big-agi/docs/environment-variables.md

Environment Variables

This document provides an explanation of the environment variables used in the big-AGI application.

All variables are optional; and UI options take precedence over backend environment variables, which take place over defaults. This file is kept in sync with ../src/server/env.mjs.

Setting Environment Variables

Environment variables can be set by creating a .env file in the root directory of the project.

The following is an example .env for copy-paste convenience:

# Database (Postgres)
POSTGRES_PRISMA_URL=
POSTGRES_URL_NON_POOLING=

# Database (MongoDB)
MDB_URI=

# LLMs
OPENAI_API_KEY=
OPENAI_API_HOST=
OPENAI_API_ORG_ID=
AZURE_OPENAI_API_ENDPOINT=
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=
ANTHROPIC_API_HOST=
GEMINI_API_KEY=
LOCALAI_API_HOST=
LOCALAI_API_KEY=
MISTRAL_API_KEY=
OLLAMA_API_HOST=
OPENROUTER_API_KEY=
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=
TOGETHERAI_API_KEY=

# Model Observability: Helicone
HELICONE_API_KEY=

# Text-To-Speech
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=
ELEVENLABS_API_HOST=
ELEVENLABS_VOICE_ID=
# Text-To-Image
PRODIA_API_KEY=
# Google Custom Search
GOOGLE_CLOUD_API_KEY=
GOOGLE_CSE_ID=
# Browse
PUPPETEER_WSS_ENDPOINT=

# Backend Analytics
BACKEND_ANALYTICS=

# Backend HTTP Basic Authentication (see `deploy-authentication.md` for turning on authentication)
HTTP_BASIC_AUTH_USERNAME=
HTTP_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=

# Frontend variables
NEXT_PUBLIC_PLANTUML_SERVER_URL=

Backend Variables

These variables are used only by the server-side code, at runtime. Define them before running the nextjs local server (in development or cloud deployment), or pass them to Docker (--env-file or -e) when starting the container.

Database

To enable Chat Link Sharing, you need to connect the backend to a database. We currently support Postgres and MongoDB.

For Database configuration see deploy-database.md.

LLMs

The following variables when set will enable the corresponding LLMs on the server-side, without requiring the user to enter an API key

Variable	Description	Required
OPENAI_API_KEY	API key for OpenAI	Recommended
OPENAI_API_HOST	Changes the backend host for the OpenAI vendor, to enable platforms such as Helicone and CloudFlare AI Gateway	Optional
OPENAI_API_ORG_ID	Sets the "OpenAI-Organization" header field to support organization users	Optional
AZURE_OPENAI_API_ENDPOINT	Azure OpenAI endpoint - host only, without the path	Optional, but if set AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY must also be set
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY	Azure OpenAI API key, see config-azure-openai.md	Optional, but if set AZURE_OPENAI_API_ENDPOINT must also be set
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	The API key for Anthropic	Optional
ANTHROPIC_API_HOST	Changes the backend host for the Anthropic vendor, to enable platforms such as config-aws-bedrock.md	Optional
GEMINI_API_KEY	The API key for Google AI's Gemini	Optional
LOCALAI_API_HOST	Sets the URL of the LocalAI server, or defaults to http://127.0.0.1:8080	Optional
LOCALAI_API_KEY	The (Optional) API key for LocalAI	Optional
MISTRAL_API_KEY	The API key for Mistral	Optional
OLLAMA_API_HOST	Changes the backend host for the Ollama vendor. See config-local-ollama.md
OPENROUTER_API_KEY	The API key for OpenRouter	Optional
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY	The API key for Perplexity	Optional
TOGETHERAI_API_KEY	The API key for Together AI	Optional

LLM Observability: Helicone

Helicone provides observability to your LLM calls. It is a paid service, with a generous free tier. It is currently supported for:

• Anthropic: by setting the Helicone API key, Helicone is automatically activated
• OpenAI: you also need to set OPENAI_API_HOST to oai.hconeai.com, to enable routing

Variable	Description
HELICONE_API_KEY	The API key for Helicone

Features

Enable the app to Talk, Draw, and Google things up.

Variable	Description
Text-To-Speech	ElevenLabs is a high quality speech synthesis service
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY	ElevenLabs API Key - used for calls, etc.
ELEVENLABS_API_HOST	Custom host for ElevenLabs
ELEVENLABS_VOICE_ID	Default voice ID for ElevenLabs
Text-To-Image	Prodia is a reliable image generation service
PRODIA_API_KEY	Prodia API Key - used with '/imagine ...'
Google Custom Search	Google Programmable Search Engine produces links to pages
GOOGLE_CLOUD_API_KEY	Google Cloud API Key, used with the '/react' command - Link to GCP
GOOGLE_CSE_ID	Google Custom/Programmable Search Engine ID - Link to PSE
Browse
PUPPETEER_WSS_ENDPOINT	Puppeteer WebSocket endpoint - used for browsing (pade downloadeing), etc.
Backend
BACKEND_ANALYTICS	Semicolon-separated list of analytics flags (see backend.analytics.ts). Flags: domain logs the responding domain.
HTTP_BASIC_AUTH_USERNAME	See the Authentication guide. Username for HTTP Basic Authentication.
HTTP_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD	Password for HTTP Basic Authentication.

Frontend Variables

The value of these variables are passed to the frontend (Web UI) - make sure they do not contain secrets.

Variable	Description
NEXT_PUBLIC_PLANTUML_SERVER_URL	The URL of the PlantUML server, used for rendering UML diagrams. (code in RederCode.tsx)

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For a higher level overview of backend code and environemnt customization, see the big-AGI Customization guide.