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Zarf

Config Files

Users can use a config file to easily control flags for zarf init, zarf package create, and zarf package deploy commands, as well as global flags (excluding --confirm), enabling a more straightforward and declarative workflow.

Zarf supports config files written in common configuration file formats including toml, json, yaml, ini and props, and by default Zarf will look for a file called zarf-config with one of these filenames in the current working directory. To generate a blank config file you can run zarf dev generate-config with an optional output filename/format. For example, to create an empty config file with the my-cool-env in the yaml format, you can use zarf dev generate-config my-cool-env.yaml.

To use a custom config filename, set the ZARF_CONFIG environment variable to the config file’s path. For example, to use the my-cool-env.yaml config file in the current working directory, you can set the ZARF_CONFIG environment variable to my-cool-env.yaml. The ZARF_CONFIG environment variable can be set either in the shell or in a .env file in the current working directory. Note that the ZARF_CONFIG environment variable takes precedence over the default config file path.

Additionally, you can set any supported config parameter via an environment variable using the ZARF_ prefix. For example, you can set the zarf init --storage-class flag by setting the ZARF_INIT_STORAGE_CLASS environment variable. Note that the ZARF_ environment variable takes precedence over a config file.

While config files set default values, these values can still be overwritten by command line flags. For example, if the config file sets the log level to info and the command line flag is set to debug, the log level will be set to debug. The order of precedence for command line configuration is as follows:

  1. Command line flags
  2. Environment variables
  3. Config file
  4. Default values

Zarf searches for the Zarf Config File from either your current working directory or the ~/.zarf/ directory if you don’t specify a config file.

zarf-config.yaml
# Example config file, use "zarf prepare generate-config zarf-config.yaml" to generate a new one
log_level : 'info'


package:
  create:
    skip_sbom : false
    set:
      zebra : 'stripes'
      leopard : 'spots'
  deploy:
    components: 'lion'
    # Set a variable for package deploy
    set:
      scorpion : 'iridescent'
      camel_spider : 'matte'
      # dummy tls key showcasing multiline variables and autoindent
      tls_key : |-
        -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
        MIIEvQIBADANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAASCBKcwggSjAgEAAoIBAQDDvKUzWiZucm6/
        8D2Nx4KVe8t6uHtARpw112f4yGv7xKcOJkbxLbVtor8pj/HS5tRSZq2ziIQl9y98
        8TVAOBezgzPPMDxOqDeyHl5gAtqzpK/eSPmueZIhR88BH2+SMYqa5kxmjn752Rf0
        jVeCrVdQ5MD9rqA00oQi/zO+gQQoz6QSuiEQ2pSKYB3gv9oIoJorIU1n4qLYAezn
        TvFwjmKWPPhRdyslpcAi1rVO+mVX3Y2DKU/CfpWNFVVT+H788Srn4yP6iWUymfQU
        vHOXII1erMnES2H9BDffumrRf3m3IpgueQ3vPhB8ftjFZozURj2t/WSeaKsyQSoZ
        Wr99DWxpAgMBAAECggEAAW8ARsACSAzOgtlfmgo8Cpw9gUiYnn/l5P8O4+OT5uQp
        1RCytFGBYqwuej9zpffK1k+qNgZp8V0+G8wod6/xfH8Zggr4ZhsVTVirmEhtEaPD
        Jf2i1oRNbbD48yknyApU2Y2WQaoJhArzAfeHDI34db83KqR8x+ZC0X7NAjgvr5zS
        b0OfY2tht4oxEWh2m67FzlFgF+cWyszRYyfvHfOFBqLesuCnSfMoOzmbT3SlnxHo
        6GSa1e/kCJVzFJNb74BZTIH0w6Ar/a0QG829VXivqj8lRENU/1xUI2JhNz4RdH7F
        6MeiwQbq4pWjHfh4djuzQFIwOgCnSNRnNuNywOVuAQKBgQDjleEI1XFQawXmHtHu
        6GMhbgptRoSUyutDDdo2MHGvDbxDOIsczIBjxCuYAM47nmGMuWbDJUN+2VQAX32J
        WZagRxWikxnEqv3B7No7tLSQ42rRo/tDBrZPCCuS9u/ZJM4o7MCa/VzTtbicGOCh
        bTIoTeEtT2piIdkrjHFGGlYOLQKBgQDcLNFHrSJCkHfCoz75+zytfYan+2dIxuV/
        MlnrT8XHt33cst4ZwoIQbsE6mv7J4CJqOgUYDvoJpioLV3InUACDxXd+bVY7RwxP
        j25pXzYL++RctVO3IEOCmFkwlq0fNFdrOn8Y/cnRTwd2e60n08rCKgJS8KhEAaO0
        QvVmAHw4rQKBgQDL7hCAnunzuoLFqpZI8tlpKjaTpp3EynO3WSFQb2ZfCvrIbVFS
        U/kz7KN3iDlEeO5GcBeiA7EQaGN6FhbiTXHIWwoK7K8paGMMM1V2LL2kGvQruDm8
        3LXd6Z9KCJXxSKanS0ZnW2KjnnE3Bp+6ZqOMNATzWfckydnUyPrza0PzXQKBgEYS
        1YCUb8Tzqcn+nrp85XDp9INeFh8pfj0fT1L/DpljouEs5Fcaer60ITd/wPuLJCje
        0mQ30AhmJBd7+07bvW4y2LcaIUm4cQiZQ7CxpsfloWaIJ16vHA1iY3B9ZBf8Vp4/
        /dd8XlEJb/ybnB6C35MwP5EaGtOaGfnzHZsbKG35AoGAWm9tpqhuldQ3MCvoAr5Q
        b42JLSKqwpvVjQDiFZPI/0wZTo3WkWm9Rd7CAACheb8S70K1r/JIzsmIcnj0v4xs
        sfd+R35UE+m8MExbDP4lKFParmvi2/UZfb3VFNMmMPTV6AEIBl6N4PmhHMZOsIRs
        H4RxbE+FpmsMAUCpdrzvFkc=
        -----END PRIVATE KEY-----

Terminal window
export ZARF_CONFIG=examples/config-file/zarf-config.yaml


zarf package create examples/config-file --confirm


# replace <arch> with your system architecture
zarf package deploy zarf-package-config-file-<arch>.tar.zst --confirm
zarf.yaml
kind: ZarfPackageConfig
metadata:
  name: config-file
  description: Test component to demonstrate using a config file to control the cli. Files are generated using "zarf prepare generate-config"


variables:
  - name: SCORPION
  - name: CAMEL_SPIDER
  - name: TLS_KEY
    autoIndent: true


components:
  - name: lion
    description: By default, only this component will be deployed when using the config file
    required: true
    manifests:
      - name: config-example-configmap
        files:
          - simple-configmap.yaml


  - name: zebra
    # Notice this string is wrapped in quotes, as Zarf variables use #### as a delimiter, which is also used in YAML for comments
    description: "This is a zebra and they have ###ZARF_PKG_TMPL_ZEBRA###"


  - name: leopard
    description: "This is a leopard and they have ###ZARF_PKG_TMPL_LEOPARD###"