A file called gnuchess.ini is used to set configuration options, only if the --uci is not used. If --uci is used, the configuration file is not applicable. The file is looked for in the following two places, and the first one which is found will be used:
Sections are composed of variable = value lines.
Note: There can be spaces in variable names or values. Do not use quotes.
[Adapter] section
This section is used by the adapter only. The engine is unaware of these options. The list of available options is detailed below in this document.
[Engine] section
This section contains engine UCI options. The PolyGlot-based adapter does not understand them, but sends the information to the engine at startup (converted to UCI form). You can add any UCI option that makes sense to the engine (not just the common options about hash-table size and tablebases).
Note: use INI syntax, not UCI. For example OwnBook = true is correct. It will be replaced by the adapter with setoption name OwnBook value true at engine startup.
Standard UCI options are Hash, NalimovPath, NalimovCache and OwnBook. Hidden options like Ponder or UCI_xxx are automatic and should not be put in the INI file.