Environment Variables

GitHub Wrapped works out of the box with zero configuration, but you can enhance its capabilities by setting environment variables. This guide covers all available configuration options.

Quick Start

Create a .env.local file in your project root:

# Optional: GitHub API authentication
GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here

# Optional: Redis caching (Upstash)
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL=https://your-redis.upstash.io
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN=your_token_here

# Optional: Application URL
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=https://yourapp.com

Never commit .env.local or .env files to version control. These files should be listed in your .gitignore.

GitHub API Configuration

GITHUB_TOKEN

Type: string (optional)
Default: undefined A GitHub personal access token for authenticating API requests. This significantly increases your API rate limits.

GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Benefits:

Increases rate limit from 60 to 5,000 requests per hour
Enables access to private repositories (if needed)
Prevents IP-based rate limiting

How to create a token:

Navigate to GitHub Settings

Go to GitHub Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens > Tokens (classic)

Generate new token

Click “Generate new token (classic)” and give it a descriptive name like “GitHub Wrapped API”

Select scopes

For public repositories only, you don’t need any scopes selected. For private repos, select:

repo - Full control of private repositories

Copy and save the token

Copy the generated token and add it to your .env.local file. You won’t be able to see it again!

The application works fine without a token for small-scale usage. Only add one if you’re hitting rate limits or need to access private repositories.

Caching Configuration

GitHub Wrapped uses a dual-layer caching system: in-memory cache by default, with optional Redis for distributed caching.

UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL

Type: string (optional)
Default: undefined The REST API URL for your Upstash Redis instance.

UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN

Type: string (optional)
Default: undefined The authentication token for your Upstash Redis instance.

UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL=https://us1-intent-owl-12345.upstash.io
UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN=AYQgASQgxxx...

When to use Redis:

Deploying to multiple serverless instances (Vercel, AWS Lambda)
Need persistent caching across server restarts
High-traffic deployments

Setting up Upstash Redis:

Create an Upstash account

Create a Redis database

Create a new Redis database in the Upstash console. Choose a region close to your deployment.

Copy credentials

Copy the UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL and UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN from the database details page.

Add to environment variables

Add both values to your .env.local file or deployment platform’s environment settings.

Without Redis configured, GitHub Wrapped uses an in-memory cache that works perfectly fine for single-instance deployments but is lost on server restart.

Application Configuration

NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL

Type: string (optional)
Default: http://localhost:3000 The public URL where your application is deployed. Used for generating share links and Open Graph images.

.env.local

NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=https://githubwrapped.tech

Variables prefixed with NEXT_PUBLIC_ are exposed to the browser. Don’t use this prefix for secrets!

NODE_ENV

Type: "development" | "production" | "test"
Default: Automatically set by Next.js Controls the environment mode. In development mode, rate limit checking is relaxed to avoid blocking local development.

// lib/github.ts:3
const isDev = process.env.NODE_ENV === "development";

if (isDev) {
  // Skip rate limit pressure during local development
  return { remaining: Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER, ... };
}

You typically don’t need to set this manually. Next.js sets it automatically based on the command (dev vs build/start).

Authentication Configuration (Optional)

If you’ve implemented user authentication features:

GITHUB_CLIENT_ID

Type: string (optional) OAuth application client ID for GitHub authentication.

GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET

Type: string (optional) OAuth application client secret for GitHub authentication.

.env.local

GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=Iv1.xxxxxxxxxxxx
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

These are only needed if you’re using the optional authentication features for “My Year in Code” functionality.

Platform-Specific Configuration

Vercel

Add environment variables in the Vercel dashboard:

Go to your project settings
Navigate to “Environment Variables”
Add each variable with appropriate environments (Production, Preview, Development)

Docker

Pass environment variables when running the container:

docker run -p 3000:3000 \
  -e GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxx \
  -e UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL=https://xxx.upstash.io \
  -e UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN=xxx \
  github-wrapped

Or use a .env file with Docker Compose:

docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'
services:
  app:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    env_file:
      - .env