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This guide documents all environment variables required to configure PROVESA Web. These variables are defined in your .env file at the project root.

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Quick Setup

  1. Copy the example environment file: 
    cp .env.example .env
  2. Edit .env and fill in your values for each variable.

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Database Configuration

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DATABASE_URL
string
required
PostgreSQL database connection string in the format:
postgres://user:password@host:port/db-name
Example:
DATABASE_URL="postgres://provesa_user:securepass@localhost:5432/provesa_db"
This is used by Drizzle ORM to connect to your PostgreSQL database. See Database Setup for more details.

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Application Configuration

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ORIGIN
string
required
The base URL where your application is hosted. This is used by Better Auth for session management and authentication flows.Development:
ORIGIN="http://localhost:5173"
Production:
ORIGIN="https://provesa.com"

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Authentication

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BETTER_AUTH_SECRET
string
required
Secret key for Better Auth session encryption and token signing. Must be 32 characters minimum and generated with high entropy for production.Generate a secure secret:
openssl rand -base64 32
Example:
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="dGhpc2lzYXZlcnlzZWN1cmVzZWNyZXRrZXkxMjM0NTY3OA=="
See Better Auth documentation for more details.

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Email Configuration

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GMAIL_USER
string
required
Gmail email address used to send password recovery emails via Nodemailer.Example:
GMAIL_USER="no-reply@provesa.com"
See Email Setup for complete Gmail configuration.
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GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD
string
required
Gmail App Password (not your regular Gmail password) for SMTP authentication. This is a 16-character password generated in your Google Account settings.Example:
GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD="abcd efgh ijkl mnop"
Important: You must enable 2-factor authentication on your Google Account to generate App Passwords. See Email Setup for step-by-step instructions.

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Admin Seed Configuration

These variables are used to create the initial administrator account when seeding the database.
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ADMIN_NAME
string
default:"Administrador"
Display name for the default administrator account.Example:
ADMIN_NAME="Administrador"
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ADMIN_EMAIL
string
default:"admin@provesa.com"
Email address for the default administrator account. This will be used to log in.Example:
ADMIN_EMAIL="admin@provesa.com"
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ADMIN_PASSWORD
string
required
Password for the default administrator account. Choose a strong password for production environments.Example:
ADMIN_PASSWORD="SecureP@ssw0rd123!"
Security Note: Change this password immediately after first login in production.

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Example .env File

Here’s a complete example with all required variables: 
# Database
DATABASE_URL="postgres://provesa_user:securepass@localhost:5432/provesa_db"

# Application
ORIGIN="http://localhost:5173"

# Better Auth (generate with: openssl rand -base64 32)
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET="dGhpc2lzYXZlcnlzZWN1cmVzZWNyZXRrZXkxMjM0NTY3OA=="

# Gmail credentials for password recovery
GMAIL_USER="no-reply@provesa.com"
GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD="abcd efgh ijkl mnop"

# Admin seed (for initial setup)
ADMIN_NAME="Administrador"
ADMIN_EMAIL="admin@provesa.com"
ADMIN_PASSWORD="SecureP@ssw0rd123!"

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Validation

The application validates environment variables at startup:
  • DATABASE_URL - Checked in drizzle.config.js:3 and src/lib/server/db/index.js:6
  • If DATABASE_URL is missing, the application throws: DATABASE_URL is not set

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Next Steps