# Configuration

URL: https://zerodev.ca/docs/medusa/configuration

> What lives in config.json and what lives on the dashboard.



Medusa keeps very little in files. `config.json` holds what it needs before it can reach the database. Everything else is saved in the database and changed on the dashboard.

## config.json

Medusa creates `config.json` in its folder on the first start, and the setup wizard fills in the database for you.

```json title="config.json"
{
    "AUTHENTICATION": {
        "SECRET": "generated-on-first-start"
    },
    "DATABASE": {
        "TYPE": "POSTGRES",
        "HOST": "localhost",
        "PORT": "5432",
        "USER": "medusa",
        "PASSWORD": "your-password",
        "DATABASE": "medusa"
    },
    "SERVER": {
        "DASHBOARD": { "PORT": 3000, "URL": null, "DEVELOPER": false },
        "API": { "PORT": 3001, "URL": null, "LOGS": true }
    }
}
```

### AUTHENTICATION

| Key      | Default | What it does                                                                                                      |
| -------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `SECRET` | Random  | Signs dashboard sessions and internal API requests. Generated on the first start. Changing it signs everyone out. |

### DATABASE

| Key        | Default    | What it does                                         |
| ---------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `TYPE`     | `POSTGRES` | `POSTGRES`, `MYSQL` or `MARIADB`.                    |
| `HOST`     | Empty      | Database server address.                             |
| `PORT`     | `5432`     | Database port. MySQL and MariaDB usually use `3306`. |
| `USER`     | Empty      | Database user.                                       |
| `PASSWORD` | Empty      | Database password.                                   |
| `DATABASE` | Empty      | Database name. Medusa creates its own tables.        |

Medusa installs the right database driver itself the first time it connects.

### SERVER

| Key                   | Default | What it does                                                                                       |
| --------------------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `DASHBOARD.PORT`      | `3000`  | Port the dashboard listens on.                                                                     |
| `DASHBOARD.URL`       | `null`  | Public dashboard address, such as `https://medusa.example.com`. Leave `null` on your own computer. |
| `DASHBOARD.DEVELOPER` | `false` | Serves the dashboard through Vite with hot reloading. For development only.                        |
| `API.PORT`            | `3001`  | Port the API listens on.                                                                           |
| `API.URL`             | `null`  | Public API address, used for sign-in callbacks, webhooks and the appeal page.                      |
| `API.LOGS`            | `true`  | Kept for older installs. Currently unused.                                                         |

`URL` takes a full address or a bare hostname, which is treated as HTTPS. Leave off any path or trailing slash. The URLs and ports can also be changed under **Settings > Server URLs**.

<Callout type="info">
  Older installs had `LICENSING`, `SETUP_USER` and Discord app keys in `config.json`. Medusa moves the license key and Discord app credentials into the database on start, and the dashboard owner now comes from the license. The old keys can be deleted.
</Callout>

## Dashboard Settings

Everything else is on the dashboard and applies without a restart.

| Where           | What                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Settings**    | License key, bot token, primary and authorized server IDs, Discord app credentials, language, console, updates, appearance, branding, login screen, placeholders, server URLs, API keys and allowed IPs. |
| **Bot**         | Presence, profile and additional bots.                                                                                                                                                                   |
| **Modules**     | Turn modules on or off.                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| **Configs**     | Each module's settings.                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| **Commands**    | Rename, turn off or add text prefixes to commands.                                                                                                                                                       |
| **Lang**        | Change any message or embed in any language.                                                                                                                                                             |
| **Logging**     | Log channels for each module's events.                                                                                                                                                                   |
| **Permissions** | Ranks and what they can use. See [Core](/docs/medusa/modules/core#ranks).                                                                                                                                |

**Settings > Configuration Transfer** exports all of this to a file and imports it into another Medusa install. Secrets are left out of the export, and channels and roles are matched by name on import.