Skip to main content
Better Hub uses environment variables to configure external services, authentication, and feature flags. Copy .env.example to .env and configure the required variables for your environment.

​
Quick Start

cp apps/web/.env.example apps/web/.env
Edit the .env file and configure at minimum the required variables marked below.

​
Authentication

Required for user authentication and session management.
​
GITHUB_CLIENT_ID
string
required
GitHub OAuth App client ID. Create an OAuth app at GitHub Settings > Developer Settings.
​
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET
string
required
GitHub OAuth App client secret. Keep this value secure and never commit it to version control.
​
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET
string
required
Random 32-character string used for session encryption. Generate with:
openssl rand -hex 16
This must be kept secret and should be unique per environment.
​
BETTER_AUTH_URL
string
required
Base URL where the application is hosted. Used for OAuth callbacks.Development: http://localhost:3000Production: https://yourdomain.com
​
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL
string
required
Public-facing application URL. Must match BETTER_AUTH_URL.Development: http://localhost:3000Production: https://yourdomain.com

​
Database

PostgreSQL database connection.
​
DATABASE_URL
string
required
PostgreSQL connection string in the format:
postgresql://[username]:[password]@[host]:[port]/[database]
Docker Compose default:
postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:54320/better_hub
Production: Use your managed PostgreSQL instance connection string.
Never commit database credentials to version control. Use environment-specific .env files that are git-ignored.

​
Redis

Required for caching GitHub API responses and session data.
​
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL
string
required
Upstash Redis REST API URL. Get this from your Upstash Console.Docker Compose default:
http://localhost:8079
Production: Use your Upstash Redis REST URL (format: https://[endpoint].upstash.io)
​
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN
string
required
Upstash Redis REST API token. Get this from your Upstash Console.Docker Compose default:
local_token
Production: Use your Upstash Redis token.

​
AI Configuration

Required for Ghost AI assistant and AI-powered features.

​
OpenRouter

​
OPEN_ROUTER_API_KEY
string
required
OpenRouter API key for accessing multiple AI models. Get your API key at OpenRouter.This is the primary API key used for the Ghost AI assistant.
​
GHOST_MODEL
string
default:"moonshotai/kimi-k2.5"
Model ID for the main Ghost AI assistant. Available models can be found at OpenRouter Models.Default: moonshotai/kimi-k2.5Recommended alternatives:
  • anthropic/claude-4.5-sonnet
  • google/gemini-2.5-pro
  • openai/gpt-4o
​
GHOST_MERGE_MODEL
string
default:"google/gemini-2.5-pro-preview"
Model ID specifically for merge-related AI operations.Default: google/gemini-2.5-pro-preview

​
Anthropic

​
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
string
required
Anthropic API key for Claude models used in specific AI tasks. Get your API key at Anthropic Console.

​
OpenAI

​
OPENAPI_KEY
string
OpenAI API key for GPT models (optional). Only required if you want to use OpenAI models directly.

​
Payments (Optional)

Stripe integration for billing and subscriptions.
​
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY
string
Stripe secret key from your Stripe Dashboard.Use test keys (sk_test_...) for development and live keys (sk_live_...) for production.
​
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET
string
Stripe webhook signing secret for verifying webhook events. Get this when setting up webhooks in your Stripe Dashboard.
​
STRIPE_BASE_PRICE_ID
string
Stripe Price ID for the base subscription plan (format: price_xxx).
​
STRIPE_METERED_PRICE_ID
string
Stripe Price ID for metered usage billing (format: price_xxx).

​
Code Sandbox (Optional)

E2B integration for sandboxed code execution.
​
E2B_API_KEY
string
E2B API key for sandboxed code execution. Get your API key at E2B.
​
E2B_TEMPLATE
string
Custom E2B template ID. Falls back to default base image if not specified.Build a custom template with:
cd apps/web && npx e2b template build

​
Background Jobs (Optional)

Inngest for asynchronous task processing.
​
INNGEST_EVENT_KEY
string
Inngest event key for triggering background jobs. Get this from your Inngest Dashboard.
​
INNGEST_SIGNING_KEY
string
Inngest signing key for securing webhook events.

​
Search & Memory (Optional)

AI-powered search and conversation memory.
​
MIXEDBREAD_API_KEY
string
Mixedbread embeddings API key for semantic search. Get your API key at Mixedbread.
​
SUPER_MEMORY_API_KEY
string
SuperMemory API key for AI conversation context and memory.

​
Integrations (Optional)

Third-party service integrations.

​
Slack

​
SLACK_CLIENT_ID
string
Slack OAuth client ID for Slack notifications integration.
​
SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET
string
Slack OAuth client secret.

​
Vercel

​
VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN
string
Vercel OIDC token for deployment authentication. Automatically set in Vercel deployments.

​
Monitoring (Optional)

Error tracking and monitoring.
​
SENTRY_DSN
string
Sentry Data Source Name for error tracking. Format: https://[key]@sentry.io/[project-id]Get this from your Sentry Project Settings.
​
SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN
string
Sentry authentication token for source map uploads and releases.

​
Environment-Specific Configuration

​
Development

Minimal configuration for local development: 
# Authentication
GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your_dev_client_id
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=your_dev_client_secret
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 16)
BETTER_AUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000

# Database (Docker Compose)
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:54320/better_hub

# Redis (Docker Compose)
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL=http://localhost:8079
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN=local_token

# AI
OPEN_ROUTER_API_KEY=your_openrouter_key
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_key

​
Production

Production configuration checklist:
1

Generate secure secrets

Use cryptographically secure random strings for BETTER_AUTH_SECRET
2

Use managed services

  • PostgreSQL: Use managed database (Supabase, Neon, Railway)
  • Redis: Use Upstash Redis
3

Set production URLs

Update BETTER_AUTH_URL and NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL to your production domain
4

Enable monitoring

Configure Sentry for error tracking
Always use different OAuth apps and API keys for development and production environments.

​
Validation

Better Hub will validate required environment variables on startup. If any required variables are missing, the application will fail to start with a descriptive error message. To check your configuration: 
npm run build
Missing or invalid environment variables will be reported during the build process.