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vai init

Create a .vai.json project configuration file with an interactive wizard or default values.

Synopsis​

vai init [options]

Description​

vai init creates a .vai.json file in the current directory that stores project-level defaults for model, database, collection, embedding field, dimensions, index name, and chunking settings. Once initialized, other vai commands automatically use these settings without requiring CLI flags.

In interactive mode (default), a step-by-step wizard guides you through configuration. Use --yes to accept all defaults non-interactively.

Options​

FlagDescriptionDefault
-y, --yesAccept all defaults (non-interactive)—
--forceOverwrite existing .vai.json—
--jsonOutput created config as JSON (non-interactive)—
-q, --quietSuppress non-essential output—

Examples​

Interactive setup​

vai init

Quick setup with defaults​

vai init --yes

Overwrite existing config​

vai init --force

Default Configuration​

{
  "model": "voyage-4-large",
  "db": "vai",
  "collection": "embeddings",
  "field": "embedding",
  "inputType": "document",
  "dimensions": 1024,
  "index": "vector_index",
  "chunk": {
    "strategy": "recursive",
    "size": 512,
    "overlap": 50
  }
}

Tips​

  • Run vai init at the root of your project. All vai commands in subdirectories will find and use the nearest .vai.json.
  • After init, you can run vai pipeline ./docs/ without specifying --db, --collection, or --model.
  • Edit .vai.json directly for advanced settings like chat configuration.