Environment variables

The Runs on column says which container reads each variable: the backend, the scheduled job runner, or both.

Core

Variable	Runs on	Required	Default	What it does
`DATABASE_URL`	Both	Yes	None	PostgreSQL connection string, starting `postgres://` or `postgresql://`. The backend applies migrations on startup, so this user needs permission to change the schema.
`REDIS_URL`	Both	Backend: yes. Runner: only with email	None	Redis-compatible cache, starting `redis://` or `rediss://`.
`BETTER_AUTH_SECRET`	Backend	Yes	None	Signs sessions and tokens. At least 32 characters, for example from `openssl rand -base64 32`. Changing it signs everyone out.
`BETTER_AUTH_URL`	Backend	Yes	None	Your server's public address, such as `https://beacon.example.com`.
`SERVER_NAME`	Both	No	`OpenBeacon`	Name shown in the app, by `GET /health` and in email footers.
`SELF_HOSTED`	Backend	No	`true`	Leave as `true`. When `true`, the backend refuses app feedback, which always goes to OpenBeacon's hosted server.

Variable	Runs on	Required	Default	What it does
`OPENBEACON_API_PORT`	Backend	No	`3000`	Port the API listens on.
`OPENBEACON_API_HOSTNAME`	Backend	No	`0.0.0.0`	IPv4 address the API binds to.
`TRUSTED_PROXY_PROVIDER`	Backend	No	`none`	Where to read each client's IP address from: `none`, `trusted-proxy`, `cloudflare` or `cloudflare-authenticated`. See Networking.
`CLOUDFLARE_ORIGIN_SECRET`	Backend	With `cloudflare-authenticated`	None	Secret Cloudflare sends in the `X-OpenBeacon-Origin-Secret` header. At least 32 characters.

Variable	Runs on	Required	Default	What it does
`GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID`	Backend	No	None	Google web OAuth client ID. Set it with `GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET` to turn on Google sign-in.
`GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET`	Backend	With `GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID`	None	Secret for that client.

Set Resend or SMTP, not both, or neither to turn email off. Give the runner the same email settings as the backend. See Email.

Variable	Runs on	Required	Default	What it does
`RESEND_API_KEY`	Both	No	None	Sends email through Resend. A sending-only key works.
`SMTP_HOST`	Both	No	None	Sends email through this SMTP server.
`SMTP_PORT`	Both	No	`465` with `SMTP_SECURE=true`, otherwise `587`	SMTP port.
`SMTP_SECURE`	Both	No	`true` on port 465	Connect with implicit TLS.
`SMTP_REQUIRE_TLS`	Both	No	`true`	Refuse to send unless STARTTLS succeeds. Set `false` only for a local plaintext relay.
`SMTP_USER`	Both	With `SMTP_PASSWORD`	None	SMTP username.
`SMTP_PASSWORD`	Both	With `SMTP_USER`	None	SMTP password.
`EMAIL_FROM`	Both	With Resend or SMTP	None	Sender address. Emails come from `OpenBeacon <EMAIL_FROM>`.
`EMAIL_CODE_IP_LIMIT`	Backend	No	`false`	Also limits each IP address to 20 code requests an hour. Off by default because it can block people who share an IP address.

The backend and runner must use the same bucket and S3_CDN_URL. See Picture storage.

Variable	Runs on	Required	Default	What it does
`S3_ENDPOINT`	Both	No	OpenBeacon's storage provider	S3 API endpoint. Set this to your own.
`S3_REGION`	Both	No	`us-east-005`	S3 region.
`S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID`	Both	Yes	None	Access key ID. At least 20 characters.
`S3_ACCESS_KEY`	Both	Yes	None	Secret key. At least 20 characters.
`S3_BUCKET_NAME`	Both	Yes	None	Bucket that holds pictures.
`S3_CDN_URL`	Both	No	`https://cdn.openbeacon.net/file`	Public base address for picture links. Set this to your own.
`MAX_IMAGE_FILE_SIZE`	Backend	No	`5242880` (5 MB)	Largest picture upload, in bytes.

All required by both the backend and the runner. See Map tiles.

Variable	What it does
`R2_ACCOUNT_ID`	Cloudflare account ID that owns the bucket.
`R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID`	R2 access key ID.
`R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`	R2 secret key.
`R2_BUCKET`	Bucket that holds the map file.
`R2_PM_TILES_KEY`	Name of the PMTiles file in the bucket. Startup fails if it doesn't exist.