> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://attesta.kyberon.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# attesta init

> Generate an attesta.yaml configuration file with sensible defaults

The `attesta init` command creates an `attesta.yaml` configuration file in the current working directory. This file controls challenge policies, risk scoring, trust engine behavior, and audit settings for your project.

## Usage

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
attesta init [--force]
```

| Flag      | Description                                            |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| `--force` | Overwrite an existing `attesta.yaml` without prompting |

## Example

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
$ attesta init
Created /home/user/my-project/attesta.yaml
Edit the file to customise policies, trust settings, and risk overrides.
```

If the file already exists:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
$ attesta init
error: attesta.yaml already exists in this directory. Use --force to overwrite.
```

Force overwrite:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
$ attesta init --force
Created /home/user/my-project/attesta.yaml
Edit the file to customise policies, trust settings, and risk overrides.
```

## Generated Config Template

The generated `attesta.yaml` contains all configurable sections with sensible defaults and inline documentation:

```yaml attesta.yaml theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
# attesta configuration
# Docs: https://attesta.dev

# Domain profile for industry-specific risk scoring.
# Register custom profiles with register_preset(), then activate here.
# domain: my-domain

policy:
  # How long a reviewer must spend (seconds) per risk level
  minimum_review_seconds:
    low: 0
    medium: 3
    high: 10
    critical: 30

  # Number of approvers required for each risk level
  require_multi_party:
    critical: 2

  # What happens on timeout: deny | allow | escalate
  fail_mode: deny
  timeout_seconds: 300

trust:
  # Max risk reduction from high trust (0-1)
  influence: 0.3
  # Trust score ceiling
  ceiling: 0.9
  # Starting trust for unknown agents
  initial_score: 0.3
  # Trust decay per day of inactivity
  decay_rate: 0.01

risk:
  # Map action names to explicit risk levels
  overrides: {}
  #   deploy_production: critical
  #   restart_service: high

  # Patterns that amplify risk
  amplifiers: []
  #   - pattern: ".*production.*"
  #     boost: 0.3
  #   - pattern: ".*delete.*"
  #     boost: 0.2
```

<Note>
  All sections are optional. When omitted, Attesta uses safe defaults: actions are denied on timeout, CRITICAL operations require 2-party approval, and trust starts low at 0.3.
</Note>

## Typical Workflow

<Steps>
  <Step title="Initialize the config">
    ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
    cd my-ai-project
    attesta init
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Activate a domain profile (optional)">
    If you've registered a custom domain profile, uncomment and set the `domain` field:

    ```yaml theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
    domain: my-domain
    ```

    Register custom profiles with `register_preset()`. See the [domain profiles](/concepts/domain-profiles) guide.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add risk overrides">
    Pin specific actions to known risk levels:

    ```yaml theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
    risk:
      overrides:
        deploy_production: critical
        read_config: low
        restart_service: high
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Load in your application">
    <CodeGroup>
      ```python Python theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
      from attesta import Attesta

      attesta = Attesta.from_config("attesta.yaml")

      @attesta.gate()
      def deploy(service: str, version: str) -> str:
          """Deploy a service to production."""
          return f"Deployed {service} v{version}"
      ```

      ```typescript TypeScript theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}}
      import { Attesta, gate } from "@kyberon/attesta";

      const attesta = new Attesta();

      const deploy = gate(async (service: string, version: string) => {
        return `Deployed ${service} v${version}`;
      }, { attesta });
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Never set `fail_mode: allow` in production. This permits actions to proceed when challenges time out, bypassing the approval requirement entirely. Use it only for local development.
</Warning>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="attesta.yaml Reference" icon="file-code" href="/configuration/attesta-yaml">
    Complete configuration reference with all options
  </Card>

  <Card title="Domain Profiles" icon="hospital" href="/domains/overview">
    Activate industry-specific risk scoring
  </Card>
</CardGroup>