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Environment Variables Reference

Version: Arctyk ITSM v0.6.0+
Last Updated: January 2026

Complete reference for environment variables used in Arctyk ITSM.

Required Variables

SECRET_KEY

Required: Yes
Description: Django secret key for cryptographic signing
Example: django-insecure-your-secret-key-here-change-in-production
Security: Must be unique and secret in production

DATABASE_URL

Required: Yes
Description: PostgreSQL connection string
Format: postgresql://user:password@host:port/database
Example: postgresql://arctyk:arctyk@localhost:5432/arctyk_db

Alternative (individual variables):

  • POSTGRES_DB - Database name
  • POSTGRES_USER - Database user
  • POSTGRES_PASSWORD - Database password
  • POSTGRES_HOST - Database host (default: localhost)
  • POSTGRES_PORT - Database port (default: 5432)

REDIS_URL

Required: Yes
Description: Redis connection URL for caching and Celery
Format: redis://host:port/db
Example: redis://localhost:6379/0

Optional Variables

DEBUG

Default: False
Description: Enable debug mode (development only)
Values: True, False, 1, 0
Example: True

Warning: Never enable in production!

ALLOWED_HOSTS

Default: []
Description: Comma-separated list of allowed hostnames
Example: localhost,127.0.0.1,arctyk.dev,*.arctyk.dev

DJANGO_SSL_DB

Default: False
Description: Enable SSL for database connections
Values: True, False
Example: True

Note: Required for Azure PostgreSQL and some cloud providers

TIME_ZONE

Default: America/Toronto
Description: System timezone
Example: UTC, America/New_York, Europe/London

LANGUAGE_CODE

Default: en-ca
Description: Default language code
Example: en-us, fr-ca, en-gb

Email Configuration

EMAIL_BACKEND

Default: django.core.mail.backends.console.EmailBackend
Description: Email backend to use
Production: django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend
Development: django.core.mail.backends.console.EmailBackend

EMAIL_HOST

Required: If using SMTP
Description: SMTP server hostname
Example: smtp.gmail.com, smtp.office365.com

EMAIL_PORT

Default: 587
Description: SMTP server port
Common Values: 25, 465, 587, 2525

EMAIL_USE_TLS

Default: True
Description: Use TLS encryption
Values: True, False

EMAIL_USE_SSL

Default: False
Description: Use SSL encryption
Values: True, False

Note: Use TLS (port 587) or SSL (port 465), not both

EMAIL_HOST_USER

Required: If using SMTP
Description: SMTP authentication username
Example: noreply@arctyk.dev

EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD

Required: If using SMTP
Description: SMTP authentication password
Security: Use app-specific passwords when possible

DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL

Default: webmaster@localhost
Description: Default from email address
Example: Arctyk ITSM <noreply@arctyk.dev>

Celery Configuration

CELERY_BROKER_URL

Default: Uses REDIS_URL
Description: Celery broker URL
Example: redis://localhost:6379/0

CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND

Default: Uses REDIS_URL
Description: Celery result backend URL
Example: redis://localhost:6379/0

CELERY_TASK_ALWAYS_EAGER

Default: False
Description: Execute tasks synchronously (testing only)
Values: True, False

Security Settings (Production)

SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT

Default: False
Description: Redirect all HTTP to HTTPS
Production: True
Development: False

Default: False
Description: Use secure session cookies (HTTPS only)
Production: True
Development: False

Default: False
Description: Use secure CSRF cookies (HTTPS only)
Production: True
Development: False

SECURE_HSTS_SECONDS

Default: 0
Description: HTTP Strict Transport Security duration
Production: 31536000 (1 year)
Development: 0

SECURE_HSTS_INCLUDE_SUBDOMAINS

Default: False
Description: Apply HSTS to subdomains
Production: True
Development: False

Static & Media Files

STATIC_ROOT

Default: /code/staticfiles
Description: Directory for collected static files
Example: /var/www/arctyk/static

STATIC_URL

Default: /static/
Description: URL prefix for static files
Example: /static/, https://cdn.arctyk.dev/static/

MEDIA_ROOT

Default: /code/media
Description: Directory for uploaded files
Example: /var/www/arctyk/media

MEDIA_URL

Default: /media/
Description: URL prefix for uploaded files
Example: /media/, https://cdn.arctyk.dev/media/

Logging

LOG_LEVEL

Default: INFO
Description: Logging level
Values: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL

LOG_DIR

Default: /code/logs
Description: Directory for log files
Example: /var/log/arctyk

Example .env File

# Django Core
DEBUG=False
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
ALLOWED_HOSTS=arctyk.dev,www.arctyk.dev

# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://arctyk:password@localhost:5432/arctyk_db

# Redis
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379/0

# Email
EMAIL_BACKEND=django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend
EMAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_USE_TLS=True
EMAIL_HOST_USER=noreply@arctyk.dev
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=your-app-password
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=Arctyk ITSM <noreply@arctyk.dev>

# Security (Production)
SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT=True
SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE=True
CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE=True
SECURE_HSTS_SECONDS=31536000

# Localization
TIME_ZONE=America/Toronto
LANGUAGE_CODE=en-ca