Configuration Guide

Wave uses a single wave.yaml file as the source of truth for all configuration.

Manifest Structure

apiVersion: v1
kind: WaveManifest
metadata:
  name: string          # Required
  description: string     # Optional
  repo: string           # Optional

adapters:                 # Required
  <adapter-name>:
    binary: string           # Required - CLI binary name
    mode: string            # Required - "headless"
    output_format: string     # Optional - Default "json"
    project_files: []        # Optional - Files to project
    default_permissions: {}  # Optional - Default tool perms
    hooks_template: string    # Optional - Hook script dir

personas:                  # Required
  <persona-name>:
    adapter: string           # Required - References adapters.<name>
    description: string        # Optional
    system_prompt_file: string # Required - Path to prompt file
    temperature: float        # Optional - 0.0-1.0
    permissions: {}          # Optional - Override adapter perms
    hooks: {}               # Optional - Pre/Post hooks

runtime:                    # Required
  workspace_root: string         # Optional - Default ".wave/workspaces"
  max_concurrent_workers: int   # Optional - Default 5
  default_timeout_minutes: int   # Optional - Default 5
  relay: {}                   # Optional - Relay config
  audit: {}                   # Optional - Audit config
  meta_pipeline: {}            # Optional - Meta pipeline limits

skills: {}                 # Optional - Named skill configurations

Adapters

Adapters wrap LLM CLIs for Wave to use.

Claude Code Adapter

adapters:
  claude:
    binary: claude
    mode: headless
    output_format: json
    project_files:
      - CLAUDE.md
      - .claude/settings.json
    default_permissions:
      allowed_tools: ["Read", "Write", "Bash"]
      deny: []

Personas

Personas define how agents behave.

Navigator Persona

personas:
  navigator:
    adapter: claude
    system_prompt_file: .wave/personas/navigator.md
    temperature: 0.1
    permissions:
      allowed_tools: ["Read", "Bash(git log, git status)"]
      deny: ["Write(*)", "Bash(git commit, git push)"]
    hooks:
      PreToolUse:
        - matcher: "Bash(rm -rf)"
          command: "echo 'DANGER: Destructive command blocked'"

Craftsman Persona

personas:
  craftsman:
    adapter: claude
    system_prompt_file: .wave/personas/craftsman.md
    temperature: 0.7
    permissions:
      allowed_tools: ["Read", "Write", "Bash"]
    hooks:
      PostToolUse:
        - matcher: "Bash(git commit)"
          command: "npm test"

Runtime Configuration

Workspace Management

runtime:
  workspace_root: .wave/workspaces
  max_concurrent_workers: 3
  default_timeout_minutes: 30

Context Relay

runtime:
  relay:
    token_threshold_percent: 80
    strategy: "summarize_to_checkpoint"

Auditing

runtime:
  audit:
    log_dir: .wave/traces/
    log_all_tool_calls: true
    log_all_file_operations: false

Meta Pipeline Limits

runtime:
  meta_pipeline:
    max_depth: 2
    max_total_steps: 20
    max_total_tokens: 500000
    timeout_minutes: 60

Skills

Declare external skills with install, check, and provisioning commands:

skills:
  speckit:
    install: "npm install -g @anthropic/speckit"
    check: "speckit --version"
  golangci-lint:
    install: "go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@latest"
    check: "golangci-lint --version"

Validation Rules

Wave validates:

1. Every persona must reference a defined adapter
2. All system_prompt_file paths must exist
3. All hook script paths must exist
4. Adapter binaries must be on PATH (warning only)
5. No circular persona references
6. Required fields must be present
7. Types must be valid (string, int, float, array)

Common Patterns

Project-Specific Configuration

# For a React TypeScript project
metadata:
  name: "my-react-app"
  description: "React TypeScript application"

adapters:
  claude:
    project_files:
      - "src/**/*.{ts,tsx}"
      - "package.json"
      - "tsconfig.json"

runtime:
  default_timeout_minutes: 45  # Longer timeout for build steps

Environment-Specific Overrides

# Development
runtime:
  workspace_root: ./wave-workspaces
  audit:
    log_all_tool_calls: false

# Production
runtime:
  workspace_root: .wave/workspaces
  audit:
    log_all_tool_calls: true
    log_all_file_operations: true