Configuration

An assistant is described by three files in its project folder, and can also be changed live in the dashboard.

	Holds	Changed by
helppuff.json	What the assistant is: website, model, knowledge, widget, limits, dashboard, and where it is deployed	you, an agent, helppuff config set, helppuff config pull
prompt.md	How it talks: the system prompt	you, an agent, helppuff prompt pull; the dashboard's Instructions write it too
.env	Secrets: provider keys, HELPPUFF_SECRET, ADMIN_API_KEY, an optional Cloudflare token	helppuff secret set, helppuff deploy (generates the HelpPuff secrets)

Every option, with its type, default and limits, is in the Configuration reference, generated from the same schema helppuff validates against. helppuff schema prints it as JSON Schema, and helppuff.json points at a copy ($schema), so editors complete and check fields as you type.

A minimal helppuff.json

{
  "$schema": "./.helppuff/helppuff.schema.json",
  "site": "acme",
  "name": "Acme Plumbing",
  "website": "https://acme.com.au",
  "origins": ["https://acme.com.au", "https://www.acme.com.au"]
}

Everything else has a default: Workers AI writes the answers, from HelpPuff's own knowledge base (your site and files). A fuller example:

{
  "site": "acme",
  "name": "Acme Plumbing",
  "website": "https://acme.com.au",
  "origins": ["https://acme.com.au", "https://www.acme.com.au", "https://staging.acme.com.au"],
  "model": {
    "provider": "workers-ai",
    "model": "@cf/zai-org/glm-4.7-flash",
    "timezone": "Australia/Melbourne",
    "locale": "en-AU"
  },
  "knowledge": {
    "website": { "include": ["**/services/**", "**/faq**"], "schedule": "weekly" },
    "files": ["./docs/price-list.pdf", "./docs/faq.md"],
    "retrieval": { "type": "helppuff", "rerankerModel": "@cf/baai/bge-reranker-base" }
  },
  "widget": {
    "brand": { "agentName": "Ava", "accent": "#0F766E" },
    "launcher": { "label": "Chat with us", "shape": "pill" },
    "leadForm": {
      "fields": [
        { "name": "name", "label": "Name", "type": "text", "required": true },
        { "name": "email", "label": "Email", "type": "email", "required": true },
        { "name": "phone", "label": "Phone (optional)", "type": "tel" },
        { "name": "suburb", "label": "Suburb", "type": "text" },
        { "name": "message", "label": "How can we help?", "type": "textarea", "required": true }
      ]
    },
    "chat": { "fallbackContact": { "phone": "03 9000 0000", "email": "hello@acme.com.au" } }
  },
  "security": { "limits": { "messagesPerSitePerDay": 500 } }
}

Changing it

helppuff config get model                                 # read by dotted path
helppuff config set widget.brand.accent "#0EA5E9"          # validated before it is saved
helppuff config set knowledge.files '["./docs"]'           # JSON values are parsed
helppuff deploy                                            # publish

deploy only uploads the Worker when its code or bindings changed. Content changes (prompt, widget, model, limits) are published to KV and are live in seconds.

The dashboard and helppuff.json

The dashboard's Settings and Instructions change the live config directly. If you also keep the project in git, the two can drift, so each side checks before it overwrites the other:

• helppuff config pull brings dashboard settings into helppuff.json.
• helppuff prompt pull brings the live prompt into prompt.md, keeping any unpublished local edits as prompt.mine.md.
• deploy refuses (settings_changed, prompt_behind) when the dashboard changed something this folder has not pulled. --overwrite-settings publishes over dashboard settings on purpose.

See Prompt and instructions for how prompt versions work.

Secrets

Secrets are never written into helppuff.json. A field that needs one names the environment variable instead:

"model": { "provider": "openai", "apiKey": { "env": "OPENAI_API_KEY" } }

helppuff secret set OPENAI_API_KEY              # prompts (hidden); or pipe it in, or --value
helppuff secret list

secret set writes .env and, once deployed, sets the Worker secret too. deploy generates HELPPUFF_SECRET (signs sessions, never leaves your account) and ADMIN_API_KEY (what the CLI and agents use for the dashboard's API) the first time. Values in the environment win over .env.

Variable	Used for
CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN, CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID	Cloudflare access, instead of wrangler login
HELPPUFF_SECRET	Signing sessions and dashboard cookies (generated)
ADMIN_API_KEY (or HELPPUFF_ADMIN_API_KEY)	The admin API, for the CLI and agents (generated)
OPENAI_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, RETELL_API_KEY	The provider you chose
HELPPUFF_BACKEND_TOKEN	Your own API's bearer token (http backend)
any name you choose, e.g. TURNSTILE_SECRET	Turnstile's secret key, named in security.captcha.secret

Cloudflare access

Tried in this order:

1. An API token: CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN in the environment or .env, or --cf-token. Create a custom token at https://dash.cloudflare.com/profile/api-tokens with:
   • Account › Workers Scripts › Edit
   • Account › Workers KV Storage › Edit
   • Account › D1 › Edit
   • Account › Vectorize › Edit
   • Account › Account Settings › Read
   • Account › Workers R2 Storage › Edit (for photos and files; optional)
   • Account › AI Search › Edit and Run (only for the Cloudflare AI Search backend)
2. Your wrangler login: its OAuth token already carries these scopes (R2 included). HelpPuff reads it and lets wrangler refresh it.

If the token can see several accounts, pass --account-id or set CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID.

Allowed origins

origins lists every site the widget may be embedded on, with scheme and host (https://acme.com.au, https://www.acme.com.au). Requests from other pages are refused, so another site cannot embed your assistant and spend your budget. The Worker's own preview page is always allowed. Changing origins needs a deploy; it deliberately cannot be changed from the dashboard or the live config.

Several sites

One project folder is one site (one site id, one Worker). For several sites, use one folder each; their Cloudflare resources are named by site id, so they never collide.