Custom Config Directory

By default, Mnethos keeps its configuration at ~/.mnethos/ on macOS/Linux and %USERPROFILE%\.mnethos on Windows. That stops working when you want the config in a dotfiles repo, on a different volume, or switched per environment.

MNETHOS_CONFIG points Mnethos at a different directory.

What It Controls

When MNETHOS_CONFIG is unset, Mnethos reads from ~/.mnethos/.mnethos.toml.

Set it to a directory path and Mnethos uses that path instead:

export MNETHOS_CONFIG=~/.config/mnethos

Mnethos will look for ~/.config/mnethos/.mnethos.toml. If the directory or .mnethos.toml doesn't exist yet, Mnethos starts with defaults — and :config-edit creates the directory and file for you on first use.

When to Change It

Dotfiles repo:

export MNETHOS_CONFIG=~/.config/mnethos

Multiple environments — switch configs for work vs personal:

export MNETHOS_CONFIG=~/.config/mnethos-work

Different volume — home directory is full or slow:

export MNETHOS_CONFIG=/data/mnethos

Setting It

~/.env — Mnethos-only, persistent:

MNETHOS_CONFIG=~/.config/mnethos

~/.zshrc — system-wide, persistent:

export MNETHOS_CONFIG=~/.config/mnethos

Reload after editing: source ~/.zshrc

Current session — temporary:

export MNETHOS_CONFIG=~/test-config

Verifying the Change

Check the variable:

echo $MNETHOS_CONFIG

Then run :config-edit in a Mnethos session. Your editor should open $MNETHOS_CONFIG/.mnethos.toml.

Reverting to the Default

unset MNETHOS_CONFIG

Or remove the line from ~/.zshrc and reload.

Migrating an Existing Config

Move the directory:

mv ~/.mnethos ~/.config/mnethos
export MNETHOS_CONFIG=~/.config/mnethos

For the full list of settings inside the config file, see the .mnethos.toml reference.