environment configuration

Environment Configuration Guide

This document provides comprehensive information about configuring the IMS PocketBase BaaS Starter through environment variables.

Setup

Copy env.example to .env and configure the following variables according to your needs:

cp env.example .env

Configuration Categories

App Configuration

Basic application settings that define the core behavior.

• APP_NAME - Application name used in logs and UI

  • Default: IMS_PocketBase_App
  • Example: MyApp_Production

• APP_URL - Base URL where the application is accessible

  • Default: http://localhost:8090
  • Example: https://api.myapp.com

Logging Configuration

Controls application logging behavior and retention.

• LOGS_MAX_DAYS - Maximum number of days to retain log files
  • Default: 7
  • Example: 30 (for production environments)

Job Processing Settings

Configuration for the background job queue and cron system.

• JOB_MAX_WORKERS - Number of concurrent workers for job processing

  • Default: 5
  • Range: 1-20 (adjust based on server capacity)

• JOB_BATCH_SIZE - Number of jobs processed per cron execution

  • Default: 50
  • Range: 10-200

• JOB_MAX_RETRIES - Maximum retry attempts for failed jobs

  • Default: 3
  • Range: 1-10

• ENABLE_SYSTEM_QUEUE_CRON - Enable/disable automatic job queue processing

  • Default: true
  • Values: true, false

SMTP Configuration (Email)

Email server configuration for sending notifications and system emails.

• SMTP_ENABLED - Enable/disable SMTP email functionality

  • Default: true
  • Values: true, false

• SMTP_HOST - SMTP server hostname

  • Development: mailhog (for Docker MailHog)
  • Production: smtp.gmail.com, smtp.sendgrid.net, etc.

• SMTP_PORT - SMTP server port

  • Development: 1025 (MailHog)
  • Production: 587 (TLS), 465 (SSL), 25 (plain)

• SMTP_USERNAME - SMTP authentication username

  • Leave empty for development with MailHog
  • Production: Your email or API key

• SMTP_PASSWORD - SMTP authentication password

  • Leave empty for development with MailHog
  • Production: Your password or API secret

• SMTP_AUTH_METHOD - Authentication method

  • Default: PLAIN
  • Options: PLAIN, LOGIN, CRAM-MD5

• SMTP_TLS - Enable TLS encryption

  • Default: true
  • Values: true, false

S3 Configuration (File Storage)

Amazon S3 or S3-compatible storage configuration for file uploads.

• S3_ENABLED - Enable/disable S3 file storage

  • Default: false
  • Values: true, false

• S3_BUCKET - S3 bucket name

  • Example: my-app-files

• S3_REGION - AWS region

  • Default: us-east-1
  • Example: eu-west-1, ap-southeast-1

• S3_ENDPOINT - S3 endpoint URL

  • AWS: https://s3.amazonaws.com
  • MinIO: http://localhost:9000
  • DigitalOcean Spaces: https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com

• S3_ACCESS_KEY - S3 access key ID

  • AWS: Your AWS access key
  • MinIO: Your MinIO access key

• S3_SECRET - S3 secret access key

  • AWS: Your AWS secret key
  • MinIO: Your MinIO secret key

Batch Processing Configuration

Settings for batch operations and bulk data processing.

• BATCH_ENABLED - Enable/disable batch processing features

  • Default: true
  • Values: true, false

• BATCH_MAX_REQUESTS - Maximum requests per batch operation

  • Default: 100
  • Range: 10-1000

Rate Limiting Configuration

API rate limiting settings to prevent abuse and ensure fair usage.

• RATE_LIMITS_ENABLED - Enable/disable rate limiting

  • Default: true
  • Values: true, false

• RATE_LIMITS_MAX_HITS - Maximum requests per time window

  • Default: 120
  • Range: 10-10000

• RATE_LIMITS_DURATION - Rate limit time window in seconds

  • Default: 60
  • Range: 1-3600

Security Configuration

Critical security settings for production deployments.

• PB_ENCRYPTION_KEY - PocketBase encryption key (32 characters)
  • Required for production
  • Generate using: openssl rand -base64 24
  • Example: your-32-char-encryption-key-here

Metrics Configuration

Observability and monitoring settings (when metrics package is enabled).

• METRICS_PROVIDER - Metrics provider type

  • Options: prometheus, opentelemetry, disabled
  • Default: disabled

• METRICS_ENABLED - Master switch for metrics collection

  • Default: false
  • Values: true, false

• METRICS_NAMESPACE - Metrics namespace prefix

  • Default: ims_pocketbase
  • Example: myapp_production

• METRICS_PATH - Prometheus metrics endpoint path

  • Default: /metrics

OpenTelemetry Configuration

OpenTelemetry-specific settings for distributed tracing and metrics.

• OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT - OTLP endpoint URL

  • Example: http://localhost:4317

• OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS - Additional headers for OTLP export

  • Example: api-key=secret

• OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_INSECURE - Use insecure connection

  • Default: true (for development)
  • Values: true, false

• OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL - Metric export interval

  • Default: 30s
  • Format: Go duration string (30s, 1m, 5m)

Environment-Specific Examples

Development Environment (.env)

APP_NAME=MyApp_Development
APP_URL=http://localhost:8090

# Use MailHog for email testing
SMTP_ENABLED=true
SMTP_HOST=mailhog
SMTP_PORT=1025
SMTP_USERNAME=
SMTP_PASSWORD=

# Disable S3 for local development
S3_ENABLED=false

# Enable metrics for development monitoring
METRICS_ENABLED=true
METRICS_PROVIDER=prometheus

# Development encryption key (generate your own)
PB_ENCRYPTION_KEY=dev-key-change-in-production-32

Production Environment (.env)

APP_NAME=MyApp_Production
APP_URL=https://api.myapp.com

# Production SMTP settings
SMTP_ENABLED=true
SMTP_HOST=smtp.sendgrid.net
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USERNAME=apikey
SMTP_PASSWORD=your-sendgrid-api-key
SMTP_TLS=true

# Production S3 settings
S3_ENABLED=true
S3_BUCKET=myapp-production-files
S3_REGION=us-east-1
S3_ACCESS_KEY=your-aws-access-key
S3_SECRET=your-aws-secret-key

# Production job processing
JOB_MAX_WORKERS=10
JOB_BATCH_SIZE=100

# Production rate limiting
RATE_LIMITS_MAX_HITS=1000
RATE_LIMITS_DURATION=60

# Production metrics
METRICS_ENABLED=true
METRICS_PROVIDER=opentelemetry
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://your-otel-collector:4317

# Secure encryption key (generate using openssl)
PB_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-secure-32-char-production-key

Security Best Practices

1. Never commit .env files to version control
2. Generate unique encryption keys for each environment
3. Use strong passwords for SMTP and S3 credentials
4. Enable TLS for all external connections in production
5. Rotate credentials regularly in production environments
6. Use environment-specific configurations (dev/staging/prod)

Validation

The application validates configuration on startup and will:

• Log warnings for missing optional configurations
• Fail to start if required configurations are missing
• Use sensible defaults where possible
• Provide clear error messages for invalid values

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. SMTP Connection Failed

   • Verify SMTP_HOST and SMTP_PORT
   • Check firewall settings
   • Validate credentials

2. S3 Upload Errors

   • Verify bucket permissions
   • Check access key and secret
   • Ensure bucket exists in specified region

3. Job Processing Not Working

   • Check ENABLE_SYSTEM_QUEUE_CRON=true
   • Verify JOB_MAX_WORKERS > 0
   • Review application logs

4. Rate Limiting Too Restrictive

   • Increase RATE_LIMITS_MAX_HITS
   • Adjust RATE_LIMITS_DURATION
   • Consider disabling for development

For more troubleshooting help, check the application logs or refer to the specific feature documentation in the docs/ folder.