Skip to content

docs: add env variable checklist and Windows symlink guidance to README setup #28667

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Closed
shockzinfinity wants to merge 3 commits into from
Closed

docs: add env variable checklist and Windows symlink guidance to README setup #28667

Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
3 commits
Select commit Hold shift + click to select a range
925be2d
docs: add env variable checklist and Windows symlink guidance to READ…
Mar 30, 2026
621b876
Merge branch 'main' into docs/readme-env-setup-guide
sahitya-chandra Mar 31, 2026
4a9cd62
Remove symlink details from README
sahitya-chandra Mar 31, 2026
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
22 changes: 21 additions & 1 deletion README.md
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -150,13 +150,33 @@ Here is what you need to be able to run Cal.com.
- Duplicate `.env.example` to `.env`
- Use `openssl rand -base64 32` to generate a key and add it under `NEXTAUTH_SECRET` in the `.env` file.
- Use `openssl rand -base64 24` to generate a key and add it under `CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY` in the `.env` file.


The following variables must be reviewed before starting the app. Most have defaults that work for local development, but **must be changed for production deployments**:

| Variable | When to change | Example |
|---|---|---|
| `NEXTAUTH_SECRET` | Always — generate with `openssl rand -base64 32` | `abc123...` |
| `CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY` | Always — generate with `openssl rand -base64 24` | `xyz789...` |
| `DATABASE_URL` | When using a custom/remote database instead of the default local one | `postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/calcom` |
| `NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL` | **Required for any non-localhost deployment** — set to your public domain | `https://cal.yourdomain.com` |
| `NEXTAUTH_URL` | For production deployments; leave empty on Vercel (auto-detected) | `https://cal.yourdomain.com` |
| `EMAIL_FROM` | When you want outgoing emails to show a custom sender address | `Cal.com <noreply@yourdomain.com>` |

> **Note:** Failing to update `NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL` and `NEXTAUTH_URL` is the most common cause of redirect-to-localhost issues after deployment.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

@sahitya-chandra sahitya-chandra Apr 1, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

I think we don't need this part in the docs, can you revert them

> **Windows users:** Replace the `packages/prisma/.env` symlink with a real copy to avoid a Prisma error (`unexpected character / in variable name`):
>
> ```sh
> # Git Bash / WSL
> rm packages/prisma/.env && cp .env packages/prisma/.env
> ```
>
> If you cloned without admin privileges and the symlink was not created, run:
>
> ```sh
> # PowerShell (run as Administrator)
> git clone -c core.symlinks=true https://github.com/calcom/cal.com.git
> ```

5. Setup Node
If your Node version does not meet the project's requirements as instructed by the docs, "nvm" (Node Version Manager) allows using Node at the version required by the project:
Expand Down
Loading