R Econometrics MCP Server

Configuration Overview ===================== RMCP's configuration system provides flexible, hierarchical configuration loading from multiple sources with automatic validation and type conversion. Configuration Hierarchy ----------------------- Configuration values are resolved in the following priority order: 1. **Command-line arguments** (highest priority) 2. **Environment variables** (``RMCP_*`` prefix) 3. **User configuration file** (``~/.rmcp/config.json``) 4. **System configuration file** (``/etc/rmcp/config.json``) 5. **Built-in defaults** (lowest priority) This hierarchy allows for flexible deployment scenarios where: * Defaults provide sensible starting values * System-wide configuration sets organizational policies * User configuration customizes personal preferences * Environment variables override settings for specific deployments * Command-line arguments provide immediate overrides for testing Configuration Sources -------------------- Built-in Defaults ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RMCP includes sensible defaults for all configuration options: * HTTP server binds to ``localhost:8000`` for security * R timeout set to 120 seconds to prevent runaway processes * VFS read-only mode enabled for security * INFO-level logging for operational visibility System Configuration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ System administrators can set organization-wide defaults in ``/etc/rmcp/config.json``: .. code-block:: json { "security": { "vfs_read_only": true, "vfs_allowed_paths": ["/data/company"] }, "r": { "max_sessions": 50, "timeout": 120 }, "logging": { "level": "INFO" } } User Configuration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Individual users can customize settings in ``~/.rmcp/config.json``: .. code-block:: json { "http": { "port": 8080 }, "logging": { "level": "DEBUG" }, "debug": true } Environment Variables ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All configuration options support environment variable overrides with ``RMCP_*`` prefix: .. code-block:: bash export RMCP_HTTP_HOST=0.0.0.0 export RMCP_HTTP_PORT=9000 export RMCP_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG Command-Line Arguments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Command-line arguments provide the highest priority overrides: .. code-block:: bash rmcp --config custom.json --debug serve-http --port 9000 Configuration Categories ----------------------- HTTP Transport ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Controls HTTP server behavior: * Server binding address and port * SSL/TLS configuration * CORS origins for web clients * Security considerations R Process Management ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Manages R process execution: * Script execution timeouts * Session lifecycle and limits * Resource management * Custom R binary configuration Security Controls ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Virtual File System (VFS) security: * File access restrictions * Read-only mode enforcement * File size and type limits * Allowed filesystem paths Performance Tuning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Resource and performance management: * Thread pool configuration * Timeout settings * Process cleanup controls * Concurrency limits Logging Configuration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Log output control: * Log levels and formatting * Output destinations * Debug mode settings Configuration Validation ------------------------ Automatic Validation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RMCP automatically validates all configuration: * **Type checking**: Ensures values match expected types * **Range validation**: Ports, timeouts, and sizes within valid ranges * **File validation**: SSL certificates and paths exist if specified * **Dependency validation**: Related settings are consistent Schema Validation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Configuration files are validated against a JSON schema: * Required fields must be present * Additional properties are allowed for extensibility * Nested structure must match expected format * Value constraints are enforced Error Reporting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Configuration errors provide detailed information: * Source of the error (file, environment variable, CLI) * Specific validation failure * Suggested fixes * Example valid configurations Common Patterns -------------- Development Setup ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. code-block:: bash # Quick development setup export RMCP_DEBUG=true export RMCP_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG export RMCP_VFS_READ_ONLY=false rmcp start Production Deployment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. code-block:: bash # Production with system config sudo tee /etc/rmcp/config.json << EOF { "http": {"host": "0.0.0.0", "port": 8000}, "security": {"vfs_read_only": true}, "r": {"max_sessions": 100}, "logging": {"level": "INFO"} } EOF rmcp serve-http Docker Deployment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. code-block:: bash # Environment-based Docker config docker run -e RMCP_HTTP_HOST=0.0.0.0 \\ -e RMCP_R_MAX_SESSIONS=20 \\ -p 8000:8000 rmcp:latest Configuration Best Practices ---------------------------- Security ~~~~~~~ * Keep VFS in read-only mode for production * Restrict allowed paths to necessary directories * Use SSL/TLS for external access * Set appropriate file size limits Performance ~~~~~~~~~~ * Tune session limits based on available memory * Adjust timeouts for your workload * Configure thread pools for your CPU count * Monitor resource usage and adjust accordingly Maintenance ~~~~~~~~~~ * Use configuration files for persistent settings * Use environment variables for deployment-specific overrides * Document configuration choices in deployment scripts * Validate configuration in CI/CD pipelines Monitoring ~~~~~~~~~ * Enable appropriate logging levels * Use debug mode for troubleshooting * Monitor configuration loading in application logs * Set up alerts for configuration validation failures