# smithery.yaml
> Reference documentation for the smithery.yaml configuration file.
The `smithery.yaml` file provides configuration for your Model Context Protocol (MCP) server on Smithery. This file must be placed in your repository root.
## Configuration Options
### runtime
**Type**: String\
**Required**: Yes
Specifies the deployment runtime for your MCP server:
* `"typescript"` - Uses the Smithery CLI to build your TypeScript project directly
* `"container"` - Uses Docker containers for deployment (supports any language)
```yaml theme={null}
runtime: "typescript" # or "container"
```
***
## TypeScript Runtime
When using `runtime: "typescript"`, Smithery uses the [Smithery CLI](https://github.com/smithery-ai/cli) to build your TypeScript MCP server directly. This is the recommended approach for TypeScript projects.
```yaml theme={null}
runtime: "typescript"
env:
NODE_ENV: "production"
```
### Properties
| Property | Type | Description |
| --------- | ------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `runtime` | string | Must be set to `"typescript"` |
| `env` | object | Optional environment variables to inject when running your server |
Your server will be built using `@smithery/cli build` and deployed as a streamable HTTP server. We recommend using the [Smithery CLI](https://github.com/smithery-ai/cli) for the best development experience.
***
## Container Runtime
When using `runtime: "container"`, Smithery uses Docker containers to build and deploy your server. This supports any programming language and gives you full control over the deployment environment.
```yaml theme={null}
runtime: "container"
startCommand:
type: "http"
configSchema:
type: "object"
properties:
apiKey:
type: "string"
description: "Your API key"
required: ["apiKey"]
build:
dockerfile: "Dockerfile"
dockerBuildPath: "."
```
### startCommand
**Type**: Object (Required for container runtime)
Defines how your MCP server should be configured and accessed.
| Property | Type | Description |
| --------------- | ------ | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `type` | string | Must be set to `"http"` for HTTP-based MCP servers |
| `configSchema` | object | JSON Schema defining the configuration options for your server |
| `exampleConfig` | object | Example configuration values for testing |
Your server must implement the [Streamable HTTP](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-03-26/basic/transports#streamable-http) protocol and handle configuration passed via query parameters to the `/mcp` endpoint.
**Example with complex configuration:**
```yaml theme={null}
startCommand:
type: "http"
configSchema:
type: "object"
required: ["apiKey"]
properties:
apiKey:
type: "string"
title: "API Key"
description: "Your API key"
temperature:
type: "number"
default: 0.7
minimum: 0
maximum: 1
database:
type: "object"
properties:
host:
type: "string"
default: "localhost"
port:
type: "integer"
default: 5432
exampleConfig:
apiKey: "sk-example123"
temperature: 0.8
database:
host: "localhost"
port: 5432
```
### build
**Type**: Object (Optional for container runtime)
Contains Docker build configuration for your server.
| Property | Type | Description |
| ----------------- | ------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `dockerfile` | string | Path to Dockerfile, relative to smithery.yaml. Defaults to "Dockerfile" |
| `dockerBuildPath` | string | Docker build context path, relative to smithery.yaml. Defaults to "." |
```yaml theme={null}
build:
dockerfile: "docker/Dockerfile"
dockerBuildPath: "."
```
### env
**Type**: Object (Optional)
Environment variables to inject when running your server. Available for both runtime types.
```yaml theme={null}
env:
NODE_ENV: "production"
DEBUG: "true"
LOG_LEVEL: "info"
```
