Environment Variables

This document describes the environment variables used in the tracker REST API system based on the actual configuration.

Core Application Variables

API Configuration

API_V1_STR - API version prefix
Default: /api/v1
Used for API route prefixing
PROJECT_NAME - Project name for documentation
Default: Tracker API
ENVIRONMENT - Application environment
Values: development, testing, production
Default: development
TESTING - Flag to indicate test mode
Values: true, false
Default: false

Database Configuration

POSTGRES_SERVER - PostgreSQL server hostname
Default: localhost
Example: db (Docker service name)
POSTGRES_USER - PostgreSQL username
Default: postgres
Example: tracker
POSTGRES_PASSWORD - PostgreSQL password
Default: postgres
Required in production
POSTGRES_DB - PostgreSQL database name
Default: tracker
POSTGRES_PORT - PostgreSQL port
Default: 5432

Authentication & Security

SECRET_KEY - JWT signing secret
Default: your-secret-key-for-jwt
Should be a long, random string in production
ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES - JWT access token expiration time
Default: 240 (4 hours)
Configured to reduce likelihood of expiry during sleep
REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRE_DAYS - JWT refresh token expiration time
Default: 7 days
JWT_ISSUER - JWT issuer identifier
Default: tracker-api
JWT_AUDIENCE - JWT audience identifier
Default: tracker-clients
ALGORITHM - JWT signing algorithm
Default: HS256

CORS Configuration

CORS_ORIGINS - Allowed CORS origins (hardcoded in config)
Includes: http://localhost:3000, http://localhost:8080, http://localhost:8100
Production: https://tracker-admin.glimpse.technology, https://tracker.glimpse.technology

Dragonfly/Redis Configuration

REDIS_HOST - Dragonfly hostname
Default: dragonfly
Example: 192.168.100.1 (local development)
REDIS_PORT - Dragonfly port
Default: 6379
REDIS_USERNAME - Dragonfly username (optional)
Used for AWS Valkey compatibility
Default: None
REDIS_PASSWORD - Dragonfly password
Default: Empty string
Required in production
REDIS_CLUSTER_MODE - Enable cluster mode
Values: true, false
Default: false
REDIS_CACHE_TTL - Cache time-to-live in seconds
Default: 3600 (1 hour)

Dragonfly TLS Configuration

REDIS_TLS_ENABLED - Enable TLS encryption
Values: true, false
Default: false
REDIS_TLS_CERT_REQS - TLS certificate requirements
Default: none
Values: none, optional, required
REDIS_TLS_CA_CERTS_FILE - Path to CA certificates file
Optional for TLS verification
REDIS_TLS_CERTFILE - Path to client certificate file
Optional for client certificate authentication
REDIS_TLS_KEYFILE - Path to client key file
Optional for client certificate authentication

Static Files & External URLs

STATIC_DIR - Directory for static files
Default: ../static (relative to app directory)
EXTERNAL_BASE_URL - External base URL for the API
Default: http://localhost:8100
Example: https://tracker.glimpse.technology
API_URL - API URL for external access
Used in production for frontend services
Example: https://tracker.glimpse.technology

Development & Testing

DEBUG - Enable debug mode
Values: true, false
Used in local development
DEBUG_WAIT_FOR_CLIENT - Wait for debugger client (Docker)
Values: true, false
Default: false

Docker Environment

Database Configuration

POSTGRES_SERVER - PostgreSQL server hostname
Example: db (service name in Docker Compose)
POSTGRES_USER - PostgreSQL username
Default: tracker
POSTGRES_PASSWORD - PostgreSQL password (required)
POSTGRES_DB - PostgreSQL database name
Default: tracker
POSTGRES_PORT - PostgreSQL port
Default: 5432

Dragonfly Configuration

REDIS_HOST - Dragonfly hostname
Example: dragonfly (service name in Docker Compose)
REDIS_PORT - Dragonfly port
Default: 6379
REDIS_USERNAME - Dragonfly username (optional)
REDIS_PASSWORD - Dragonfly password (required)
REDIS_CLUSTER_MODE - Enable cluster mode
Default: false
REDIS_CACHE_TTL - Cache time-to-live in seconds
Default: 3600
REDIS_TLS_ENABLED - Enable TLS encryption
Default: false
REDIS_TLS_CERT_REQS - TLS certificate requirements
Default: none
REDIS_TLS_CA_CERTS_FILE - Path to CA certificates file
REDIS_TLS_CERTFILE - Path to client certificate file
REDIS_TLS_KEYFILE - Path to client key file

Application Configuration

SECRET_KEY - JWT signing secret (required)
DEBUG_WAIT_FOR_CLIENT - Wait for debugger client
Default: false
EXTERNAL_BASE_URL - External base URL for the API
Example: https://tracker.glimpse.technology
API_URL - API URL for frontend services
Example: http://dev:8000 (development)
Example: https://tracker.glimpse.technology (production)

Example Configuration Files

.env (Development)

# Database
POSTGRES_USER=tracker
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-secure-password
POSTGRES_DB=tracker

# Security
SECRET_KEY=your-very-long-random-secret-key

# Dragonfly
REDIS_PASSWORD=your-redis-password
REDIS_USERNAME=
REDIS_CLUSTER_MODE=false
REDIS_CACHE_TTL=3600
REDIS_TLS_ENABLED=false
REDIS_TLS_CERT_REQS=none

# Development
DEBUG_WAIT_FOR_CLIENT=false

.env (Production)

# Database
POSTGRES_SERVER=db
POSTGRES_USER=tracker
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=very-secure-production-password
POSTGRES_DB=tracker
POSTGRES_PORT=5432

# Security
SECRET_KEY=very-long-random-production-secret-key

# Dragonfly
REDIS_HOST=dragonfly
REDIS_PORT=6379
REDIS_PASSWORD=very-secure-redis-password
REDIS_USERNAME=
REDIS_CLUSTER_MODE=false
REDIS_CACHE_TTL=3600
REDIS_TLS_ENABLED=false
REDIS_TLS_CERT_REQS=none

# External URLs
EXTERNAL_BASE_URL=https://tracker.glimpse.technology
API_URL=https://tracker.glimpse.technology

Security Considerations

!!! warning "Security Best Practices" - Never commit .env files to version control - Use strong, unique values for SECRET_KEY - Rotate secrets regularly in production - Use environment-specific configurations - Limit CORS origins to trusted domains only

Loading Environment Variables

The application loads environment variables in the following order:

System environment variables
.env.local file (development)
.env file (fallback)
Default values in code

This allows for flexible configuration across different environments while maintaining security.