Configuration

Configuration is optional. The server works out of the box with defaults suited to local development:

• Connection string: chronicle://localhost:35000/?disableTls=true
• Credentials: the development client id (chronicle-dev-client) and secret (chronicle-dev-secret)
• Event store / namespace: default / Default

You only set values when you need to point at a different server or authenticate against a secured one.

Resolution order

For every value the server has not been given explicitly, it resolves in this order, first match wins:

1. Explicit MCP options — environment variables or appsettings.json.
2. The CHRONICLE_CONNECTION_STRING environment variable.
3. The active context in the Cratis CLI configuration at ~/.cratis/config.json.
4. Built-in development defaults.

Because step 3 reads the same file the Cratis CLI writes, a store you have already set up with cratis context create is picked up automatically — no separate configuration.

Options

All options live under the Cratis:Chronicle:Mcp configuration section. As environment variables they take the Cratis__Chronicle__Mcp__ prefix:

Option	Environment variable	Description
ConnectionString	Cratis__Chronicle__Mcp__ConnectionString	The Chronicle connection string. Defaults to chronicle://localhost:35000/?disableTls=true.
Context	Cratis__Chronicle__Mcp__Context	The CLI context to read connection details from. Defaults to the active context.
UseCliConfiguration	Cratis__Chronicle__Mcp__UseCliConfiguration	Set to false to ignore ~/.cratis/config.json entirely.
ClientId / ClientSecret	Cratis__Chronicle__Mcp__ClientId / ...__ClientSecret	Client credentials for authentication. Defaults to development credentials.
ApiKey	Cratis__Chronicle__Mcp__ApiKey	An API key to authenticate with, as an alternative to client credentials.
EventStore	Cratis__Chronicle__Mcp__EventStore	The default event store used by tools when none is specified. Defaults to default.
Namespace	Cratis__Chronicle__Mcp__Namespace	The default namespace used by tools when none is specified. Defaults to Default.

Every tool defaults the event store and namespace to these configured values, so you can ask high-level questions and only name a store or namespace when you need a specific one.

Authentication

The server authenticates the same way the CLI does, and shares its token cache:

• Client credentials (OAuth): when the connection string carries a client id and secret (or you set ClientId/ClientSecret), the server obtains an OAuth token from the server’s token endpoint, derived from the connection’s own address. Tokens are cached on disk under ~/.cratis/tokens, the same location the CLI uses, so the two share credentials.
• API key: set ApiKey (or embed apiKey= in the connection string) to authenticate with a static key instead.

The token endpoint is taken from the connected server’s address; there is no separate management-port setting. If you are upgrading from an older release that had a ManagementPort option, you can remove it — it no longer has any effect.

Connect timeout

Set CHRONICLE_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS to override the default 5-second connect timeout when reaching a slow or remote server.