diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
deleted file mode 100644
index 4f4190a..0000000
--- a/.env.example
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-SUPERMEMORY_API_KEY=
-
-BRAINBOX_ROOT_PATH=./brainbox-data
-
-OPENROUTER_API_KEY=
diff --git a/bun.lock b/bun.lock
index 6198775..3267434 100644
--- a/bun.lock
+++ b/bun.lock
@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@
         "@openrouter/sdk": "^0.12.79",
         "chalk": "^5.6.2",
         "commander": "^15.0.0",
-        "dotenv": "^17.4.2",
         "prettier": "^3.8.3",
         "supermemory": "^4.24.12",
+        "yaml": "^2.9.0",
       },
       "devDependencies": {
         "@types/node": "^25.9.1",
@@ -29,8 +29,6 @@
 
     "commander": ["commander@15.0.0", "", {}, "sha512-z67u4ZhzCL/Tydu1lJARtEZYWbWaN7oYLHbsuzocr6y4N6WZAagG3RQ4FW61V1/0+jImpj293XfrcYnd1qxtPg=="],
 
-    "dotenv": ["dotenv@17.4.2", "", {}, "sha512-nI4U3TottKAcAD9LLud4Cb7b2QztQMUEfHbvhTH09bqXTxnSie8WnjPALV/WMCrJZ6UV/qHJ6L03OqO3LcdYZw=="],
-
     "prettier": ["prettier@3.8.3", "", { "bin": { "prettier": "bin/prettier.cjs" } }, "sha512-7igPTM53cGHMW8xWuVTydi2KO233VFiTNyF5hLJqpilHfmn8C8gPf+PS7dUT64YcXFbiMGZxS9pCSxL/Dxm/Jw=="],
 
     "supermemory": ["supermemory@4.24.12", "", { "bin": { "supermemory": "bin/cli" } }, "sha512-xAFextuqk4JuoW33jJaFGqT1oMppN2IgfWUrV18Fv3qAAZ6M1SR1tb+7EBq8vrEQIx4iY2MQh5p+qnfL6lI8Yw=="],
@@ -39,6 +37,8 @@
 
     "undici-types": ["undici-types@7.24.6", "", {}, "sha512-WRNW+sJgj5OBN4/0JpHFqtqzhpbnV0GuB+OozA9gCL7a993SmU+1JBZCzLNxYsbMfIeDL+lTsphD5jN5N+n0zg=="],
 
+    "yaml": ["yaml@2.9.0", "", { "bin": { "yaml": "bin.mjs" } }, "sha512-2AvhNX3mb8zd6Zy7INTtSpl1F15HW6Wnqj0srWlkKLcpYl/gMIMJiyuGq2KeI2YFxUPjdlB+3Lc10seMLtL4cA=="],
+
     "zod": ["zod@4.4.3", "", {}, "sha512-ytENFjIJFl2UwYglde2jchW2Hwm4GJFLDiSXWdTrJQBIN9Fcyp7n4DhxJEiWNAJMV1/BqWfW/kkg71UDcHJyTQ=="],
   }
 }
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1470fb2..0ef4471 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@
     "@openrouter/sdk": "^0.12.79",
     "chalk": "^5.6.2",
     "commander": "^15.0.0",
-    "dotenv": "^17.4.2",
     "prettier": "^3.8.3",
-    "supermemory": "^4.24.12"
+    "supermemory": "^4.24.12",
+    "yaml": "^2.9.0"
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index 6dcc8c2..bb703f5 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-import "dotenv/config";
-import { join } from "path";
+import { mkdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from "fs";
+import { homedir } from "os";
+import { dirname, join, resolve } from "path";
+import { parse as parseYaml } from "yaml";
 
 export interface Config {
   openrouterApiKey: string;
@@ -7,19 +9,43 @@ export interface Config {
   brainboxRoot: string;
 }
 
-const openrouterApiKey = process.env["OPENROUTER_API_KEY"];
-if (!openrouterApiKey) throw new Error("OPENROUTER_API_KEY is missing");
+const brainboxRoot = process.env["BRAINBOX_ROOT_PATH"]
+  ? resolve(process.cwd(), process.env["BRAINBOX_ROOT_PATH"])
+  : join(homedir(), ".brainbox");
 
-const supermemoryApiKey = process.env["SUPERMEMORY_API_KEY"];
-if (!supermemoryApiKey) throw new Error("SUPERMEMORY_API_KEY is missing");
+interface BrainboxYaml {
+  openrouter?: { apiKey?: string };
+  supermemory?: { apiKey?: string };
+}
 
-const brainboxRoot = join(
-  process.cwd(),
-  process.env["BRAINBOX_ROOT_PATH"] ?? "brainbox-data",
-);
+const yamlPath = join(brainboxRoot, "brainbox.yaml");
+let parsed: BrainboxYaml = {};
+try {
+  parsed = parseYaml(readFileSync(yamlPath, "utf8")) ?? {};
+} catch (err) {
+  if ((err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "ENOENT") {
+    mkdirSync(dirname(yamlPath), { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(
+      yamlPath,
+      "# Fill in your API keys, then run brainbox again.\n" +
+        "openrouter:\n" +
+        "  apiKey: \n" +
+        "supermemory:\n" +
+        "  apiKey: \n",
+    );
+  } else {
+    throw err;
+  }
+}
+
+const openrouterApiKey = parsed.openrouter?.apiKey;
+if (!openrouterApiKey) throw new Error(`openrouter.apiKey is missing in ${yamlPath}`);
+
+const supermemoryApiKey = parsed.supermemory?.apiKey;
+if (!supermemoryApiKey) throw new Error(`supermemory.apiKey is missing in ${yamlPath}`);
 
 export const config: Config = {
   openrouterApiKey,
   supermemoryApiKey,
   brainboxRoot,
-};
+};
\ No newline at end of file