wacrm/docs/environment-variables.md
Arnas Donauskas 7148c209a0
docs: end-to-end self-host setup guide
Adds docs/ with a reading-order flow that covers:
  - getting started (fork, install, run locally)
  - supabase setup + migrations
  - whatsapp business api + webhook wiring
  - environment variable reference
  - hostinger vps deploy walkthrough
  - automations cron scheduling
  - troubleshooting for the common issues

Rewrites the top-level README as a pointer into docs/ instead of the
create-next-app boilerplate.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-04-19 20:52:08 +03:00

3.4 KiB

Environment variables

All runtime configuration lives in .env.local during development and in your host's environment settings in production. .env.local.example is a minimal template; the table below is the full reference.

Required

Variable Where to find it Notes
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL Supabase → Project Settings → API → Project URL Public. Shipped to the browser.
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY Supabase → Project Settings → API → anon / public key Public. Relies on RLS for safety.
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY Supabase → Project Settings → API → service_role key Secret. Bypasses RLS. Used by webhook + admin routes only.
ENCRYPTION_KEY Generate: node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))" 64 hex chars (32 bytes, AES-256-CBC). Rotating breaks existing tokens.
Variable Purpose
META_APP_SECRET Meta → App Settings → Basic → App Secret. Enables X-Hub-Signature-256 verification on incoming webhooks.
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL Canonical public URL (e.g., https://crm.example.com). Used for absolute URLs, sitemap, OG images.

Optional

Variable Purpose
AUTOMATION_CRON_SECRET Shared secret that protects GET /api/automations/cron. Required if you schedule the automations drain. See automations-and-cron.md.

Sample .env.local

# Supabase
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=https://abcd1234.supabase.co
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=eyJhbGciOi...
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=eyJhbGciOi...

# Encryption — DO NOT change after first deploy
ENCRYPTION_KEY=3f9c0a7e4d8b2f1a6c5e8d4b9f0a2c6e8d4b9f0a2c6e8d4b9f0a2c6e8d4b9f0a

# Public URL + Meta webhook signing
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL=https://crm.example.com
META_APP_SECRET=abcdef0123456789...

# Automation cron
AUTOMATION_CRON_SECRET=generate-a-long-random-string

Security checklist

  • Never commit .env.local. The repo already ignores it.
  • On Hostinger / any VPS, set env vars via the platform's Environment panel rather than writing them into a tracked file on disk.
  • Rotate SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY if it leaks — Supabase lets you regenerate it under Project Settings → API.
  • Treat ENCRYPTION_KEY like a database master key. Losing it means connected WhatsApp accounts must reconnect; rotating it means the same.

Next step

Deploy on Hostinger →