Environment Variables

This page explains the main environment variables used by self-hosted AFFiNE. Docker Compose users should set persistent paths and database credentials before the first start, because changing them after data exists can require a backup-and-restore workflow.

Docker Compose

Variable	Description	Default
AFFINE_REVISION	The AFFiNE revision to deploy. Available values are stable, beta, and canary.	stable
DB_DATA_LOCATION	Location of the Postgres data directory to persist.
UPLOAD_LOCATION	Location of uploaded blobs, such as images and files, to persist.
CONFIG_LOCATION	Location of user custom configuration files to persist.

Server

Variable	Description	Default
AFFINE_PRIVATE_KEY	Private key used by the crypto module to create signed tokens or encrypt data. If not provided, AFFiNE auto-generates one under CONFIG_LOCATION on first start.
AFFINE_SERVER_HTTPS	Whether the server is hosted on an SSL/TLS-enabled domain.	false
AFFINE_SERVER_HOST	Fully qualified domain name where the server is deployed.	localhost
AFFINE_SERVER_PORT	Port the server listens on inside the container.	3010
AFFINE_SERVER_SUB_PATH	Subpath where the server is deployed, if any.
AFFINE_SERVER_EXTERNAL_URL	Base URL of the AFFiNE server, used for generating external links. Defaults to [server.protocol]://[server.host][:server.port] if not specified.

For production, configure Domain and HTTPS and make sure generated invitation links and public doc links use the correct external URL.

Database (Postgres)

Variable	Description	Default
DATABASE_URL	Database URL passed to the server if you are not using Docker Compose.
DB_USERNAME	Database user.	affine
DB_PASSWORD	Database password. Docker Compose users should set a strong password before the first start to initialize Postgres safely.
DB_DATABASE	Database name.	affine

Redis

Variable	Description	Default
REDIS_SERVER_HOST	Redis host.	localhost
REDIS_SERVER_PORT	Redis port.	6379
REDIS_SERVER_USERNAME	Redis username.
REDIS_SERVER_PASSWORD	Redis password.
REDIS_SERVER_DATABASE	Redis database index used by AFFiNE. If n is set as REDIS_SERVER_DATABASE, AFFiNE uses databases from n to n+4 for different purposes.	0

Email

Variable	Description	Default
MAILER_HOST	Host of the email server, such as smtp.gmail.com.
MAILER_PORT	Port of the email server. Common ports are 25, 465, and 587.	465
MAILER_USER	Username used to authenticate with the email server.
MAILER_PASSWORD	Password used to authenticate with the email server.
MAILER_SENDER	Sender of all emails, for example AFFiNE Team <[email protected]>.
MAILER_IGNORE_TLS	Whether to ignore the email server TLS certificate verification. Enable only for self-signed certificates you trust.

*You need an app password for services like Gmail: Source1, Source2.