7. TOML configuration format

Date: 2026-04-22

Status

Accepted

Context

Cerebro needs a user-friendly configuration format that supports multiple projects and settings.

Decision

Cerebro uses TOML with two sections:

[settings]
opencode_db_path = "..."        # Path to AI tool's SQLite DB (optional)
output_dir = "..."             # Dashboard output directory

[[projects]]
name = "project-name"         # Display name
repo_path = "~/Projects/..."   # Git repository path
active = true                  # Include in build

Cerebro reads manual notes from a fixed path derived from the output directory ({output_dir}/notes/projects/{name}.md) rather than a per-project note_path field.

Consequences

Pros

• TOML is human-readable and well-supported in Rust
• Clear separation between settings and project definitions
• Easy to add new fields without breaking existing configs

Cons

• Requires toml parsing dependency
• ~ path expansion needed

Notes

Parsed in cerebro-core via toml crate. ~ expansion in config.rs.