dokploy-environment-config

Dokploy Environment Configuration

When to Use This Skill

• When defining environment variables for Dokploy templates
• When deciding between required and optional variables
• When configuring database connection strings
• When organizing environment sections
• When user asks about "environment variables" or "secrets"

When NOT to Use This Skill

• For template.toml variables (use dokploy-template-toml)
• For Traefik configuration (use dokploy-traefik-routing)

Prerequisites

• Application documentation (required env vars)
• Understanding of docker-compose variable syntax
• Knowledge of sensitive vs non-sensitive data

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Core Patterns

Pattern 1: Required Variables (:? syntax)

Variables that MUST be set - deployment fails without them:

environment:
  DOMAIN: ${DOMAIN:?Set your domain (e.g., example.com)}
  DATABASE_PASSWORD: ${DATABASE_PASSWORD:?Set a secure database password}
  SECRET_KEY: ${SECRET_KEY:?Set a secret key for session encryption}

Syntax: ${VAR_NAME:?Error message}

• If VAR_NAME is unset or empty, shows error message and fails
• Use for: domains, passwords, API keys, secrets

Pattern 2: Optional Variables (:- syntax)

Variables with sensible defaults:

environment:
  LOG_LEVEL: ${LOG_LEVEL:-info}
  WORKERS: ${WORKERS:-4}
  CACHE_TTL: ${CACHE_TTL:-3600}
  DEBUG: ${DEBUG:-false}

Syntax: ${VAR_NAME:-default_value}

• If VAR_NAME is unset or empty, uses default_value
• Use for: tuning parameters, feature flags, optional settings

Pattern 3: Internal Constants

Values that shouldn't change:

environment:
  # Database host is always the service name
  PGHOST: postgres
  REDIS_HOST: redis

  # Ports are fixed in the container
  PGPORT: "5432"
  REDIS_PORT: "6379"

Pattern 4: Computed Values

Variables derived from other variables:

environment:
  APP_URL: https://${DOMAIN}
  DATABASE_URL: postgresql://${DB_USER}:${DB_PASS}@postgres:5432/${DB_NAME}
  MONGO_URL: mongodb://mongodb:27017/${MONGO_DB:-appdb}