# 3. Initialize the configuration

## Initializing the configuration <a href="#initializing-the-configuration" id="initializing-the-configuration"></a>

Let's initialize our new server's configuration files with some sensible defaults by running the bundle `bin/init` script.

```bash
bin/init
```

This script will **not** overwrite any existing configuration files.

Now let's check the contents of the `config/` directory using the `ls` command:

```bash
ls config
```

If everything was successfully initialized you should see three configuration files `overleaf.rc`, `variables.env` and `version`. These are the main server configuration files and allow you to customize how your server operates and how your users interact with your instance.

| Name            | Description                                             |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| `overleaf.rc`   | The main top-level configuration file.                  |
| `variables.env` | Environment variables loaded into the Docker container. |
| `version`       | The version of the Docker image to use.                 |

{% hint style="info" %}
For now, it's enough to know that these files exist and where you can find them. Later in the documentation we'll go through each of the files in more detail and explain how you can customize your instance using them. If you want to skip ahead you can see a full breakdown of these configuration files on the [Files and locations page](/on-premises/configuration/overleaf-toolkit/files-and-locations.md).
{% endhint %}


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