> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fapost.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Environment variables

> The variables Core reads beyond the Laravel defaults.

`.env.example` is the authoritative list. This page covers the variables specific
to FaPost, and the Laravel ones whose value matters here.

## Application

| Variable    | Default            | Notes                                                                      |
| ----------- | ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `APP_NAME`  | `FaPost-CORE`      |                                                                            |
| `APP_ENV`   | `local`            | `production` in a deployment                                               |
| `APP_KEY`   | *empty*            | Generate with `php artisan key:generate`; never reuse across installations |
| `APP_DEBUG` | `true`             | **Must be `false` in production**                                          |
| `APP_URL`   | `http://localhost` | Used to build webhook URLs                                                 |

## Tenancy and webhooks

| Variable                 | Default      | Notes                                     |
| ------------------------ | ------------ | ----------------------------------------- |
| `TENANCY_BASE_DOMAIN`    | `localhost`  | Base domain tenant hosts are derived from |
| `WEBHOOK_BASE_URL`       | `${APP_URL}` | The base providers will call back on      |
| `WEBHOOK_INGRESS_DRIVER` | `laravel`    | `laravel` or `gateway`                    |
| `WEBHOOK_GATEWAY_URL`    | *empty*      | Required when the driver is `gateway`     |

<Note>
  `WEBHOOK_INGRESS_DRIVER` applies to **newly registered channels only**. The
  Laravel route always stays live, so switching it does not move channels that
  already exist — use `ops:ingress-migrate` for those. See
  [Webhook gateway](/self-hosting/gateway).
</Note>

## Database

| Variable        | Default       |
| --------------- | ------------- |
| `DB_CONNECTION` | `pgsql`       |
| `DB_HOST`       | `127.0.0.1`   |
| `DB_PORT`       | `5432`        |
| `DB_DATABASE`   | `fapost_core` |
| `DB_USERNAME`   | `root`        |
| `DB_PASSWORD`   | *empty*       |

PostgreSQL is required, not one option among several — landlord and tenant
connections both depend on it. The database user needs the `CREATE` privilege; see
[Requirements](/self-hosting/requirements).

## Redis, cache, queues, sessions

| Variable           | Default     | Notes                            |
| ------------------ | ----------- | -------------------------------- |
| `REDIS_CLIENT`     | `phpredis`  |                                  |
| `REDIS_HOST`       | `127.0.0.1` |                                  |
| `REDIS_PORT`       | `6379`      |                                  |
| `REDIS_PASSWORD`   | `null`      | Set one on any non-local install |
| `QUEUE_CONNECTION` | `redis`     |                                  |
| `CACHE_STORE`      | `redis`     |                                  |
| `SESSION_DRIVER`   | `redis`     |                                  |
| `SESSION_LIFETIME` | `120`       | Minutes                          |

Redis is not optional: it carries queues, cache, locks, and the webhook routing
registry. The registry is what keeps the landlord database off the inbound hot
path — see [Runtime architecture](/contributing/runtime).

## Localisation

| Variable              | Default |
| --------------------- | ------- |
| `APP_LOCALE`          | `en`    |
| `APP_FALLBACK_LOCALE` | `en`    |

This is the admin UI language. Content language — what the assistant says to a
contact — is resolved separately at runtime; see
[Multilingual extensions](/extending/multilingual).

## Mail, logging, other

`MAIL_*` follow Laravel's conventions; the default `MAIL_MAILER=log` writes mail to
the log rather than sending it. `LOG_CHANNEL=stack` with `LOG_LEVEL=debug` is the
development default — raise the level in production.

`TELESCOPE_ENABLED` defaults to `true` locally and should be `false` in production.
`HCAPTCHA_SITE_KEY` and `HCAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY` ship with hCaptcha's public test
values, which always pass — replace them before exposing any public form.

<Warning>
  The shipped `.env.example` values for `APP_DEBUG`, `TELESCOPE_ENABLED`, and the
  hCaptcha keys are development defaults. Each is safe locally and unsafe in
  production.
</Warning>