---
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.

### `NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_PATH`

- Type: Optional
- Description: Add a `basePath` for LobeChat.
- Default: -
- Example: `/test`

### `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)

### `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`.
</Callout>

## 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`
