Configuration
Advanced JSON
Edit the configuration JSON directly for advanced use cases and custom agents.
Most common settings can be done with palabre config. This page covers cases where you edit palabre.config.json directly.
Minimal structure
{
"outputDir": ".",
"defaults": {
"agentA": "codex",
"agentB": "claude",
"summaryAgent": "claude",
"turns": 4
},
"agents": {}
}
Main fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
outputDir | Destination folder for .debate.md exports. |
defaults.agentA | Agent that responds first by default. |
defaults.agentB | Agent that responds second by default. |
defaults.summaryAgent | Agent used for the final summary by default. |
defaults.turns | Total number of turns, between 1 and 20. |
agents | List of available agents. |
CLI agent
"claude": {
"type": "cli",
"command": "claude.exe",
"args": ["--print", "--output-format", "text", "--no-session-persistence"],
"promptMode": "stdin",
"shell": false,
"role": "reviewer"
}
Useful options:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
command | Command to run. |
args | Arguments passed to the command. |
promptMode | stdin or argument. |
modelArg | Flag used to pass a model. |
model | Default model for this agent. |
shell | Useful on Windows for certain npm or PowerShell wrappers. |
role | Agent role. |
timeoutMs | Global timeout. |
idleTimeoutMs | Timeout if the CLI stays silent. |
Ollama agent
"ollama-local": {
"type": "ollama",
"baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434",
"model": "gemma4:e4b",
"role": "critic",
"validateModel": true,
"unloadOtherModels": true
}
Useful options:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
model | Ollama model used. |
baseUrl | Ollama API URL. |
validateModel | Verifies that the model is installed. |
autoPullModel | Allows automatic download. |
pullTimeoutMs | Download timeout. |
unloadOtherModels | Unloads other models before generation. |
keepAlive | Duration to keep the model loaded. |
temperature | Response variation. |