Environment configuration
Configure Opulent's environment so every session starts with your repositories cloned, tools installed, connectors linked, and dependencies ready.
Opulent can configure its own environment for you. Just start a session and ask. Learn more →
What is Opulent's environment?
Opulent's environment is the sandbox where the Autonomous Knowledge Worker operates: a Linux-based virtual machine with your repositories cloned, tools installed, dependencies resolved, connectors linked, and configuration applied. It is the equivalent of a teammate's laptop: the OS, the terminal, the installed toolchain, the connected data sources, and the cloned repos.
Your environment configuration is saved as a snapshot, a frozen, bootable image that every session starts from. Configure it once, and every session boots into that known-good state.
Why environment configuration matters
Opulent works the way a capable teammate does. On engineering work it clones repos, installs dependencies, runs lint, compiles code, and executes tests. On knowledge work it opens the same tools, reaches the same data sources, and runs the same scripts your team relies on. To do any of that, it needs a working environment. Without one, Opulent cannot build your project, cannot run your tests, and cannot verify its own work. It would be like adding a teammate and not giving them a laptop.
Environment configuration gives Opulent the tools, runtimes, credentials, and workspace knowledge it needs to be productive from the first session. It also makes sessions faster. Your snapshot already has repos cloned and dependencies installed, so Opulent boots straight into productive work instead of setting up from scratch every time.
This is the single highest-leverage thing you can do to improve Opulent's effectiveness in your Workspace.
How sessions work
Every session boots from a snapshot, a frozen, bootable image of the environment.
- Snapshot: A pre-built image containing your repos, tools, and dependencies. Prepared in advance through configuration.
- Session: Opulent boots a fresh copy of the snapshot. Every session starts from the same clean state. Session changes do not persist back to the snapshot.
When your configuration changes, a new snapshot is built automatically. Each organization has exactly one active snapshot. Every session in that org boots from the same snapshot.
Before you start
Before configuring Opulent's environment, make sure Opulent can access your repositories and data sources:
Non-enterprise users
Connect your SCM provider. Go to Settings > Connections and connect GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps. Select which repositories Opulent can access during setup. See the integration guides for detailed instructions.
That's it. Once connected, you can proceed to environment configuration.
Enterprise users
- Connect your SCM provider (enterprise admin). Go to Enterprise Settings > Integrations and connect your SCM provider. See Git Integrations for setup instructions.
- Grant each org access to its repos (enterprise admin). Go to Enterprise Settings > Repository Permissions and assign repositories to each organization. Orgs cannot see or use repos until you explicitly grant access. See Repository Permissions.
- Configure the environment (org admin). Once an org has repo access, proceed to environment configuration below.
If you skip these steps, repos will not appear when you try to add them to your environment. Opulent needs repository access through your Git integration before it can clone and build.
Choose your approach
There are two ways to configure Opulent's environment:
* Version controlled
* Auto-updating
* Composable across tiers
* Reproducible
* Visual, step-by-step
* No YAML required
* [Migrate to declarative →](/docs/onboard/environment/migration)