# gRPC generators.yml reference

> Complete gRPC generators.yml reference guide for Fern. Learn how to configure root, target, overrides, and local-generation settings.

The `generators.yml` file serves two roles: it declares your gRPC specification location (in the `api.specs` section), and configures SDK generation (in the optional `groups` section).

APIs declared here can be rendered in your documentation via `docs.yml`. See [Generate your API Reference](/learn/docs/api-references/generate-api-ref).

```yaml title="generators.yml"
api:
  specs:
    - proto:
        root: "./proto"
        target: "proto/service/v1/service.proto"
        local-generation: true
```

<ParamField path="root" type="string" required={true} toc={true}>
  Path to the `.proto` directory root (e.g., `proto`). Must be specified up to where the package starts. For example, if your package is `package.test.v1` at the file path `protos/package/test/v1/test_file.proto`, the root should be `protos/`
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="target" type="string" toc={true} required={false}>
  Path to the target `.proto` file (e.g., `proto/user/v1/user.proto`). Omit to generate docs for the entire root folder.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="overrides" type="string" toc={true}>
  Path to the overrides configuration file. Used for SDK generation only, not for documentation generation.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="local-generation" type="boolean" default="false" toc={true}>
  Whether to compile `.proto` files locally. Defaults to remote generation (`false`). When enabled, you must have [buf](https://buf.build/docs/installation) installed on your machine or in your [CI/CD environment (e.g., GitHub Actions)](/learn/api-definitions/grpc/sync-your-g-rpc-specification).
</ParamField>