Environment Variables

Complete reference for all environment variables used in SaaniCare.

Required Variables

Database

• DATABASE_URL - PostgreSQL connection string

  • Format: postgresql://user:password@host:port/database
  • Example: postgresql://postgres:password@localhost:5432/saanicare

• DATABASE_URL_NON_POOLING - Direct database connection (for migrations)

  • Used by Prisma migrations
  • Same format as DATABASE_URL

Authentication

• AUTH0_SECRET - Secret for Auth0 session encryption

  • Generate: openssl rand -hex 32
  • Used for session cookie encryption

• AUTH0_BASE_URL - Base URL of your application

  • Example: http://localhost:3000 (development)
  • Example: https://parent.saanicare.dev (production)

• AUTH0_ISSUER_BASE_URL - Auth0 domain

  • Format: https://your-domain.auth0.com
  • Found in Auth0 dashboard

• AUTH0_CLIENT_ID - Auth0 application client ID

  • Found in Auth0 dashboard → Applications

• AUTH0_CLIENT_SECRET - Auth0 application client secret

  • Found in Auth0 dashboard → Applications
  • Keep this secret secure

• AUTH0_AUDIENCE - Auth0 API audience

  • Format: https://api.saanicare.dev
  • Used for API authentication

API

• API_URL - Backend API URL

  • Example: http://localhost:3000 (development)
  • Example: https://api.saanicare.dev (production)

• NODE_ENV - Environment

  • Values: development, production, test
  • Controls logging, error handling, etc.

Optional Variables

Cache

• REDIS_URL - Redis connection string
  • Format: redis://host:port
  • Example: redis://localhost:6379
  • Used for session storage and caching

AI/LLM

• GOOGLE_GEMINI_API_KEY - Google Gemini API key
  • Used for AI curriculum generation
  • Get from Google Cloud Console

File Storage

• AWS_S3_BUCKET - S3 bucket name for file storage
• AWS_S3_REGION - AWS region
• AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID - AWS access key
• AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY - AWS secret key

Payments

• STRIPE_SECRET_KEY - Stripe secret key
• STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY - Stripe publishable key (frontend)

Email

• SMTP_HOST - SMTP server host
• SMTP_PORT - SMTP server port
• SMTP_USER - SMTP username
• SMTP_PASSWORD - SMTP password
• SMTP_FROM - From email address

Frontend Variables

Frontend apps use NEXT_PUBLIC_ prefix for client-side variables:

• NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL - API URL accessible from browser
• NEXT_PUBLIC_AUTH0_DOMAIN - Auth0 domain
• NEXT_PUBLIC_AUTH0_CLIENT_ID - Auth0 client ID
• NEXT_PUBLIC_AUTH0_AUDIENCE - Auth0 API audience

Environment Files

Development

Create .env.local in the root directory:

cp env.example .env.local

Production

Set environment variables in:

• Vercel dashboard (for each project)
• Docker environment files
• CI/CD pipeline secrets

Security Notes

• Never commit .env.local to version control
• Use different secrets for development and production
• Rotate secrets regularly
• Use environment-specific values
• Keep AUTH0_CLIENT_SECRET and database passwords secure