Configuration

Reqcore uses environment variables for all configuration. Variables are validated at startup using Zod — if any required variable is missing or malformed, the server fails immediately with a clear error message.

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Variable	Description	Example
`DATABASE_URL`	PostgreSQL connection string	`postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/reqcore`
`BETTER_AUTH_SECRET`	Session signing secret (min 32 chars)	Generated by `setup.sh`
`BETTER_AUTH_URL`	Public URL of the application	`http://localhost:3000`
`S3_ENDPOINT`	S3-compatible storage endpoint	`http://localhost:9000`
`S3_ACCESS_KEY`	Storage access key	`minioadmin`
`S3_SECRET_KEY`	Storage secret key	`minioadmin`
`S3_BUCKET`	Storage bucket name	`reqcore`
`S3_REGION`	Storage region	`us-east-1`

Optional Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE`	Use path-style S3 URLs (required for MinIO)	`true`
`NUXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL`	Public site URL for SEO	`https://reqcore.com`
`DEMO_ORG_SLUG`	Show read-only demo banner for this org	(empty)
`LIVE_DEMO_EMAIL`	Prefill sign-in with demo email	`demo@reqcore.com`
`LIVE_DEMO_SECRET`	Prefill sign-in with demo password	`demo1234`
`GITHUB_FEEDBACK_TOKEN`	GitHub PAT for in-app feedback	(empty)
`GITHUB_FEEDBACK_REPO`	GitHub repo for feedback issues	(empty)
`NUXT_PUBLIC_GISCUS_REPO_ID`	Giscus repo node ID for comments	(empty)
`NUXT_PUBLIC_GISCUS_CATEGORY_ID`	Giscus category node ID for comments	(empty)

Environment Validation

All environment variables are validated in server/utils/env.ts using Zod schemas. This ensures:

Fail-fast: Missing or invalid variables crash the server at startup, not at runtime
Type safety: Every variable is typed and available via the env utility
No stale values: The validation catches old domain names or malformed URLs

// Access environment variables in server code:
import { env } from '~/server/utils/env'

// env.DATABASE_URL — always a valid string
// env.S3_BUCKET — always a valid string

Important: Never access process.env directly in server code. Always use the validated env utility.

S3 Storage Configuration

Local Development (MinIO)

The default Docker Compose setup includes MinIO with path-style URLs:

S3_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:9000
S3_ACCESS_KEY=minioadmin
S3_SECRET_KEY=minioadmin
S3_BUCKET=reqcore
S3_REGION=us-east-1
S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE=true

Production (Railway Buckets / AWS S3)

For production deployments using Railway Buckets or AWS S3, use virtual-hosted-style URLs:

S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE=false

Railway injects storage credentials automatically via template variables.

Authentication

Reqcore uses Better Auth with the organization plugin for multi-tenancy. The key configuration:

BETTER_AUTH_SECRET — Must be at least 32 characters. Generated automatically by setup.sh.
BETTER_AUTH_URL — Must match the public URL where users access the app. For local dev: http://localhost:3000. For production: your domain (e.g., https://reqcore.com).

SEO Configuration

SEO settings are defined in nuxt.config.ts under the site key:

site: {
  url: 'https://reqcore.com',
  name: 'Reqcore',
  description: 'Open-source applicant tracking system...',
  defaultLocale: 'en',
}

These values are shared across all SEO modules (Sitemap, Robots, Schema.org).

Next Steps

Quick Start — Start using Reqcore
Docker Compose Deployment — Production-ready local deployment
Railway Deployment — Deploy to Railway cloud