---
title: Handroll configuration
description: The on-disk config files, the environment variables, and the fixed prefix key.
status: verified
sidebar:
  order: 3
---

Handroll reads two JSON files and a handful of environment variables. This
page lists them all.

## Config files

### `~/.nori-config.json` — auth

Shared with the [Skillsets](/skillsets/) client — `nori-handroll login` and
`npx nori-skillsets login` write the same file. It holds the `auth` section:
refresh token, short-lived ID token and its expiry, and your
`organizations`. You normally don't edit this by hand — logging in writes it.

### `~/.nori/handroll/config.json` — handroll settings

| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `brokerOrg` | The org this client targets |
| `loginPreference` | `google` \| `email` \| `skip` |

Handroll preserves keys it doesn't own when writing this file, so other
tools' entries survive.

## Broker URL resolution

Which broker handroll talks to, in priority order:

1. `NORI_SESSIONS_URL` environment variable
2. `NORI_BROKER_URL` environment variable (legacy alias)
3. `brokerOrg` from the config file, as `https://<org>.norisessions.com`
4. `http://localhost:19400` (local-development fallback; no login required)

## Environment variables

| Variable | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `NORI_SESSIONS_URL` | Broker URL override (primary) |
| `NORI_BROKER_URL` | Broker URL override (legacy alias) |
| `NORI_CDN_BASE` | CDN base for the daily update check |
| `NORI_TRANSCRIPT_PATH` | Path to the agent's transcript file, read by `snapshot` and hand-off (tilde-expanded) |
| `HANDROLL_LOG_FILE` | Log file path (default: `~/.nori/handroll/log/<date>.log`) |

## Keybindings

The prefix key is **`Ctrl-B`** and is **fixed** — there is no setting to
change it. Handroll exports `NORI_PREFIX_KEY=ctrl-b` into the wrapped
agent's environment so tools inside the session can discover it. The actions
behind the prefix are covered in [usage](/sessions/handroll/usage/).

## Next steps

- [Usage](/sessions/handroll/usage/) — the Ctrl-B overlay and subcommands.
- [Hand-off & resume](/sessions/handroll/handoff-and-resume/) — what moves between terminal and cloud today.