp/config.toml

Override with the DESIRE_PATH_CONFIG environment variable:

export DESIRE_PATH_CONFIG=/path/to/custom/config.toml

Valid Configuration Keys

Usage Examples

View Current Config

# Show all settings
dp config

# Show a specific key
dp config db_path

Set Values

# Change database path
dp config db_path /data/dp/desires.db

# Set default source
dp config default_source claude-code

# Use JSON output by default
dp config default_format json

Configure Known Tools

The known_tools setting controls the list of tool names used by dp similar for similarity matching. If empty, dp uses a built-in default list (currently: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob, WebSearch, WebFetch).

Set a custom list:

dp config known_tools "Read,Write,Edit,Bash,CustomTool,AnotherTool"

dp splits on commas and trims whitespace, so you can use spaces for readability:

dp config known_tools "Read, Write, Edit, Bash, CustomTool"

Reset to Default

To clear a setting and revert to the default, set it to an empty string:

dp config known_tools ""

Global Flags

Some configuration can be overridden per-command using global flags:

Database Path

# Use a different database for one command
dp --db /tmp/test.db list

# Set via environment variable
export DESIRE_PATH_DB=/tmp/test.db
dp list

Precedence: --db flag > DESIRE_PATH_DB env var > db_path config > default (~/.dp/desires.db)

Output Format

# Force JSON output
dp --json paths

# Force table output (default)
dp paths

The --json flag overrides default_format config for that command.

Advanced: Direct File Editing

~/.dp/config.toml is plain TOML. Example:

db_path = "/data/dp/desires.db"
default_source = "claude-code"
known_tools = ["Read", "Write", "Edit", "Bash", "CustomTool"]
default_format = "json"

If the file doesn’t exist, dp creates it on first write. Invalid TOML causes an error — use dp config for safer editing.

Migration note: Legacy config.json files are automatically migrated to TOML on first load.

Database Configuration

Database Path

The SQLite database stores desires, invocations, aliases, and schema metadata. By default it lives at ~/.dp/desires.db.

Change the path permanently:

dp config db_path /new/path/desires.db

Or temporarily:

dp --db /tmp/test.db list

SQLite Options

dp uses pure-Go SQLite (via modernc.org/sqlite) with WAL mode enabled for concurrent reads and writes. There are no user-configurable SQLite options—the database is tuned for dp’s access patterns.

If you need to inspect the database directly:

sqlite3 ~/.dp/desires.db

Tables: desires, invocations, aliases, schema_version.

Source Plugin Configuration

Each source plugin (like claude-code) may have its own configuration needs. Check the integration docs:

• Claude Code Integration
• Writing a Plugin

For Claude Code specifically, the hook configuration lives in ~/.claude/settings.json, not in dp’s config file. Run dp init --source claude-code to set it up.

Environment Variables

Environment variables take precedence over config file settings but are overridden by command-line flags.

Tips

• Use --json output with jq for scripting: dp paths --json | jq '.[] | select(.count > 10)'
• Keep known_tools in sync with your AI’s actual tool set for better similar results
• If you’re testing or developing, point --db at a temporary database to avoid polluting your real data
• The config file is optional—all keys have sensible defaults

For command-specific options, see the Command Reference.