---
title: Teleport Configuration Reference
description: The detailed guide and reference documentation for configuring Teleport for SSH and Kubernetes access.
keywords: [config, file, reference, yaml, etc]
---

Teleport uses the YAML file format for configuration. A full configuration
reference file is shown below. This provides comments and all available options
for `teleport.yaml`.

By default, Teleport reads its configuration from `/etc/teleport.yaml`.

## Before using this reference

<Notice type="danger">

Do not use this example configuration in production.

</Notice>

You must edit your configuration file to meet the needs of your environment.
Using a copy of the reference configuration will have unintended effects. To
create a configuration file that you can use as a starting point, run the
following command:

```code
$ teleport configure -o file
```

There are also `configure` commands available for the SSH Service and Database
Service. See our documentation on `teleport node configure` and `teleport db
configure` in the [Teleport CLI Reference](cli.mdx#teleport).

<Notice type="warning">

You should back up your configuration file before making changes. This will
enable you to roll back to the previous configuration if you need to.

</Notice>

## Enabling Teleport services

The `teleport` process can run multiple services.

For some services, you must enable the service within your Teleport
configuration in order to start it. Other services are enabled by default.

To enable or disable a service, include the following in your Teleport
configuration, replacing `service_name` with the name of your service (service
names are listed below):

```yaml
service_name:
  enabled: "no"
```

Teleport supports the following services:

|Service|Configuration section|Enabled by default|
|---|---|---|
|Application Service|`app_service`|❌|
|Auth Service|`auth_service`|✅|
|Database Service|`db_service`|❌|
|Discovery Service|`discovery_service`|❌|
|Kubernetes Service|`kubernetes_service`|❌|
|Proxy Service|`proxy_service`|✅|
|SSH Service|`ssh_service`|✅|
|Desktop Service|`windows_desktop_service`|❌|

Teleport Cloud manages the Auth Service and Proxy Service for you. Instances of
Teleport services (e.g., the Application Service and Database Service) should
include the following configuration options to avoid unintended effects:

```yaml
auth_service:
  enabled: false

proxy_service:
  enabled: false
```

## Reference configurations

These example configurations include all possible configuration options in YAML
format to demonstrate proper use of indentation. 

Choose a Teleport service to view the application configuration options:

### Instance-wide settings

These settings apply to any `teleport` instance:

```yaml
(!docs/pages/includes/config-reference/instance-wide.yaml!)
```

### Proxy Service

These settings apply to the Teleport Proxy Service:

<Notice type="tip">
Teleport Enterprise Cloud manages the Proxy Service for you, so you do not need
to specify these configuration settings.
</Notice>

```yaml
(!docs/pages/includes/config-reference/proxy-service.yaml!)
```

### Auth Service

These settings apply to the Teleport Auth Service:

<Notice type="tip">
Teleport Enterprise Cloud manages the Auth Service for you, so you do not need
to specify these configuration settings.
</Notice>

```yaml
(!docs/pages/includes/config-reference/auth-service.yaml!)
```

### SSH Service

These settings apply to the Teleport SSH Service:

```yaml
(!docs/pages/includes/config-reference/ssh-service.yaml!)
```

### Kubernetes Service

These settings apply to the Teleport Kubernetes Service:

```yaml
(!docs/pages/includes/config-reference/kubernetes-config.yaml!)
```

### Application Service

These settings apply to the Teleport Application Service:

```yaml
(!docs/pages/includes/config-reference/app-service.yaml!)
```

### Database Service

These settings apply to the Teleport Database Service:

```yaml
(!docs/pages/includes/config-reference/database-config.yaml!)
```

### Discovery Service

These settings apply to the Teleport Discovery Service:

```yaml
(!docs/pages/includes/discovery/discovery-config.yaml!)
```

### Windows Desktop Service

These settings apply to the Windows Desktop Service:

```yaml
(!docs/pages/includes/config-reference/desktop-config.yaml!)
```