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This page documents all environment variables used to configure the Document Download Frontend application.

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Required Variables

These environment variables must be set for the application to run.
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NOTIFY_ENVIRONMENT
string
required
Environment name for the application. Used purely for logging purposes and should not be used for logical conditionals in code.Supported values:
  • development - Loads Development config class
  • test - Loads Test config class
  • Any other value loads the base Config class
Source: app/config.py:16, app/__init__.py:56

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API Configuration

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API_HOST_NAME
string
Hostname for the Notify API service.Default (Development): http://localhost:6011Default (Test): http://test-notify-apiSource: app/config.py:9, app/config.py:29
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DOCUMENT_DOWNLOAD_API_HOST_NAME
string
Public hostname for the Document Download API service.Default (Development): http://localhost:7000Default (Test): https://download.test-doc-download-api.gov.ukSource: app/config.py:20, app/config.py:30
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DOCUMENT_DOWNLOAD_API_HOST_NAME_INTERNAL
string
Internal hostname for the Document Download API service. Used for server-to-server communication.Default (Development): Falls back to DOCUMENT_DOWNLOAD_API_HOST_NAME value (http://localhost:7000)Default (Test): https://download.test-doc-download-api-internal.gov.ukSource: app/config.py:21, app/config.py:31-33

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Security & Authentication

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SECRET_KEY
string
required
Secret key for Flask session signing and CSRF protection.Development default: dev-notify-secret-key
Never use the development default in production. Always set a unique, randomly generated value.
Source: app/config.py:7, app/config.py:36
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ADMIN_CLIENT_SECRET
string
required
Secret key for authenticating with the admin client.Development default: dev-notify-secret-key
Never use the development default in production. Always set a unique, randomly generated value.
Source: app/config.py:5, app/config.py:35

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Logging

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NOTIFY_REQUEST_LOG_LEVEL
string
default:"INFO"
Log level for request logging.Supported values: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICALSource: app/config.py:18

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UI Customization

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HEADER_COLOUR
string
default:"#FFBF47"
Hex color code for the application header.Default is #FFBF47 (yellow from GOV.UK design system).Source: app/config.py:23
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HTTP_PROTOCOL
string
default:"http"
HTTP protocol to use for generated URLs.Supported values: http, httpsSource: app/config.py:24

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Server Configuration

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SERVER_NAME
string
Server name for the Flask application. Used for URL generation.Test default: document-download-frontend.govOnly required in specific environments (development and test).Source: app/config.py:28, app/config.py:46
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HTTP_SERVE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
integer
default:"30"
Timeout in seconds for HTTP request serving. Used by both the eventlet middleware and gunicorn.Source: application.py:28, gunicorn_config.py:12

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Performance Monitoring (Sentry)

These variables control Sentry error and performance monitoring.
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SENTRY_ENABLED
boolean
default:"0"
Enable or disable Sentry monitoring.Set to 1 to enable, 0 to disable.Source: app/performance.py:15
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SENTRY_DSN
string
Sentry Data Source Name (DSN) for the project.Required when SENTRY_ENABLED=1.Source: app/performance.py:16
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SENTRY_ALLOW_PII
boolean
default:"0"
Allow Sentry to collect Personally Identifiable Information (PII).Set to 1 to enable, 0 to disable.When enabled:
  • send_default_pii is set to True
  • request_bodies is set to medium
Source: app/performance.py:14, app/performance.py:24-25
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SENTRY_ERRORS_SAMPLE_RATE
float
default:"0.0"
Sample rate for error events sent to Sentry.Value between 0.0 (0%) and 1.0 (100%).Source: app/performance.py:21
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SENTRY_TRACES_SAMPLE_RATE
float
default:"0.0"
Sample rate for performance traces sent to Sentry.Value between 0.0 (0%) and 1.0 (100%).Source: app/performance.py:22

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Test Configuration

These variables are used in the Test configuration class.
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TESTING
boolean
Enable Flask testing mode.Test default: TrueSource: app/config.py:42
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WTF_CSRF_ENABLED
boolean
Enable CSRF protection for Flask-WTF forms.Test default: False (disabled for testing)Source: app/config.py:43

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Example Configuration

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Development Environment

export NOTIFY_ENVIRONMENT=development
export SECRET_KEY=dev-notify-secret-key
export ADMIN_CLIENT_SECRET=dev-notify-secret-key
export API_HOST_NAME=http://localhost:6011
export DOCUMENT_DOWNLOAD_API_HOST_NAME=http://localhost:7000

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Production Environment

export NOTIFY_ENVIRONMENT=production
export SECRET_KEY=<randomly-generated-secret>
export ADMIN_CLIENT_SECRET=<randomly-generated-secret>
export API_HOST_NAME=https://api.notifications.service.gov.uk
export DOCUMENT_DOWNLOAD_API_HOST_NAME=https://download.notifications.service.gov.uk
export DOCUMENT_DOWNLOAD_API_HOST_NAME_INTERNAL=https://download-internal.notifications.service.gov.uk
export HTTP_PROTOCOL=https
export NOTIFY_REQUEST_LOG_LEVEL=WARNING
export HTTP_SERVE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=60

# Sentry monitoring
export SENTRY_ENABLED=1
export SENTRY_DSN=https://your-sentry-dsn@sentry.io/project-id
export SENTRY_ERRORS_SAMPLE_RATE=1.0
export SENTRY_TRACES_SAMPLE_RATE=0.1

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