Configuration Files

YAML configuration files that define AtlasOS system tweaks and modifications

Overview

AtlasOS uses YAML configuration files to define system modifications in a declarative format. These files are located in the Configuration/ directory and are organized by purpose and category.

Directory Structure

Configuration/
├── atlas/              # Core Atlas configuration
│   ├── start.yml      # Initial setup tasks
│   ├── services.yml   # Service configurations
│   ├── components.yml # Windows component modifications
│   ├── appx.yml       # App package management
│   ├── default.yml    # Default settings
│   └── revert.yml     # Revert scripts setup
├── tweaks/            # Categorized system tweaks
│   ├── debloat/      # Remove unnecessary features
│   ├── performance/  # Performance optimizations
│   ├── privacy/      # Privacy enhancements
│   ├── qol/          # Quality of life improvements
│   ├── security/     # Security configurations
│   ├── networking/   # Network optimizations
│   ├── misc/         # Miscellaneous tweaks
│   └── scripts/      # Script-based tweaks
├── custom.yml         # Root orchestration file
└── tweaks.yml         # Tweaks orchestration file

YAML File Structure

All configuration files follow a standardized YAML structure:

---
title: Descriptive Title
description: What this configuration does and why
actions:
  - !actionType:
    parameter: value
  - !actionType:
    parameter: value

Required Fields

title · string · required

Human-readable name for the configuration

description · string · required

Explanation of what the configuration does

actions · array · required

List of actions to execute

Optional Fields

onUpgrade · boolean · default: "true"

Whether to run during playbook upgrades

Core Configuration Files

services.yml

Configures Windows services and drivers to reduce background resource usage.

services.yml:1-20

---
title: Services and Drivers
description: Configures services and drivers to reduce background system resource utilization
onUpgrade: false
actions:
  # Back up default Windows services & drivers
  - !powerShell:
    command: |
      .\BACKUP.ps1 -FilePath """$([Environment]::GetFolderPath('Windows'))\AtlasModules\Other\winServices.reg"""
    wait: true
    exeDir: true

  - !writeStatus: {status: 'Disabling File Sharing'}
  - !powerShell:
    command: '.\AtlasModules\Scripts\ScriptWrappers\DisableFileSharing.ps1 -Silent'
    exeDir: true
    wait: true
    runas: currentUserElevated

  - !writeStatus: {status: 'Disabling Location'}

custom.yml

The root orchestration file that coordinates all configuration tasks.

custom.yml:1-26

---
title: Root Playbook File
description: Runs all of the Playbook files
actions:
  # Load default user registry hive
  - !powerShell:
    command: 'reg load HKU\AME_UserHive_Default C:\Users\Default\NTUSER.DAT'
    oobe: false
    wait: true
  
  - !writeStatus: { status: "Deleting old AtlasOS folders" }
  - !powerShell:
    command: '.\STOPFOLDERPROC.ps1'
    exeDir: true
    onUpgrade: true
    wait: true
    runas: currentUserElevated
  
  - !writeStatus: { status: "Copying files" }
  - !powerShell:
    command: |
      $windir = [Environment]::GetFolderPath('Windows')
      @(
          'AtlasModules',
          'AtlasDesktop'
      ) | ForEach-Object {

Tweak Categories

Debloat

Removes unnecessary Windows features, scheduled tasks, and bloatware.

Example: Disable Scheduled Tasks

disable-scheduled-tasks.yml

---
title: Disable Scheduled Tasks
description: Disables scheduled tasks to prevent automatic tasks from running at startup, consuming resources and collecting user data
actions:
    # Updates compatibility database
  - !scheduledTask: {path: '\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\PcaPatchDbTask', operation: disable, ignoreErrors: true}

    # UCPD - might not exist on all installs, so ignore errors
  - !scheduledTask: {path: '\Microsoft\Windows\AppxDeploymentClient\UCPD velocity', operation: disable, ignoreErrors: true}

    # Data collection
  - !scheduledTask: {path: '\Microsoft\Windows\DiskDiagnostic\Microsoft-Windows-DiskDiagnosticDataCollector', operation: disable, ignoreErrors: true}

    # CEIP - safety measure
  - !scheduledTask: {path: '\Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\Consolidator', operation: disable, ignoreErrors: true}
  - !scheduledTask: {path: '\Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\UsbCeip', operation: disable, ignoreErrors: true}

Available debloat tweaks

• config-content-delivery.yml - Disable content delivery features
• config-storage-sense.yml - Configure Storage Sense
• disable-reserved-storage.yml - Disable reserved storage
• disable-scheduled-tasks.yml - Disable telemetry scheduled tasks
• hide-unused-security-pages.yml - Hide unused security settings

Performance

Optimizations to improve system responsiveness and reduce resource usage.

Example: Configure MMCSS

config-mmcss.yml

---
title: Configure the Multimedia Class Scheduler Service
description: Configures MMCSS for the best performance
actions:
    # Set system responsiveness to 10%
    # Allocates less CPU resources to tasks that request it such as browsers
  - !registryValue:
    path: 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile'
    value: 'SystemResponsiveness'
    data: '10'
    type: REG_DWORD

Available performance tweaks

• config-automatic-maintenance.yml - Configure Windows maintenance
• config-mmcss.yml - Multimedia Class Scheduler Service settings
• disable-auto-folder-discovery.yml - Disable automatic folder type detection
• disable-background-apps.yml - Prevent apps from running in background
• disable-fth.yml - Disable Fault Tolerant Heap
• disable-game-bar.yml - Disable Xbox Game Bar
• disable-sleep-study.yml - Disable Modern Standby sleep study
• respect-power-modes-search.yml - Make search respect power modes

Privacy

Enhances user privacy by disabling telemetry and data collection.

Privacy tweak categories

Telemetry (privacy/telemetry/)

• disable-activation-telemetry.yml - Disable activation telemetry
• disable-ceip.yml - Disable Customer Experience Improvement Program
• disable-diagnostic-tracing.yml - Disable diagnostic tracing
• disable-dotnet-cli-telemetry.yml - Disable .NET CLI telemetry
• disable-input-telemetry.yml - Disable input data collection
• disallow-data-collection.yml - Disallow general data collection

Other Privacy

• Advertising controls
• Cloud sync settings
• Cortana configuration
• Feedback controls
• OneDrive integration

Quality of Life (QOL)

Usability improvements and annoyance removals.

Available QOL tweaks

• add-sharing-settings-shortcut.yml - Add sharing settings to context menu
• bcdedit-tweaks.yml - Boot configuration tweaks
• best-wallpaper-quality.yml - Set maximum wallpaper quality
• config-powershell.yml - Configure PowerShell environment
• config-start-menu.yml - Start menu customization
• disable-auto-app-archival.yml - Prevent automatic app archival
• disable-dynamic-lighting.yml - Disable RGB lighting control
• disable-mouse-accel.yml - Disable mouse acceleration
• config-windows-ink-workspace.yml - Configure Windows Ink

Security

Security-related configurations.

Security configurations

• Defender settings
• Firewall rules
• Security mitigations
• User Account Control settings

Networking

Network stack optimizations and configurations.

Network tweaks

• TCP/IP stack optimizations
• DNS configuration
• Network adapter settings
• QoS settings

Miscellaneous

Other system tweaks that don’t fit specific categories.

Available misc tweaks

• add-music-videos-to-home.yml - Add media folders to home
• add-newUser-script.yml - Add new user setup script
• config-oem-information.yml - Set OEM information
• config-time.yml - Time and timezone configuration
• create-shortcuts.yml - Create system shortcuts
• delete-windows-specific-files.yml - Remove Windows-specific files
• enable-notifications.yml - Enable notification system
• enable-winre.yml - Enable Windows Recovery Environment

Scripts

Script-based tweaks that require more complex logic.

Action Types

Registry Actions

Example

- !registryValue:
  path: 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile'
  value: 'SystemResponsiveness'
  data: '10'
  type: REG_DWORD
  operation: add  # or delete

path · string · required

Registry key path

value · string · required

Registry value name

data · string

Value data (for add operation)

type · string

Registry value type: REG_SZ, REG_DWORD, REG_QWORD, REG_BINARY, REG_MULTI_SZ

operation · string · default: "add"

Operation: add or delete

Scheduled Task Actions

Example

- !scheduledTask:
  path: '\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\PcaPatchDbTask'
  operation: disable
  ignoreErrors: true

path · string · required

Task path in Task Scheduler

operation · string · required

Operation: disable, enable, or delete

ignoreErrors · boolean · default: "false"

Continue if task doesn’t exist

PowerShell Actions

Example

- !powerShell:
  command: '.\BACKUP.ps1 -FilePath "path\to\file.reg"'
  wait: true
  exeDir: true
  runas: currentUserElevated
  oobe: false
  onUpgrade: true

command · string · required

PowerShell command or script to execute

wait · boolean · default: "false"

Wait for command to complete before continuing

exeDir · boolean · default: "false"

Execute from playbook’s Executables directory

runas · string

Execution context: currentUser, currentUserElevated, system

oobe · boolean · default: "true"

Run during Out-Of-Box Experience (OOBE)

onUpgrade · boolean · default: "true"

Run during playbook upgrades

Command Actions

Example

- !cmd:
  command: '"AtlasDesktop\3. General Configuration\Location\Disable Location (default).cmd" /silent'
  exeDir: true
  wait: true
  runas: currentUserElevated

command · string · required

Command or batch file to execute

exeDir · boolean · default: "false"

Execute from playbook’s Executables directory

wait · boolean · default: "false"

Wait for command to complete

runas · string

Execution context: currentUser, currentUserElevated, system

Task Actions

Example

- !task:
  path: 'atlas/services.yml'

path · string · required

Relative path to another YAML configuration file

Service Actions

Example

- !service:
  name: 'DiagTrack'
  operation: delete

name · string · required

Service name

operation · string · required

Operation: disable, enable, delete, start, stop

Status Update Actions

Example

- !writeStatus:
  status: 'Optimizing PowerShell'

status · string · required

Status message to display to user

Best Practices

Use Descriptive Names

File names should clearly indicate what the configuration does

Good: disable-scheduled-tasks.yml

Bad: tasks.yml

Add Comments

Include comments explaining why changes are made

# Updates compatibility database
- !scheduledTask: {...}

Handle Errors

Use ignoreErrors: true for optional or system-specific tasks

ignoreErrors: true

Test Upgrades

Set onUpgrade: false for one-time setup tasks

onUpgrade: false

Execution Order

Configuration files are executed in this order:

1. atlas/start.yml - Initial setup
2. atlas/services.yml - Service configuration
3. atlas/components.yml - Component modifications
4. atlas/appx.yml - App package management
5. atlas/default.yml - Default settings
6. atlas/revert.yml - Revert script setup
7. tweaks.yml - All tweaks orchestration

The custom.yml file orchestrates this execution order and includes additional setup and cleanup tasks.

Related Resources

Playbook Structure

Understand the overall playbook format

Executables

Learn about scripts and tools