Configuration

The settings a Cadence server reads from its environment.

A Cadence server reads its settings from .env. .env.example in the repository lists every one with a comment. This page covers the ones you are most likely to need.

Settings are read on every start. Change .env, then recreate the services.

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Required

Setting	What it is
POSTGRES_PASSWORD	Password for the database owner, which runs migrations.
POSTGRES_APP_PASSWORD	Password for the login the app uses. It cannot bypass row-level security.
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET	Signs sessions. 32 or more random characters.
ENCRYPTION_KEY	Encrypts stored credentials. 64 hex characters. Never change it on a running server.
SCREEN_PROXY_SECRET	Signs access to bot computer screens.
BETTER_AUTH_URL, WEB_ORIGIN, API_URL	Your public address, for example https://app.example.com.
SANDBOX_SUPERVISOR_TOKEN	Needed when bot computers run in Docker.

Use a different random value for every secret.

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Sign-up

Setting	Effect
SIGNUPS_ENABLED	false turns off open sign-up. Invites still work.
SIGNUP_ALLOWLIST	Comma-separated emails that may sign up. Empty allows anyone when sign-ups are on.

With an allowlist and email configured, people must verify their email before they can sign in.

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Models

Setting	Effect
OPENROUTER_API_KEY	A server-wide OpenRouter key bots can use.
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	A server-wide Anthropic key.
PI_DEFAULT_PROVIDER, PI_DEFAULT_MODEL	The model new bots use when nobody picked one.
CADENCE_PLUS_LOCAL_MODELS, CADENCE_PLUS_LOCAL_MODELS_URL	Models served by a local OpenAI-compatible server such as Ollama.

Server keys are optional. People can connect their own model accounts in the app. See Models.

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Computers

Setting	Effect
SANDBOX_PROVIDER	docker, e2b, daytona, createos, boat or none.
CADENCE_PLUS_COMPUTER_BROWSER	chromium (default), chrome or brave for Docker computers.
CADENCE_PLUS_COMPUTER_MEMORY, CADENCE_PLUS_COMPUTER_CPUS	Resource limits per Docker computer.
SANDBOX_IDLE_MS	How long an idle computer stays on before it stops.
SANDBOX_MAX_COMPUTERS_PER_SPACE	A cap on computers per space. 0 means no cap.

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Channels

Each channel turns on when its settings are present. See Channels for what each one does.

Channel	Settings
Slack	SLACK_CLIENT_ID, SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET, SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET (or SLACK_BOT_TOKEN and SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET for one workspace)
WhatsApp	WHATSAPP_ACCESS_TOKEN, WHATSAPP_PHONE_NUMBER_ID, WHATSAPP_APP_SECRET, WHATSAPP_VERIFY_TOKEN
Telegram	TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN, TELEGRAM_WEBHOOK_SECRET_TOKEN
Feishu	LARK_APP_ID, LARK_APP_SECRET, LARK_VERIFICATION_TOKEN, LARK_DOMAIN
iMessage (Sendblue)	SENDBLUE_API_KEY_ID, SENDBLUE_API_SECRET, SENDBLUE_SIGNING_SECRET, SENDBLUE_PHONE_NUMBER

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Integrations

Setting	Effect
COMPOSIO_API_KEY or the PIPEDREAM_* settings	Turns on the managed app catalog for one-click app connections.
MCP_STDIO_ENABLED	Lets people add MCP servers that run as local commands.

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Storage and email

Setting	Effect
DATA_DIR	Where app data lives on disk.
OBJECT_STORAGE_*	Keep bot homes in S3-compatible storage instead of on disk.
MAX_UPLOAD_SIZE_MB	Largest upload allowed. Default 10.

Email (verification, password reset, invites and sign-in codes) needs SMTP settings. See docs/self-host.md for the full list, including single sign-on, backups and logging.