# Environment and Configuration > A purpose-only reference to every Seedly Communities setting - what each value is for, where it goes, and which ones are required to run. Every operator-facing setting a live instance cares about, grouped by area. This page explains what each value is **for**, never the value itself. The example environment file in your download lists the same names with blanks to fill in, and it is generated from the platform's own manifest so it always matches your version. There are three kinds of value. - **generated** - the platform's own secrets, minted for you by `npx pnpm run gen:secrets` - **provider** - a key or token you get from a third party (Stripe, your email provider, Daily.co, Vercel, and so on) - **config** - a plain value you choose, like your domain **Where they go.** A value lives on the half of the platform that reads it. Some go in your local environment file, some go on the backend deployment (set with `npx convex env set` for development and `npx convex env set --prod` for production), and some go on the web app project in Vercel. Several go in more than one place, and each entry below says where. In a local run most optional values are unset and the platform falls back to safe behavior. The authoritative check is the doctor. Run `npx pnpm run setup:check` for a local instance, or `npx pnpm run setup:check -- --target=prod` for a live one, and it names exactly what is missing. Keep every secret in a password manager and never commit one to Git. --- ## Backend Connection Wires the running app to the Convex Cloud backend. | Name | Kind | Required | Purpose | |------|------|----------|---------| | `CONVEX_DEPLOYMENT` | config | yes | Anchors the command line tool to your project so deploy commands target the right backend. Set locally | | `NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL` | config | yes | The backend URL the running app connects to. Development URL locally, production URL on Vercel | | `NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_SITE_URL` | config | yes | The browser-readable backend site origin used by the custom-domain redirect and server auth helpers | --- ## App Tells the platform where it lives. | Name | Kind | Required | Purpose | |------|------|----------|---------| | `SITE_URL` | config | yes | The app's public origin. Sign-in cookies, email links, and redirect safety all key off it, so it must match your real domain in production. The single most important "where am I" value | | `NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL` | config | no | A browser-readable fallback read only by the in-app custom-domain admin page. Setting `SITE_URL` alone is enough for normal use | | `COMMUNITY_NAME` | config | no | A legacy fallback for the community name. The live name comes from the admin Settings page, so this is safe to leave unset | --- ## Auth and Secrets Signs sessions and protects abuse controls. These are per-environment. Never share one value between development and production, and do not rotate them on a live deployment or existing signed and protected data stops matching. | Name | Kind | Required | Purpose | |------|------|----------|---------| | `BETTER_AUTH_SECRET` | generated | yes | Signs sign-in sessions and tokens. Lives on the backend deployment. Distinct per environment | | `ENCRYPTION_KEY` | generated | yes | Protects the identifiers behind abuse detection and rate limiting. Read by both halves, so it goes on the backend, on Vercel, and in your local file, sharing one value within each environment. Distinct per environment | | `GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID` | provider | no | The Google sign-in client id. Unset means Google sign-in is simply off | | `GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET` | provider | no | The Google sign-in client secret, paired with the id above | --- ## Email Delivers sign-in, notifications, and digests. See [Email and Deliverability](/docs/help/email) for the full walkthrough. These read on the backend. | Name | Kind | Required | Purpose | |------|------|----------|---------| | `EMAIL_PROVIDER` | config | yes | Chooses your email provider. Pick one and set its key below | | `EMAIL_FROM` | config | yes | The From address for all outbound email. Must be a verified sender at your provider. If unset, verification and password-reset emails fail closed rather than send from a bogus address | | `SENDGRID_API_KEY` | provider | when selected | Transport key, required when your provider is SendGrid (the default) | | `POSTMARK_SERVER_TOKEN` | provider | when selected | Transport token, required when your provider is Postmark | | `EMAIL_PROVIDER_TRANSACTIONAL` | config | no | An optional separate provider for auth emails, on a dedicated sending stream for better inbox placement. Falls back to `EMAIL_PROVIDER` when unset | | `SENDGRID_API_KEY_TRANSACTIONAL` | provider | no | A dedicated SendGrid key for the separate auth-email stream | | `POSTMARK_SERVER_TOKEN_TRANSACTIONAL` | provider | no | A dedicated Postmark token for the separate auth-email stream | --- ## Payments (Stripe) Runs paid tiers, courses, and coaching through your own Stripe account. Required only if you sell access. See [Payments and Stripe Setup](/docs/help/stripe). These read on the backend. | Name | Kind | Required | Purpose | |------|------|----------|---------| | `STRIPE_SECRET_KEY` | provider | for paid | Your Stripe API key. Use the test key on the development backend and the live key on production. Never mix the two | | `STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET` | provider | for paid | Verifies that payment webhook events genuinely came from Stripe. Each endpoint, test and live, has its own value, so match it to the environment | --- ## Live Video (Daily.co) Powers live events, meetings, and recordings through a third-party real-time video provider. Optional. Unset means the live streaming module stays inactive. See [Live Video Setup](/docs/help/live-video). These read on the backend. | Name | Kind | Required | Purpose | |------|------|----------|---------| | `DAILY_API_KEY` | provider | for live | Your Daily.co API key. Unset means live events are off | | `DAILY_WEBHOOK_SECRET` | generated | no | Verifies the recording-ready callbacks from Daily.co. Register the same value on the Daily.co webhook. Distinct per environment | --- ## Recording Storage (Vercel Blob) Where finished live-event recordings are kept for durable playback. | Name | Kind | Required | Purpose | |------|------|----------|---------| | `BLOB_READ_WRITE_TOKEN` | provider | no | The storage token for permanent recording files. Vercel sets it on the web app project automatically, but you must copy it to the production backend by hand or recordings fall back to expiring links | --- ## AI (Optional) Powers the optional AI helpers. Both are off when unset. | Name | Kind | Required | Purpose | |------|------|----------|---------| | `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` | provider | no | Enables the AI assistant and content summaries | | `OPENAI_API_KEY` | provider | no | Enables semantic search and knowledge-base embeddings | --- ## Custom Domains (Optional) Powers the in-app admin page that attaches your own domain. Skip these and you can still attach a domain the normal way in the Vercel dashboard. | Name | Kind | Required | Purpose | |------|------|----------|---------| | `VERCEL_TOKEN` | provider | no | The Vercel API token the in-app custom-domain page uses | | `VERCEL_PROJECT_ID` | config | no | The Vercel project the custom-domain page manages | | `VERCEL_TEAM_ID` | config | no | Your Vercel team, if you use one. Skip on a personal account | --- ## Mobile and Build | Name | Kind | Required | Purpose | |------|------|----------|---------| | `NEXT_PUBLIC_NATIVE_CALLS_ENABLED` | config | no | Activates the native call client in a Capacitor app-shell build. Web builds ignore it. Only relevant if you opt in to the native call package | | `ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_COREPACK` | config | yes (Vercel) | Lets the package manager run during Vercel builds. Set it on the web app project | --- ## Next Steps - Set the payment values on the backend, then walk [Payments and Stripe Setup](/docs/help/stripe). - Set the email values, then confirm delivery in [Email and Deliverability](/docs/help/email). - Set the video values, then finish [Live Video Setup](/docs/help/live-video). - Ready to go live? Return to [Deploying to Production](/docs/help/deploying). --- Source: https://seedlycommunities.com/docs/help/configuration