home/Projects/kompose/docs/content/4.reference/environment.md

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Environment Variables	Complete reference for all environment variables

Complete reference for all environment variables used in Kompose.

Global Variables

These are set in the root .env file and available to all stacks.

Network Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
NETWORK_NAME	kompose	Docker network name

Database Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
DB_USER	-	PostgreSQL username
DB_PASSWORD	-	PostgreSQL password
DB_PORT	5432	PostgreSQL port
DB_HOST	postgres	PostgreSQL host

Admin Settings

Variable	Default	Description
ADMIN_EMAIL	-	Administrator email
ADMIN_PASSWORD	-	Administrator password

Email/SMTP Settings

Variable	Default	Description
EMAIL_TRANSPORT	smtp	Email transport method
EMAIL_FROM	-	Default sender address
EMAIL_SMTP_HOST	-	SMTP server hostname
EMAIL_SMTP_PORT	465	SMTP server port
EMAIL_SMTP_USER	-	SMTP username
EMAIL_SMTP_PASSWORD	-	SMTP password

Stack-Specific Variables

These are set in individual stack .env files.

Common Stack Variables

Variable	Description
COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME	Stack project name
TRAEFIK_HOST	Domain for Traefik routing
APP_PORT	Internal application port

Auth Stack (Keycloak)

Variable	Description
KC_ADMIN_USERNAME	Keycloak admin username
KC_ADMIN_PASSWORD	Keycloak admin password
KC_DB_NAME	Keycloak database name

News Stack (Letterspace)

Variable	Description
JWT_SECRET	JWT signing secret
DB_NAME	Newsletter database name
NODE_ENV	Node environment (production/development)

Sexy Stack (Directus)

Variable	Description
KEY	Directus encryption key
SECRET	Directus secret key
ADMIN_EMAIL	Directus admin email
ADMIN_PASSWORD	Directus admin password

Configuration Precedence

Environment variables follow this priority order:

1. CLI Override (-e flag) - Highest priority
2. Stack .env - Stack-specific settings
3. Root .env - Global defaults
4. Compose File - Docker Compose defaults

Example

# Root .env
DB_HOST=postgres

# news/.env
DB_HOST=news-postgres  # Overrides root

# CLI
./kompose.sh -e DB_HOST=localhost news up -d  # Overrides both

Best Practices

Security

• :icon{name="lucide:check"} Use strong, random passwords
• :icon{name="lucide:check"} Never commit .env files to version control
• :icon{name="lucide:check"} Use .env.example as template
• :icon{name="lucide:check"} Rotate secrets regularly

Organization

• :icon{name="lucide:check"} Document custom variables
• :icon{name="lucide:check"} Group related variables
• :icon{name="lucide:check"} Use consistent naming
• :icon{name="lucide:check"} Keep defaults in root .env

Generating Secrets

Random Passwords

# OpenSSL
openssl rand -hex 32

# UUID
uuidgen

# Base64
openssl rand -base64 32

JWT Secrets

openssl rand -hex 64

Encryption Keys

openssl rand -base64 32