/

Documentation / configuration

Configuration

Kumbuka has two kinds of configuration:

  • Deployment settings are supplied as command-line flags or KUMBUKA__ environment variables. They cover values such as the listen address, database URL, public URL, authentication overrides, deployment secrets, logging, and optional service endpoints.
  • Application settings are changed under Administration → Configuration. They cover authentication mode, registration, discussions, crawler settings, external header links, language and presentation defaults, PDF rendering, trusted-proxy headers, and non-secret OIDC settings.

When a deployment override controls a setting, the administration UI marks that field Managed by deployment and makes it read-only.

See Runtime configuration for the complete flag and environment-variable reference.

Search-engine crawling

Under Administration → Configuration, choose one of:

  • Disallow crawling — serve robots.txt with Disallow: /;
  • Allow crawling — allow crawling and expose sitemap.xml;
  • Disabled — do not expose robots.txt or sitemap.xml.

New installations default to disallowing crawling. The sitemap contains the home page plus verified and deprecated pages; draft and archived pages are omitted.

External links appear beside global search for authenticated users. Each link has a label and HTTP(S) URL, plus optional icon, description, hover effect, and hover text.

Built-in Lucide icons use the -lucide suffix. Enabled plugins can contribute additional icons; the first-party Simple Icons plugin uses the -simple suffix.

Branding

The application logo is managed under Administration → Branding. See Branding.

PDF service

Configure the HTML-to-PDF endpoint and optional request headers under Administration → Configuration. Headers such as bearer tokens or API keys can be marked sensitive; configure KUMBUKA__ENCRYPTION_KEY so sensitive values can be encrypted at rest.

Use the PDF service test to verify the current endpoint and headers before saving them. A deployment can override only the PDF endpoint with KUMBUKA__PDF_URL.