Environment Variables

Complete reference for every SlackHive configuration variable, grouped by category.

All SlackHive configuration lives in a single .env file in the project root. The slackhive init CLI generates this file for you automatically. For manual setup, copy the example file and fill in the values:

cp .env.example .env

Never commit your .env file to version control. It contains passwords and cryptographic keys. It’s already listed in .gitignore, but double-check before pushing.

Claude Authentication

You need one of these two options — not both. If both are set, the API key takes precedence.

Option A: Anthropic API Key

Best for teams, production deployments, and predictable billing.

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...

All agents share this key. You’re billed per token via the Anthropic API. Set up your billing and usage limits on the Anthropic console.

Option B: Claude Max Subscription

Best for individual developers on a Claude Pro or Max plan ($100–$200/month for unlimited usage).

# Leave ANTHROPIC_API_KEY unset (comment it out)
CLAUDE_BIN=/usr/local/bin/claude

First, run claude login on the host machine to authenticate. Then mount the credentials into the runner container by adding this to docker-compose.yml:

runner:
  volumes:
    - ~/.claude:/root/.claude

The CLAUDE_BIN variable tells the runner where the claude binary lives on your host. Find the path with which claude.

Database (PostgreSQL)

Variable	Required	Description
POSTGRES_DB	Yes	Database name. Default: slackhive
POSTGRES_USER	Yes	Database user. Default: slackhive
POSTGRES_PASSWORD	Yes	Database password. Use a strong random value.

POSTGRES_DB=slackhive
POSTGRES_USER=slackhive
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=change-this-to-something-strong

The DATABASE_URL used internally is constructed from these values automatically in docker-compose.yml. You don’t set it directly.

Cache (Redis)

Variable	Required	Description
REDIS_PASSWORD	Yes	Redis authentication password. Used for the pub/sub event bus between the dashboard and the runner.

REDIS_PASSWORD=change-this-to-something-strong

Dashboard Authentication

Variable	Required	Description
ADMIN_USERNAME	Yes	Superadmin login name. Stored only in .env, never in the database.
ADMIN_PASSWORD	Yes	Superadmin login password. Stored only in .env.
AUTH_SECRET	Yes	Cryptographic key for signing session cookies. Changing this logs out all users.
ENV_SECRET_KEY	Yes	Encryption key for the secret store (AES-256 via pgcrypto). Changing this breaks all stored secrets.

ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-this-to-something-strong
AUTH_SECRET=generate-with-openssl-rand-hex-32
ENV_SECRET_KEY=generate-with-openssl-rand-hex-32

Generate strong values for AUTH_SECRET and ENV_SECRET_KEY:

openssl rand -hex 32

Run this command twice — once for each variable. Each should be unique.

Do not rotate these keys after your initial setup without planning ahead.

• Rotating AUTH_SECRET immediately invalidates all active user sessions — everyone gets logged out.
• Rotating ENV_SECRET_KEY makes all stored secrets unreadable. You must re-enter every secret manually in Settings → Env Vars before any MCP servers using envRefs will work again.

Platform

Variable	Required	Default	Description
NODE_ENV	No	development	Set to production for production deployments. Affects log verbosity and error handling.
AGENTS_TMP_DIR	No	/tmp/agents	Root directory for agent workspaces inside the runner container. Each agent gets a subdirectory containing its CLAUDE.md, skills, and session data.

NODE_ENV=production
# AGENTS_TMP_DIR=/tmp/agents  # only change if you need a custom path

Complete .env.example

Here’s the full template for reference:

# ============================================================
# SlackHive — Environment Configuration
# Copy to .env and fill in your values.
# ============================================================

# --- Claude Authentication (choose ONE) ---

# Option A: Anthropic API key (pay-per-token)
# ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...

# Option B: Claude Pro or Max subscription
# Leave ANTHROPIC_API_KEY unset. Run `claude login` on the host first.
# CLAUDE_BIN=/usr/local/bin/claude

# --- PostgreSQL ---
POSTGRES_DB=slackhive
POSTGRES_USER=slackhive
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=change-me

# --- Redis ---
REDIS_PASSWORD=change-me

# --- Dashboard Auth ---
ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-me
AUTH_SECRET=generate-with-openssl-rand-hex-32
ENV_SECRET_KEY=generate-with-openssl-rand-hex-32

# --- Platform ---
NODE_ENV=production

Next steps

Slack App Setup

Configure the Slack app for each agent.

MCP Servers

Use the encrypted env store to safely pass secrets to MCP tools.