Environment Variables Reference

Configuration reference for Almafrica services.

Backend (.NET)

File: backend/.env or environment

Database

Variable	Required	Description	Example
DATABASE_URL	Yes	PostgreSQL connection string	Host=localhost;Database=almafrica;Username=postgres;Password=secret
DATABASE_POOL_SIZE	No	Connection pool size	100

Authentication

Variable	Required	Description	Example
JWT_SECRET	Yes	Secret key for JWT signing	your-256-bit-secret-key-here
JWT_EXPIRY_HOURS	No	Token expiration time	24
JWT_ISSUER	No	Token issuer	almafrica-api
JWT_AUDIENCE	No	Token audience	almafrica-web

Application

Variable	Required	Description	Example
ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT	Yes	Environment name	Development, Staging, Production
ASPNETCORE_URLS	No	Listen URLs	http://localhost:5000
CORS_ORIGINS	No	Allowed CORS origins (comma-separated)	http://localhost:3000,https://app.almafrica.com

Email (Optional)

Variable	Required	Description	Example
SMTP_HOST	No	SMTP server host	smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT	No	SMTP port	587
SMTP_USER	No	SMTP username	noreply@almafrica.com
SMTP_PASSWORD	No	SMTP password	app-password
EMAIL_FROM	No	From email address	noreply@almafrica.com

Storage (Optional)

Variable	Required	Description	Example
STORAGE_TYPE	No	Storage backend	local, s3, azure
S3_BUCKET	No	S3 bucket name	almafrica-uploads
S3_REGION	No	S3 region	us-east-1
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID	No	AWS access key	AKIA...
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY	No	AWS secret key	...

Web Dashboard (Next.js)

File: web/almafrica-web/.env.local

API Configuration

Variable	Required	Description	Example
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL	Yes	Backend API URL	http://localhost:5000
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_TIMEOUT	No	API request timeout (ms)	30000

Application

Variable	Required	Description	Example
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME	No	Application name	Almafrica
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL	No	Application URL	http://localhost:3000
NEXT_PUBLIC_ENVIRONMENT	No	Environment name	development

Authentication

Variable	Required	Description	Example
AUTH_SECRET	Yes	NextAuth secret	your-secret-key

Analytics (Optional)

Variable	Required	Description	Example
NEXT_PUBLIC_GA_ID	No	Google Analytics ID	G-XXXXXXXXXX
NEXT_PUBLIC_SENTRY_DSN	No	Sentry DSN	https://...@sentry.io/...

Mobile App (Flutter)

Configuration in: mobile/mon_jardin/lib/core/config/

API Configuration

Variable	Required	Description	Example
API_BASE_URL	Yes	Backend API URL	https://api.almafrica.com
API_TIMEOUT	No	Request timeout (seconds)	30

Sync Configuration

Variable	Required	Description	Example
SYNC_INTERVAL	No	Background sync interval (minutes)	15
OFFLINE_MODE	No	Force offline mode for testing	false
MAX_RETRIES	No	Max sync retry attempts	3

Docker Compose

File: docker-compose.local.yml, docker-compose.staging.yml, etc.

PostgreSQL

Variable	Default	Description
POSTGRES_USER	postgres	Database username
POSTGRES_PASSWORD	postgres	Database password
POSTGRES_DB	almafrica	Database name

Redis (if used)

Variable	Default	Description
REDIS_PASSWORD	-	Redis password

Environment-Specific Values

Development

ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:5000
DATABASE_URL=Host=localhost;Database=almafrica_dev;Username=postgres;Password=postgres

Staging

ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Staging
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api-staging.almafrica.com
DATABASE_URL=Host=staging-db;Database=almafrica;Username=...

Production

ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.almafrica.com
DATABASE_URL=Host=prod-db;Database=almafrica;Username=...

Security Notes

1. Never commit .env files to version control
2. Rotate secrets regularly, especially after team member changes
3. Use strong, unique JWT secrets (256+ bits)
4. Restrict database access by IP in production
5. Use managed secrets in cloud deployments (AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault)