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Overview

DecipherIt uses environment variables to configure both the frontend and backend. This page provides a complete reference for all available variables.
Variables marked with ⚠️ are required. Variables marked with ℹ️ are optional.

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Frontend Environment Variables

These variables are configured in client/.env.local.

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Database

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DATABASE_URL
string
required
⚠️ PostgreSQL connection string for Prisma ORMFormat: postgresql://[user]:[password]@[host]:[port]/[database]Example:
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://decipher_user:password@localhost:5432/decipher"
Docker:
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:password@db:5432/decipher"

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Authentication

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BETTER_AUTH_SECRET
string
required
⚠️ Secret key for signing authentication tokensRequirements:
  • Minimum 32 characters
  • Cryptographically secure random string
  • Must be kept secret
Generate:
openssl rand -base64 32
Example:
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="a8f5f167f44f4964e6c998dee827110c"
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BETTER_AUTH_URL
string
required
⚠️ Base URL where your application is hostedDevelopment:
BETTER_AUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"
Production:
BETTER_AUTH_URL="https://yourdomain.com"

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Application URLs

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NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL
string
required
⚠️ Public base URL (accessible from client-side code)Development:
NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL="http://localhost:3000"
Production:
NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL="https://yourdomain.com"
Variables prefixed with NEXT_PUBLIC_ are exposed to the browser. Never include secrets in these variables.
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BACKEND_API_URL
string
required
⚠️ URL of the backend API serverDevelopment:
BACKEND_API_URL="http://localhost:8001"
Production:
BACKEND_API_URL="https://api.yourdomain.com"
Docker:
BACKEND_API_URL="http://backend:8001"

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Cloud Storage (Cloudflare R2)

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R2_ENDPOINT
string
required
⚠️ Cloudflare R2 endpoint URLFormat: https://[account-id].r2.cloudflarestorage.comExample:
R2_ENDPOINT="https://1234567890abcdef.r2.cloudflarestorage.com"
Find your account ID in the Cloudflare dashboard under R2.
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R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID
string
required
⚠️ R2 access key ID for authenticationExample:
R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0"
Create R2 API tokens in the Cloudflare dashboard.
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R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
string
required
⚠️ R2 secret access key for authenticationExample:
R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6q7r8s9t0"
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R2_BUCKET_NAME
string
required
⚠️ Name of your R2 bucket for file storageExample:
R2_BUCKET_NAME="decipher-files"
Create the bucket in the Cloudflare R2 dashboard before deploying.
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R2_PUBLIC_URL
string
required
⚠️ Public CDN URL for accessing stored filesExample:
R2_PUBLIC_URL="https://files.yourdomain.com"
Configure a custom domain in the Cloudflare R2 dashboard.

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Backend Environment Variables

These variables are configured in backend/.env.

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Database

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DATABASE_URL
string
required
⚠️ PostgreSQL connection string (same as frontend)Example:
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://decipher_user:password@localhost:5432/decipher"

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AI Services

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Bright Data

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BRIGHT_DATA_API_TOKEN
string
required
⚠️ Bright Data API token for web scrapingExample:
BRIGHT_DATA_API_TOKEN="abc123def456ghi789"
How to get:
  1. Sign up at brightdata.com
  2. Navigate to user settings
  3. Copy your API token
New users receive free credits.
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BRIGHT_DATA_BROWSER_AUTH
string
required
⚠️ Browser authentication credentials for Bright DataFormat: username:passwordExample:
BRIGHT_DATA_BROWSER_AUTH="brd-customer-hl_abc123:def456ghi789"
Find this in your Bright Data Web Unlocker zone settings.

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OpenRouter

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OPENROUTER_API_KEY
string
required
⚠️ OpenRouter API key for Google Gemini modelsExample:
OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-abc123def456ghi789"
How to get:
  1. Sign up at openrouter.ai
  2. Navigate to API Keys
  3. Create a new API key
DecipherIt uses OpenRouter to access Google Gemini 1.5 Flash via unified API.

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OpenAI

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OPENAI_API_KEY
string
required
⚠️ OpenAI API key for embeddingsExample:
OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-proj-abc123def456ghi789"
How to get:
  1. Sign up at platform.openai.com
  2. Navigate to API Keys
  3. Create a new API key
Used for generating text embeddings for semantic search.

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LemonFox AI

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LEMONFOX_API_KEY
string
required
⚠️ LemonFox API key for text-to-speechExample:
LEMONFOX_API_KEY="lf_abc123def456"
How to get:
  1. Sign up at lemonfox.ai
  2. Navigate to API settings
  3. Generate an API key
Used for generating high-quality podcast-style audio overviews.

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Vector Database

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QDRANT_API_URL
string
required
⚠️ Qdrant API endpoint URLLocal Installation:
QDRANT_API_URL="http://localhost:6333"
Docker:
QDRANT_API_URL="http://qdrant:6333"
Qdrant Cloud:
QDRANT_API_URL="https://your-cluster-url.qdrant.io"
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QDRANT_API_KEY
string
ℹ️ API key for Qdrant Cloud authenticationExample:
QDRANT_API_KEY="abc123def456ghi789"
Not required for local Qdrant installations. Only needed for Qdrant Cloud.

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Cloud Storage

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CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID
string
required
⚠️ Cloudflare account IDExample:
CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID="1234567890abcdef"
Find in the Cloudflare dashboard URL or account settings.
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CLOUDFLARE_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID
string
required
⚠️ R2 access key ID (same as frontend R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID)Example:
CLOUDFLARE_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0"
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CLOUDFLARE_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
string
required
⚠️ R2 secret access key (same as frontend R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY)Example:
CLOUDFLARE_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6q7r8s9t0"

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Optional Services

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LANGTRACE_API_KEY
string
ℹ️ LangTrace API key for observability and tracingExample:
LANGTRACE_API_KEY="lt_abc123def456"
How to get:
  1. Sign up at langtrace.ai
  2. Create a new project
  3. Copy the API key
Provides detailed observability for AI agent workflows.

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Complete Configuration Examples

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Frontend (.env.local)

# Database
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://decipher_user:mypassword@localhost:5432/decipher"

# Authentication
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="a8f5f167f44f4964e6c998dee827110c"
BETTER_AUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"

# Application URLs
BACKEND_API_URL="http://localhost:8001"
NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL="http://localhost:3000"

# Cloudflare R2 Storage
R2_ENDPOINT="https://1234567890abcdef.r2.cloudflarestorage.com"
R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0"
R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6q7r8s9t0"
R2_BUCKET_NAME="decipher-files"
R2_PUBLIC_URL="https://files.decipherit.xyz"

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Backend (.env)

# Database
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://decipher_user:mypassword@localhost:5432/decipher"

# Bright Data (Web Scraping)
BRIGHT_DATA_API_TOKEN="abc123def456ghi789"
BRIGHT_DATA_BROWSER_AUTH="brd-customer-hl_abc123:def456ghi789"

# AI Services
OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-abc123def456ghi789"
OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-proj-abc123def456ghi789"
LEMONFOX_API_KEY="lf_abc123def456"

# Vector Database
QDRANT_API_URL="http://localhost:6333"
QDRANT_API_KEY=""

# Cloudflare
CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID="1234567890abcdef"
CLOUDFLARE_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0"
CLOUDFLARE_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6q7r8s9t0"

# Optional: Observability
LANGTRACE_API_KEY="lt_abc123def456"

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Docker (.env)

# Authentication
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="a8f5f167f44f4964e6c998dee827110c"
BETTER_AUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"
NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL="http://localhost:3000"

# Cloudflare R2 Storage
R2_ENDPOINT="https://1234567890abcdef.r2.cloudflarestorage.com"
R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0"
R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6q7r8s9t0"
R2_BUCKET_NAME="decipher-files"
R2_PUBLIC_URL="https://files.decipherit.xyz"

# AI Services
BRIGHT_DATA_API_TOKEN="abc123def456ghi789"
BRIGHT_DATA_BROWSER_AUTH="brd-customer-hl_abc123:def456ghi789"
OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-abc123def456ghi789"
OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-proj-abc123def456ghi789"
LEMONFOX_API_KEY="lf_abc123def456"

# Cloudflare
CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID="1234567890abcdef"

# Optional
QDRANT_API_KEY=""
LANGTRACE_API_KEY=""

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Security Best Practices

Never commit .env files to version control. Always add them to .gitignore.

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Secret Management

  1. Generate Strong Secrets: 
    # Generate a secure random string
openssl rand -base64 32
  2. Use Environment-Specific Values:
    • Development: http://localhost
    • Production: https://yourdomain.com
  3. Rotate Credentials Regularly:
    • Change API keys every 90 days
    • Rotate auth secrets on security incidents
  4. Use Secret Managers in Production:
    • AWS Secrets Manager
    • HashiCorp Vault
    • Google Secret Manager
    • Azure Key Vault

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Validation

Validate your environment configuration before deployment: 
# Frontend validation
cd client
pnpm prisma validate

# Backend validation
cd backend
python -c "from dotenv import load_dotenv; load_dotenv(); import os; print('Loaded', len(os.environ), 'variables')"

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Troubleshooting

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Missing Variables

If you see errors about missing environment variables:
  1. Check the variable name matches exactly (case-sensitive)
  2. Ensure the .env or .env.local file is in the correct directory
  3. Restart the development server after changing variables

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Database Connection Fails

Check your DATABASE_URL format: 
# Correct format
postgresql://username:password@host:port/database

# Common mistakes
postgres://...  # Wrong protocol
postgresql://username@host/database  # Missing password
postgresql://username:password@host  # Missing port and database

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API Key Errors

If API calls fail:
  1. Verify the API key is valid and active
  2. Check for extra spaces or newlines in the .env file
  3. Ensure you have sufficient credits/quota
  4. Check the service status page

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Next Steps

Installation

Complete installation guide

Configuration

Detailed configuration guide

Docker Deployment

Deploy using Docker

Integrations

Set up Bright Data and AI models

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