Skip to content
videre

videre config

Shows what every path and setting currently resolves to, and changes the three defaults that let you run other commands with fewer arguments.

Terminal window
videre config                          # show where everything resolves to
videre config set db ~/photos.db       # use this database by default
videre config set path ~/Photos        # scan this folder when none is given
videre config set model google/siglip-base-patch16-224   # default search model
videre config unset db                 # go back to the default database
videre config unset model              # go back to the built-in search model
videre config unset path               # require a folder argument again

Reading the output

Section titled “Reading the output”
home:          ~/.videre
config:        ~/.videre/config.toml
db:            (not set) [set with: videre config set db <path>]
resolved db:   ~/.videre/hashes.db
resolved path: ~/Photos [from config.toml]
model:         google/siglip-base-patch16-224 (default) [set with: videre config set model <id>]
jsonl:         ~/.videre/hashes.jsonl
Line Meaning
home The directory holding everything. Follows VIDERE_HOME if set
config Where the settings file lives, inside that home
db Your configured default, or (not set) with the command to set it
resolved db What commands will actually use right now
resolved path The folder scan and watch use with no argument
model The resolved search model, marked (default) when not configured
jsonl Where a bare scan --output would write

The distinction between db and resolved db is the useful part. The first is what you set; the second is what you get, including the fallback when you have set nothing. When something reads the wrong library, this is the line to check.

[from config.toml] marks a value that came from your settings rather than a built-in default.

The three settings

Section titled “The three settings”
Key Effect when set Stored as
db The database every command uses without --db default_db
path The folder scan and watch use with no argument default_path
model The search model used without --model default_model

The file itself is plain TOML, and editing it by hand is fine:

default_path = "/Users/you/Photos"
default_db = "/Users/you/photos.db"
default_model = "google/siglip2-base-patch16-384"

Setting one key preserves the others. videre config set db stores an absolute path, so a relative one is resolved against your current directory at the time you set it, not later.

How a value is chosen

Section titled “How a value is chosen”

For every command, first match wins:

  1. An explicit flag (--db, --model)
  2. Your setting in config.toml
  3. The built-in default (~/.videre/hashes.db, or the default model)

path has no step 3: without it, scan and watch require a folder argument. See where your data lives for the full picture.

Switching between libraries

Section titled “Switching between libraries”

If you keep more than one library, setting the default is how you avoid typing --db constantly:

Terminal window
videre config set db ~/personal.db
videre config set path ~/Photos
videre scan                            # scans ~/Photos into ~/personal.db


videre config set db ~/work.db
videre config set path ~/WorkShoots
videre scan                            # now scans WorkShoots into work.db

For switching everything at once, including caches and locks, VIDERE_HOME is the bigger hammer. Each home has its own config.toml, so the two never interfere.

Caveats

Section titled “Caveats”

Settings live inside the home. config.toml is stored in whichever directory VIDERE_HOME points at, so changing that env var switches to a different settings file entirely. Values are not shared between homes, and videre config under a different VIDERE_HOME may correctly show nothing set.

set model does not validate or download anything. It records the id. A typo is only reported later, when a command tries to use it, and the error then lists the models you actually have prepared.

set db does not create the database. It records a path. videre scan creates it; readers pointed at a missing database say so and exit rather than creating an empty one.

scan may set path for you. The first folder you ever scan is adopted as your default, with a note on stderr. It never overwrites a value you set yourself. See videre scan.

Model choice is deliberately not an environment variable. Use this command or --model. The only environment variables that affect behaviour are VIDERE_HOME and VIDERE_EMBED_DTYPE, both listed under where your data lives.

More detail

Section titled “More detail”