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overwatch start

Start Overwatch with multiple MCP servers from a configuration file.

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Usage

overwatch start [options]

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Options

OptionDescription
-c, --config <path>Path to config file (default: auto-detect)
--fail-mode <mode>Fail mode: open, closed, readonly (default: closed)
--no-auditDisable audit logging
--approval <method>Approval method: terminal, webhook
--approval-webhook-url <url>Webhook URL for remote approvals
--approval-webhook-secret <secret>Secret for HMAC signing webhook payloads
-t, --timeout <ms>Approval timeout in milliseconds (default: 60000)

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Examples

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Start All Servers

overwatch start
Starts all servers defined in overwatch.yaml.

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With Custom Config

overwatch start -c ./my-config.yaml

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Configuration File

Create overwatch.yaml: 
version: 1

defaults:
  action: prompt
  timeout: 60000
  sessionDuration: 300000

servers:
  postgres:
    command: npx
    args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres"]
    env:
      DATABASE_URL: postgres://localhost/mydb
    policies:
      - tools: ["query", "select"]
        action: allow
      - tools: ["insert", "update"]
        action: prompt
      - tools: ["drop_*", "delete_*"]
        action: deny

  filesystem:
    command: npx
    args: ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-filesystem", "./"]
    policies:
      - tools: ["read_file", "list_directory"]
        action: allow
      - tools: ["write_file", "delete_file"]
        action: prompt

toolShadowing:
  enabled: true
  checkDescriptions: true
  detectMutations: true

audit:
  enabled: true
  redactPII: true

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Config File Locations

Overwatch searches for config in this order:
  1. Path specified with --config
  2. overwatch.yaml in current directory
  3. overwatch.yml in current directory
  4. ~/.overwatch/config.yaml

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Server Configuration

Each server can have:
FieldTypeDescription
commandstringCommand to run (required)
argsstring[]Command arguments
envobjectEnvironment variables
policiesarrayPolicy rules

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Policy Configuration

Each policy rule can have:
FieldTypeDescription
toolsstring/string[]Tool name(s) or pattern (* for all)
actionstringAction: allow, deny, prompt
pathsobjectPath-based rules (for filesystem)

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Multi-Server Benefits

Running multiple servers through overwatch start:
  • Single point of security policy management
  • Unified audit logging
  • Shared session grants across servers
  • Tool shadowing detection across servers