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MARS keeps all of its tunable parameters in one place: config/settings.yaml in your ~/innate-os/ directory. Want to change how fast the robot drives, the camera resolution, or the TTS voice? You edit this one file — no digging through launch files or recompiling. A companion .env file holds connectivity and secrets (your service key, cloud endpoint URLs). Keep those there; everything about how the robot behaves goes in settings.yaml.

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How it works

config/settings.yaml is a standard ROS 2 parameters file. On startup, MARS layers it on top of each node’s built-in defaults — last value wins. So anything you set here overrides the default, and anything you leave alone keeps the default. The file ships with every knob commented out, each next to its default value. An all-commented file means “no overrides,” so behavior is unchanged until you uncomment something.
config/settings.yaml is created automatically from a template on update, and your edits are never overwritten by future updates.

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From the web app

The web app’s Settings page edits config/settings.yaml as a form — the easiest way to change a value, with no SSH or YAML. The web app's Settings page
1

Open Settings

Open the web app at https://<robot-ip> and click the Settings icon (sliders) in the left rail.
2

Change a value

Each tunable shows its default and its current value. Edit a field (or flip a toggle) to override it, or reset a row to return it to the default. Rows are color-coded — orange = a saved override, blue = an unsaved edit — and a counter shows how many unsaved changes you have.
3

Save

Click Save (enabled only when something changed) to write your overrides to config/settings.yaml. Reset all to defaults clears every override at once.
4

Restart to apply

Parameters are read when nodes start, so restart the stack:
innate service restart
The Settings page shows a curated set of the most common knobs (driving speed, safety clamp, battery, arm). For anything else, edit the file directly — see below; the file documents every parameter with an inline comment.

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Editing the file directly

Prefer SSH, or need a knob the Settings page doesn’t show? Edit config/settings.yaml yourself — it’s the same file the web app writes, so the two stay in sync.
1

Open the file

nano ~/innate-os/config/settings.yaml
2

Uncomment a whole stanza

Uncomment the node: line, the ros__parameters: line, and the value(s) you want — all together — then set your value. For example, to lower the top driving speed:
/**:
  ros__parameters:
    motion_control:
      max_speed: 0.3            # m/s, was 0.4
      max_angular_speed: 1.0    # rad/s
Use decimals for float values (0.3, not 3) so ROS keeps them as floats.
3

Restart to apply

Parameters are read when nodes start, so restart the stack:
innate service restart
/** applies the value to every node that uses that parameter (e.g. one motion_control.max_speed reaches the joystick, the keyboard, and the app at once). A named section like mars_arm: targets a single node.

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What you can tune

A few of the most common knobs (see the file itself for the full list and per-key comments):
SectionWhat it controls
motion_controlManual driving speed (joystick, keyboard, app)
navAutonomous (nav2) driving speed
bringup → batteryLow-battery warning / critical levels
bringup → safetyHard /cmd_vel speed clamp at the motors
mars_armArm jerk limit, motor-protection cooldown
main_camera_driverResolution, FPS, JPEG quality, exposure
manipulation_serverLearned-skill inference rate and speed
brain_client_node / input_manager_nodeCamera FOV, TTS voice, speech models
bringup → safety is the hardware speed ceiling every command passes through — it’s a backstop, not driving feel. Keep it greater than or equal to your motion_control and nav speeds.

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Reference

Advanced Development

Go deeper — modify and rebuild ROS2 nodes.

Innate CLI

Every command, including service restart.