This guide covers all the available environment variables to fine-tune OpenLIT according to your needs.

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Environment variables

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INIT_DB_HOST
required
Sets the host address of the ClickHouse server for OpenLIT to connectExample:
export INIT_DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
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INIT_DB_PORT
required
Sets the port on which ClickHouse listensExample:
export INIT_DB_PORT=8123
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INIT_DB_DATABASE
required
Sets the name of the database in Clickhouse to be used by OpenLITExample:
export INIT_DB_DATABASE=default
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INIT_DB_USERNAME
required
Sets the username for authenticating with ClickHouseExample:
export INIT_DB_USERNAME=default
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INIT_DB_PASSWORD
required
Sets the password for authenticating with ClickHouseExample:
export INIT_DB_PASSWORD=default
​
SQLITE_DATABASE_URL
required
Sets the location where SQLITE data is stored.Example:
export SQLITE_DATABASE_URL=file:/app/client/data/data.db

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OAuth authentication variables

For detailed OAuth setup instructions, see the OAuth Authentication Setup guide.
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NEXTAUTH_URL
Sets the canonical URL of your site for NextAuth.js authenticationExample:
export NEXTAUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000
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NEXTAUTH_SECRET
Used to encrypt the NextAuth.js JWT tokens and email verification hashesExample:
export NEXTAUTH_SECRET=your-secret-here
Generate with: openssl rand -base64 32
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GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID
Google OAuth client ID for Google sign-in integrationExample:
export GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your-google-client-id
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GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET
Google OAuth client secret for Google sign-in integrationExample:
export GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your-google-client-secret
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GITHUB_CLIENT_ID
GitHub OAuth client ID for GitHub sign-in integrationExample:
export GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your-github-client-id
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GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET
GitHub OAuth client secret for GitHub sign-in integrationExample:
export GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=your-github-client-secret

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Environment file placement

Environment variables can be configured in multiple ways depending on your deployment method:

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Development setup

1

Client-side .env

Create a .env file in the src/client/ directory for development:
src/client/.env
This file is automatically loaded by Next.js during development.
2

Docker Compose .env

Create a .env file in the same directory as your docker-compose.yml file:
# In the root directory with docker-compose.yml
.env
This file is automatically loaded by Docker Compose.
3

Development Docker Compose .env

For development Docker setup, create a .env file alongside src/dev-docker-compose.yml:
# In the src/ directory with dev-docker-compose.yml
src/.env

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Production setup

For production deployments, set environment variables directly in your hosting platform or container orchestration system (Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, etc.).

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Sample environment file (.env)

.env
# Database Configuration
INIT_DB_HOST="127.0.0.1"
INIT_DB_PORT="8123"
INIT_DB_DATABASE="default"
INIT_DB_USERNAME="default"
INIT_DB_PASSWORD="OPENLIT"
SQLITE_DATABASE_URL="file:/app/client/data/data.db"

# NextAuth Configuration (Optional)
NEXTAUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"
NEXTAUTH_SECRET="your-secret-here"

# OAuth Providers (Optional)
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID="your-google-client-id"
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET="your-google-client-secret"
GITHUB_CLIENT_ID="your-github-client-id"
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET="your-github-client-secret"

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