Environment Variables | DirectoryLaunch

All env vars live in .env.local for local dev and in Vercel → Settings → Environment Variables for production. The file .env.example in the repo is kept up to date — copy it with cp .env.example .env.local.

Naming rule

Variables starting with NEXT_PUBLIC_ are exposed to the browser. Everything else stays server-only. Never prefix a secret key with NEXT_PUBLIC_.

App

Variable	Required?	Value
`NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL`	required	Your production URL. Local: `http://localhost:3000`. Used for SEO, OG tags, email links.
`NEXT_PUBLIC_URL`	optional	Fallback URL for payment redirects. Defaults to request host.

Supabase

Variable	Required?	Value
`NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL`	required	Supabase → Settings → API → Project URL
`NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY`	required	Supabase → Settings → API → `anon` key
`SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY`	required	Supabase → Settings → API → `service_role` key. Server-only!
`SUPABASE_PROJECT_ID`	optional	For `pnpm supabase:types`. Your project ref.

Supabase storage (S3)

Variable	Required?	Value
`SUPABASE_S3_ENDPOINT`	required for uploads	`https://xxx.supabase.co/storage/v1/s3`
`SUPABASE_S3_REGION`	required for uploads	`us-east-1` (or your region)
`SUPABASE_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID`	required for uploads	From Supabase → Storage → S3 connection
`SUPABASE_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`	required for uploads	From Supabase → Storage → S3 connection
`SUPABASE_S3_BUCKET`	required for uploads	Bucket name (default: `storage`)

Supabase Storage buckets page

Stripe (payments)

Variable	Required?	Value
`STRIPE_SECRET_KEY`	required for payments	Stripe → Developers → API keys → Secret key
`STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET`	required for payments	Stripe → Webhooks → endpoint → Signing secret
`STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PREMIUM`	required for Premium plan	Price ID from Stripe → Products → Premium
`STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PARTNER_SUBSCRIPTION`	optional	Recurring price for sponsors
`STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PROMO_BANNER`	optional	Monthly price for banner ad
`STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PROMO_CATALOG`	optional	Monthly price for catalog card
`STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PROMO_DETAIL`	optional	Monthly price for detail-page card
`STRIPE_COUPON_ID_PROMO_ALL_THREE`	optional	Coupon ID for "buy all three placements" discount

See Payments for the full Stripe setup.

Email (Resend)

Variable	Required?	Value
`RESEND_API_KEY`	required for email	Resend → API Keys
`RESEND_PRODUCTION_FROM`	optional	Override "From" in production (`hello@yourdomain.com`)
`RESEND_DEV_FROM`	optional	Override "From" in dev (default: `onboarding@resend.dev`)
`RESEND_FROM_EMAIL`	optional	Master override for "From" — takes priority over the other two
`RESEND_DEV_REDIRECT`	optional	`true` (default) redirects all dev emails to `RESEND_DEV_REDIRECT_TO`
`RESEND_DEV_REDIRECT_TO`	optional	Email address for dev redirects — point to your own inbox

See Email Config.

Cron jobs

Variable	Required?	Value
`CRON_SECRET`	required	Any long random string. Example: `openssl rand -hex 32`. Protects `/api/cron/*` endpoints.

See Cron Jobs.

AI features (optional)

Only needed if ai: true in features.config.ts.

Variable	Value
`AI_PROVIDER`	`openai` or `anthropic`
`AI_MODEL`	Model ID: `gpt-4o-mini`, `claude-haiku-4-5`, etc.
`AI_API_KEY`	Provider API key

See AI Config.

Analytics (optional)

Variable	Value
`NEXT_PUBLIC_GA_MEASUREMENT_ID`	GA4 Measurement ID: `G-XXXXXXXXXX`
`NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY`	PostHog project API key (`phc_...`)
`NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST`	`https://app.posthog.com` or `https://eu.posthog.com`
`NEXT_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_VERIFICATION`	Google Search Console verification token

See Analytics Config.

Content & integrations (optional)

Variable	Purpose
`SEOBOT_API_KEY`	AI-written blog posts via SEObot
`NEXT_PUBLIC_LOGO_DEV_TOKEN`	Auto-fetch logos by domain with Logo.dev
`NEXT_PUBLIC_LISTINGBOTT_URL`	External link on `/pricing` for ListingBott

Build & dev

Variable	Value
`ANALYZE`	`true` to enable webpack bundle analyzer (`ANALYZE=true pnpm build`)

Quick-copy starter

For local dev, minimum to run with auth + DB:

.env.local

NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000
 
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=https://xxx.supabase.co
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=eyJ...
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=eyJ...
 
CRON_SECRET=any-long-random-string

Add Stripe + Resend when you're ready to test payments + emails.

Adding env vars on Vercel

Vercel env vars settings page

Paste them one by one, or drag-drop the .env.local file (Vercel parses it).

After changing env vars, trigger a redeploy — Vercel doesn't pick them up on existing builds.

AI Prompt· Prepare env vars for Vercel

I'm about to deploy to Vercel. Read my local .env.local file and:

List every env var I have set locally.
For each one, tell me:

Whether it's needed in production (or local-dev only)
Whether its value should be the SAME as local (copy as-is) or DIFFERENT (e.g. localhost URLs, test vs live Stripe keys)


Flag any MISSING required vars based on .env.example that I should add before deploying.
Flag any SECRETS that I should NOT paste in Vercel's shared environment (if any).
Output the final block I should paste into Vercel Settings → Environment Variables, with production-appropriate placeholders for values I need to swap.
Don't modify .env.local.