> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://manifest.build/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Environment variables
> Every environment variable Manifest reads at startup, grouped by what it controls: database, auth, rate limiting, email, OAuth, telemetry.
Manifest reads its configuration from environment variables. In the bundled Docker setup these come from `~/manifest/.env`. For `docker run`, pass them with `-e`. For non-Docker installs, export them in the shell before launching the backend.
## Core
| Variable | Required | Default | Description |
| -------------------- | -------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `DATABASE_URL` | Yes | — | PostgreSQL connection string. Format: `postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/dbname` |
| `BETTER_AUTH_SECRET` | Yes | — | Session signing secret. Min 32 chars. Generate with `openssl rand -hex 32` |
| `BETTER_AUTH_URL` | No | `http://localhost:2099` | Public URL the dashboard is reachable on. Must match the browser URL |
| `PORT` | No | `2099` | Internal server port |
| `NODE_ENV` | No | `production` | Node environment. Telemetry is disabled when this isn't `production` |
## Network & security
| Variable | Default | Description |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `BIND_ADDRESS` | `127.0.0.1` | Interface the server binds to. Set to `0.0.0.0` for LAN access |
| `CORS_ORIGIN` | `http://localhost:3000` | Allowed CORS origin for browser-based dashboard requests |
| `API_KEY` | — | Internal API key for system endpoints |
| `MANIFEST_ENCRYPTION_KEY` | `BETTER_AUTH_SECRET` | Key used to encrypt stored provider credentials at rest. Falls back to `BETTER_AUTH_SECRET` when unset |
| `THROTTLE_TTL` | `60000` | Rate-limit window in milliseconds |
| `THROTTLE_LIMIT` | `100` | Max requests per window per agent |
| `DB_POOL_MAX` | `30` | Max PostgreSQL connections in the pool |
| `SEED_DATA` | `false` | Seed demo data on first boot |
## LLM proxy
How Manifest talks to upstream providers.
| Variable | Default | Description |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `PROVIDER_TIMEOUT_MS` | `180000` | Per-attempt timeout (ms) for upstream requests. A hung provider surfaces as a synthetic `504` and triggers the next [fallback](/fallback). Set it strictly below your client's own timeout; slow local models may need it raised |
| `MANIFEST_MAX_MESSAGES` | `1000` | Max messages Manifest forwards per request. Requests over the cap are rejected with error [M301](/errors/M301) |
| `STREAM_WARMUP_MS` | `15000` | How long to wait for the first streamed chunk before falling back to the next model |
| `OLLAMA_HOST` | `http://localhost:11434` | Base URL for a local Ollama server. In Docker, set it to `http://host.docker.internal:11434` |
## Email
Used for both Better Auth transactional emails (signup verification, password reset) **and** [threshold alerts](/set-limits). Set one provider block.
| Variable | Description |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| `EMAIL_PROVIDER` | `resend`, `mailgun`, or `sendgrid` |
| `EMAIL_API_KEY` | API key for the chosen provider |
| `EMAIL_DOMAIN` | Sending domain (Mailgun only) |
| `EMAIL_FROM` | From-address for outbound mail |
Without an email provider, signup verification is waived (users are created as unverified-but-usable) and password reset silently no-ops. Hard-limit blocks still work; alerts just don't email.
### Legacy Mailgun-only
Older deployments used these. Kept for backward compatibility; new installs should use `EMAIL_*` instead.
| Variable | Description |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| `MAILGUN_API_KEY` | Mailgun API key |
| `MAILGUN_DOMAIN` | Mailgun domain |
| `NOTIFICATION_FROM_EMAIL` | Sender address for alerts |
## OAuth logins
Each provider activates automatically when both `*_CLIENT_ID` and `*_CLIENT_SECRET` are set. Configure the callback URL in the provider's console as `${BETTER_AUTH_URL}/api/auth/callback/`.
| Variable | Provider |
| --------------------------------------------- | -------- |
| `GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID` / `GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET` | Google |
| `GITHUB_CLIENT_ID` / `GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET` | GitHub |
| `DISCORD_CLIENT_ID` / `DISCORD_CLIENT_SECRET` | Discord |
Subscription OAuth (ChatGPT, Claude, MiniMax) uses Manifest-side client IDs by default. Override only if you've registered your own app:
| Variable | Description |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| `OPENAI_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID` | Custom OpenAI OAuth client ID |
| `MINIMAX_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID` | Custom MiniMax OAuth client ID |
## Telemetry
| Variable | Default | Description |
| ----------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `MANIFEST_TELEMETRY_DISABLED` | unset | Set to `1` to disable [anonymous telemetry](/self-hosted#telemetry) |
| `TELEMETRY_ENDPOINT` | `https://telemetry.manifest.build/...` | Send reports to your own endpoint |
| `MANIFEST_PUBLIC_STATS` | `false` | Expose `/api/v1/public/*` aggregate stats without auth (Cloud only) |
## Postgres bundled volume
When you run the bundled compose file, Manifest brings up its own Postgres container. To use a stronger password than the default, set **both** of these. They must agree, and special characters in the password must be percent-encoded in `DATABASE_URL`:
| Variable | Description |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` | Password for the bundled Postgres user |
| `DATABASE_URL` | Connection string with the matching password |
Special-char encoding: `@` → `%40`, `:` → `%3A`, `/` → `%2F`.