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Configuration

PulseStage is configured via environment variables.

Core Settings

Required

# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database

# Sessions (generate with: openssl rand -hex 32)
SESSION_SECRET=your_session_secret
ADMIN_SESSION_SECRET=your_admin_session_secret

# CSRF Protection (generate with: openssl rand -base64 32)
CSRF_SECRET=your_csrf_secret

# Redis
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

Optional

# Server
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development  # or production

# Frontend
CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:5173

# Tenant (multi-tenancy)
DEFAULT_TENANT=default

Authentication

Demo Mode (Development)

AUTH_MODE_DEMO=true  # Auto-enabled when NODE_ENV=development

Provides 4 pre-seeded demo users. Not for production.

OAuth (Production)

GitHub OAuth

GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your_github_client_id
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=your_github_client_secret
GITHUB_CALLBACK_URL=http://localhost:3000/auth/github/callback

Google OAuth

GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_google_client_secret
GOOGLE_CALLBACK_URL=http://localhost:3000/auth/google/callback

See handbook/AUTHENTICATION.md for OAuth setup.

Email

SMTP

EMAIL_PROVIDER=smtp
SMTP_HOST=smtp.example.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=your_smtp_user
SMTP_PASS=your_smtp_password
SMTP_FROM=noreply@example.com

Resend

EMAIL_PROVIDER=resend
RESEND_API_KEY=your_resend_api_key
RESEND_FROM=noreply@example.com

Disable Email (Development)

EMAIL_ENABLED=false

See handbook/INTEGRATIONS/EMAIL.md.

Content Moderation

OpenAI Moderation (Optional)

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key
OPENAI_MODERATION_ENABLED=true

Enables AI-powered content moderation alongside local filters.

See handbook/TRUST_AND_SAFETY.md.

Pulse System

# Pulse invitations (requires email)
PULSE_INVITES_ENABLED=true

# Cohort size (users per cohort)
PULSE_COHORT_SIZE=20

# Invitation schedule (cron format: daily at 9 AM)
PULSE_INVITE_CRON=0 9 * * *

See handbook/PULSE_SYSTEM.md.

Rate Limiting

# Enable/disable rate limiting
RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=true  # Auto-disabled when NODE_ENV=development

# Redis required for rate limiting
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

Rate limiting is disabled in development by default.

See handbook/SECURITY_MODEL.md.

Feature Flags

# Presentation mode
PRESENTATION_MODE_ENABLED=true

# Data exports
EXPORTS_ENABLED=true

# Audit logging
AUDIT_LOG_ENABLED=true

Branding

# Website title
WEBSITE_TITLE=PulseStage

# Welcome message (markdown supported)
WELCOME_MESSAGE=Welcome to PulseStage!

# Logo URL (optional)
LOGO_URL=https://example.com/logo.png

Development

# Mock SSO for testing
MOCK_SSO=true
SSO_PROVIDER=mock

# Mailpit (local email testing)
SMTP_HOST=mailpit
SMTP_PORT=1025

Environment Files

  • .env - API configuration
  • web/.env - Frontend configuration

Example .env: 

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://app:app@localhost:5432/ama
SESSION_SECRET=generated_by_setup_script
ADMIN_SESSION_SECRET=generated_by_setup_script
CSRF_SECRET=generated_by_setup_script
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379
NODE_ENV=development

Example web/.env: 

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:3000
VITE_WEBSITE_TITLE=PulseStage

Generate Secrets

# Session secrets
openssl rand -hex 32

# CSRF secret
openssl rand -base64 32

Or use ./setup.sh which auto-generates all secrets.

Next Steps