instance.json

instance.json configures how users authenticate to a NimbleBrain deployment. It lives at <workDir>/instance.json and is the single source of truth for the deployment’s auth adapter and org identity.

Note

Authentication is configured here, not through an environment variable. There is no NB_API_KEY auth gate.

Dev mode — the absence of the file

If <workDir>/instance.json does not exist, the runtime starts in dev mode: no auth gate, and every request authenticates as a single built-in identity (usr_default, org role owner). This is the default for bun run dev, worktree dev, and any local checkout. You only create instance.json when you want real authentication.

Adapters

The auth.adapter field selects the identity provider. Two adapters are configurable: oidc and workos. (Dev mode is not an adapter value — it is the no-file state above.)

OIDC

instance.json

{
  "auth": {
    "adapter": "oidc",
    "issuer": "https://auth.example.com",
    "clientId": "nimblebrain-app",
    "allowedDomains": ["example.com", "acme.com"],
    "jwksUri": "https://auth.example.com/.well-known/jwks.json"
  },
  "orgName": "Acme",
  "orgId": "org_acme"
}

Verifies incoming Bearer JWTs against the provider’s JWKS. Users whose email domain is not in allowedDomains are rejected.

WorkOS

instance.json

{
  "auth": {
    "adapter": "workos",
    "clientId": "client_01ABC...",
    "organizationId": "org_01XYZ...",
    "apiKey": "sk_live_...",
    "authkitDomain": "myapp",
    "adminRoleSlugs": ["org-admin"]
  },
  "orgName": "Acme",
  "orgId": "org_acme"
}

WorkOS-managed auth with AuthKit. Supports the redirect login flow for the web shell and, when authkitDomain is set, Bearer-JWT auth on /mcp for external MCP clients.

Top-level fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
auth	object	Yes	The auth adapter config. See per-adapter fields below.
orgName	string	No	Human-readable organization name.
orgId	string	No	Stable organization identifier.
integrations	object	No	Free-form integration config bag.

OIDC adapter (auth.adapter: "oidc")

Field	Type	Required	Description
adapter	"oidc"	Yes	Selects the OIDC adapter.
issuer	string	Yes	OIDC issuer URL.
clientId	string	Yes	OAuth client id registered with the provider.
allowedDomains	string[]	Yes	Email domains permitted to sign in. A verified identity whose domain isn’t listed is rejected.
jwksUri	string	No	JWKS endpoint override. Discovered from the issuer’s .well-known when omitted.

WorkOS adapter (auth.adapter: "workos")

Field	Type	Required	Description
adapter	"workos"	Yes	Selects the WorkOS adapter.
clientId	string	Yes	WorkOS Client ID (client_…).
redirectUri	string	No	OAuth callback URL. When omitted, derived as ${publicOrigin()}/v1/auth/callback from the canonical public origin. An explicit value (legacy WORKOS_REDIRECT_URI) overrides.
organizationId	string	No	WorkOS Organization ID — scopes auth to a specific customer org.
apiKey	string	No	WorkOS API key. Can also come from the WORKOS_API_KEY env var.
authkitDomain	string	No	AuthKit subdomain for MCP OAuth (e.g. "myapp" → myapp.authkit.app). When set, /mcp accepts AuthKit-issued Bearer JWTs and exposes /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource for MCP client discovery.
adminRoleSlugs	string[]	No	WorkOS membership role slugs that map to the app admin role (case-insensitive). Omit to use the defaults ["admin", "owner"]. An explicit list replaces the defaults and must contain at least one non-empty slug — an empty list is rejected at startup. Set this when your WorkOS org’s admin role carries a custom slug.

Caution

For WorkOS, prefer the env var WORKOS_API_KEY over auth.apiKey in production so the secret doesn’t sit in a config file that lands in version control or backups.

Validation

instance.json is validated at load:

• Missing or non-object auth throws.
• An unknown adapter value (anything other than oidc / workos) throws, naming the accepted set.
• Each adapter’s required fields are type-checked; a missing or wrong-typed field throws with a field-specific message.
• A malformed file crashes the deployment at startup rather than silently falling back to dev mode — an auth misconfiguration must fail loud, not open.

The file is written atomically (temp-then-rename) whenever the runtime persists changes to it.

Related

• Environment Variables — WORKOS_API_KEY, public-origin variables.
• nimblebrain.json — instance-level runtime config (models, limits, features).
• workspace.json — per-workspace config (connectors, members).