lobehub/docs/self-hosting/environment-variables/basic.mdx

---
title: Customize LobeChat Deployment with Environment Variables
description: >-
  Learn about the common environment variables used to customize LobeChat deployment, including access code, OAuth SSO, base path, and default agent configuration.

tags:
  - LobeChat
  - environment variables
  - deployment
  - access code
  - OAuth SSO
  - base path
  - default agent configuration
---

# Environment Variables

LobeChat provides some additional configuration options during deployment, which can be customized using environment variables.

## Common Variables

### `ACCESS_CODE`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Add a password to access the LobeChat service. You can set a long password to prevent brute force attacks.
- Default: -
- Example: `awCTe)re_r74` or `rtrt_ewee3@09!`

### `API_KEY_SELECT_MODE`

- Type：Optional
- Description：Controls the mode for selecting the API Key when multiple API Keys are available. Currently supports `random` and `turn`.
- Default：`random`
- Example：`random` or `turn`

When using the `random` mode, a random API Key will be selected from the available multiple API Keys.

When using the `turn` mode, the API Keys will be retrieved in a polling manner according to the specified order.

### `DEFAULT_AGENT_CONFIG`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Used to configure the default settings for the LobeChat default agent. It supports various data types and structures, including key-value pairs, nested fields, array values, and more.
- Default: -
- Example: `'model=gpt-4-1106-preview;params.max_tokens=300;plugins=search-engine,lobe-image-designer'`

The `DEFAULT_AGENT_CONFIG` is used to configure the default settings for the LobeChat default agent. It supports various data types and structures, including key-value pairs, nested fields, array values, and more. The table below provides detailed information on the configuration options, examples, and corresponding explanations for the `DEFAULT_AGENT_CONFIG` environment variable:

| Configuration Type      | Example                                                                                                                  | Explanation                                                                                                        |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Basic Key-Value Pair    | `model=gpt-4`                                                                                                            | Set the model to `gpt-4`.                                                                                          |
| Nested Field            | `tts.sttLocale=en-US`                                                                                                    | Set the language locale for the text-to-speech service to `en-US`.                                                 |
| Array                   | `plugins=search-engine,lobe-image-designer`                                                                              | Enable the `search-engine` and `lobe-image-designer` plugins.                                                      |
| Chinese Comma           | `plugins=search-engine，lobe-image-designer`                                                                              | Same as above, demonstrating support for Chinese comma separation.                                                 |
| Multiple Configurations | `model=glm-4;provider=zhipu`                                                                                             | Set the model to `glm-4` and the model provider to `zhipu`.                                                        |
| Numeric Value           | `params.max_tokens=300`, `chatConfig.historyCount=5`                                                                     | Set the maximum tokens to `300`, Set the number of historical messages to 5.                                       |
| Boolean Value           | `chatConfig.enableAutoCreateTopic=true`, `chatConfig.enableCompressThreshold=true`, `chatConfig.enableHistoryCount=true` | Enable automatic topic creation, History length compression threshold, number of historical records.               |
| Special Characters      | `inputTemplate="Hello; I am a bot;"`                                                                                     | Set the input template to `Hello; I am a bot;`.                                                                    |
| Error Handling          | `model=gpt-4;maxToken`                                                                                                   | Ignore invalid entry `maxToken` and only parse `model=gpt-4`.                                                      |
| Value Override          | `model=gpt-4;model=gpt-4-1106-preview`                                                                                   | If a key is repeated, use the value that appears last; in this case, the value of `model` is `gpt-4-1106-preview`. |

Further reading:

- [\[RFC\] 022 - Default Assistant Parameters Configuration via Environment Variables](https://github.com/lobehub/lobe-chat/discussions/913)

### `SYSTEM_AGENT`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Used to configure models and providers for LobeChat system agents (such as topic generation, translation, etc.).
- Default value: `-`
- Example: `default=ollama/deepseek-v3` or `topic=openai/gpt-4,translation=anthropic/claude-1`

The `SYSTEM_AGENT` environment variable supports two configuration methods:

1. Use `default=provider/model` to set the same default configuration for all system agents
2. Configure specific system agents individually using the format `agent-name=provider/model`

Configuration details:

| Config Type         | Format                                          | Explanation                                                            |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Default setting     | `default=ollama/deepseek-v3`                    | Set deepseek-v3 from ollama as the default model for all system agents |
| Specific setting    | `topic=openai/gpt-4`                            | Set a specific provider and model for topic generation                 |
| Mixed configuration | `default=ollama/deepseek-v3,topic=openai/gpt-4` | First set default values for all agents, then override specific agents |

Available system agents and their functions:

| System Agent        | Key Name          | Function Description                                                                                |
| ------------------- | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Topic Generation    | `topic`           | Automatically generates topic names and summaries based on chat content                             |
| Translation         | `translation`     | Handles text translation between multiple languages                                                 |
| Metadata Generation | `agentMeta`       | Generates descriptive information and metadata for assistants                                       |
| History Compression | `historyCompress` | Compresses and organizes history for long conversations, optimizing context management              |
| Query Rewrite       | `queryRewrite`    | Rewrites follow-up questions as standalone questions with context, improving conversation coherence |
| Thread Management   | `thread`          | Handles the creation and management of conversation threads                                         |

### `FEATURE_FLAGS`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Used to control LobeChat's feature functionalities. Supports multiple feature flags, using `+` to add a feature and `-` to disable a feature. Separate multiple feature flags with a comma `,` and enclose the entire value in quotes `"` to avoid parsing errors.
- Default: `-`
- Example: `"-welcome_suggest"`

For specific content, please refer to the [Feature Flags](/docs/self-hosting/advanced/feature-flags) documentation.

### `PROXY_URL`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Used to specify the proxy URL for connecting to external services. The value of this variable should be different in different deployment environments.
- Default: -
- Example: `http://127.0.0.1:7890` or `socks5://localhost:7891`

<Callout type="info">
  If you're using Docker Desktop on Windows or macOS, it relies on a virtual machine. In this setup,
  `localhost` / `127.0.0.1` refers to the localhost of the container itself. In such cases, please
  try using `host.docker.internal` instead of `localhost`. Use `http://user:password@127.0.0.1:7890`
  to connect to an authenticated proxy server.
</Callout>

### `ENABLE_PROXY_DNS`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Used to control whether to send DNS queries to the proxy server. When configured as `0`, all DNS queries are resolved locally. If you encounter API access failures or timeouts in your network environment, try setting this option to `1`.
- Default: `0`
- Example: `1` or `0`

### `SSRF_ALLOW_PRIVATE_IP_ADDRESS`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Controls whether to allow connections to private IP addresses. Set to `1` to disable SSRF protection and allow all private IP addresses. In a trusted environment (e.g., internal network), this can be enabled to allow access to internal resources.
- Default: `0`
- Example: `1` or `0`

<Callout type="warning">
  **Security Notice**: Enabling this option will disable SSRF protection and allow connections to private
  IP addresses (127.0.0.0/8, 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16, etc.). Only enable this in
  trusted environments where you need to access internal network resources.
</Callout>

**Use Cases**:

LobeChat performs SSRF security checks in the following scenarios:

1. **Image/Video URL to Base64 Conversion**: When processing media messages (e.g., vision models, multimodal models), LobeChat converts image and video URLs to base64 format. This check prevents malicious users from accessing internal network resources.

   Examples:

   - Image: A user sends an image message with URL `http://192.168.1.100/admin/secrets.png`
   - Video: A user sends a video message with URL `http://10.0.0.50/internal/meeting.mp4`

   Without SSRF protection, these requests could expose internal network resources.

2. **Web Crawler**: When using web crawling features to fetch external content.

3. **Proxy Requests**: When proxying external API requests.

**Configuration Examples**:

```bash
# Scenario 1: Public deployment (recommended)
# Block all private IP addresses for security
SSRF_ALLOW_PRIVATE_IP_ADDRESS=0

# Scenario 2: Internal deployment
# Allow all private IP addresses to access internal image servers
SSRF_ALLOW_PRIVATE_IP_ADDRESS=1

# Scenario 3: Hybrid deployment (most common)
# Block private IPs by default, but allow specific trusted internal servers
SSRF_ALLOW_PRIVATE_IP_ADDRESS=0
SSRF_ALLOW_IP_ADDRESS_LIST=192.168.1.100,10.0.0.50
```

### `SSRF_ALLOW_IP_ADDRESS_LIST`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Whitelist of allowed IP addresses, separated by commas. Only takes effect when `SSRF_ALLOW_PRIVATE_IP_ADDRESS` is `0`. Use this to allow specific internal IP addresses while keeping SSRF protection enabled for other private IPs.
- Default: -
- Example: `192.168.1.100,10.0.0.50,172.16.0.10`

**Common Use Cases**:

- Allow access to internal image storage server: `192.168.1.100`
- Allow access to internal API gateway: `10.0.0.50`
- Allow access to internal documentation server: `172.16.0.10`

### `ENABLE_AUTH_PROTECTION`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Controls whether to enable route protection. When set to `1`, all routes except public routes (like `/api/auth`, `/next-auth/*`, `/login`, `/signup`) will require authentication. When set to `0` or not set, only specific protected routes (like `/settings`, `/files`) will require authentication.
- Default: `0`
- Example: `1` or `0`

### `NEXT_PUBLIC_ASSET_PREFIX`

- Type: Optional
- Description: The path access prefix for static resources can be set to the URL for CDN access. For more details, please refer to: [assetPrefix](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/assetPrefix)
- Default: -
- Example: `https://cdn.example.com`

## AI Image

### `AI_IMAGE_DEFAULT_IMAGE_NUM`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Sets the default number of images to generate for AI image generation. Users can still override this value in their settings.
- Default: `4`
- Example: `6`
- Range: `1-20`

This environment variable allows administrators to customize the default image generation count for their deployment. The value must be between 1 and 20. If not set, it defaults to 4. Users can still adjust this value in their personal settings.

## Plugin Service

### `PLUGINS_INDEX_URL`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Index address of the LobeChat plugin market. If you have deployed the plugin market service on your own, you can use this variable to override the default plugin market address.
- Default: `https://chat-plugins.lobehub.com`

### `PLUGIN_SETTINGS`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Used to configure plugin settings. Use the format `plugin-name:setting-field=setting-value` to configure the settings of the plugin. Separate multiple setting fields with a semicolon `;`, and separate multiple plugin settings with a comma `,`.
- Default: `-`
- Example: `search-engine:SERPAPI_API_KEY=xxxxx,plugin-2:key1=value1;key2=value2`

The above example sets the `SERPAPI_API_KEY` of the `search-engine` plugin to `xxxxx`, and sets `key1` of `plugin-2` to `value1`, and `key2` to `value2`. The generated plugin settings configuration is as follows:

```json
{
  "plugin-2": {
    "key1": "value1",
    "key2": "value2"
  },
  "search-engine": {
    "SERPAPI_API_KEY": "xxxxx"
  }
}
```

## Assistant Market

### `AGENTS_INDEX_URL`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Index address of the LobeChat assistant market. If you have deployed the assistant market service on your own, you can use this variable to override the default market address.
- Default: `https://chat-agents.lobehub.com`