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Setup Guide

Quick setup instructions for DeerFlow.

Configuration Setup

DeerFlow uses a YAML configuration file that should be placed in the project root directory.

Steps

  1. Navigate to project root:

    cd /path/to/deer-flow

  2. Copy example configuration:

    cp config.example.yaml config.yaml

  3. Edit configuration:

    # Option A: Set environment variables (recommended)
export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-key-here"

# Optional: pin the project root when running from another directory
export DEER_FLOW_PROJECT_ROOT="/path/to/deer-flow"

# Option B: Edit config.yaml directly
vim config.yaml  # or your preferred editor

  4. Verify configuration:

    cd backend
python -c "from deerflow.config import get_app_config; print('✓ Config loaded:', get_app_config().models[0].name)"

Important Notes

  • Location: config.yaml should be in deer-flow/ (project root)
  • Git: config.yaml is automatically ignored by git (contains secrets)
  • Runtime root: Set DEER_FLOW_PROJECT_ROOT if DeerFlow may start from outside the project root
  • Runtime data: State defaults to .deer-flow under the project root; set DEER_FLOW_HOME to move it
  • Skills: Skills default to skills/ under the project root; set DEER_FLOW_SKILLS_PATH or skills.path to move them

Configuration File Locations

The backend searches for config.yaml in this order:

  1. Explicit config_path argument from code
  2. DEER_FLOW_CONFIG_PATH environment variable (if set)
  3. config.yaml under DEER_FLOW_PROJECT_ROOT, or the current working directory when DEER_FLOW_PROJECT_ROOT is unset
  4. Legacy backend/repository-root locations for monorepo compatibility

Recommended: Place config.yaml in project root (deer-flow/config.yaml).

Sandbox Setup (Optional but Recommended)

If you plan to use Docker/Container-based sandbox (configured in config.yaml under sandbox.use: deerflow.community.aio_sandbox:AioSandboxProvider), it's highly recommended to pre-pull the container image:

# From project root
make setup-sandbox

Why pre-pull?

  • The sandbox image (~500MB+) is pulled on first use, causing a long wait
  • Pre-pulling provides clear progress indication
  • Avoids confusion when first using the agent

If you skip this step, the image will be automatically pulled on first agent execution, which may take several minutes depending on your network speed.

Troubleshooting

Config file not found

# Check where the backend is looking
cd deer-flow/backend
python -c "from deerflow.config.app_config import AppConfig; print(AppConfig.resolve_config_path())"

If it can't find the config:

  1. Ensure you've copied config.example.yaml to config.yaml
  2. Verify you're in the project root, or set DEER_FLOW_PROJECT_ROOT
  3. Check the file exists: ls -la config.yaml

Permission denied

chmod 600 ../config.yaml  # Protect sensitive configuration

See Also