Environment Variables

🔐 Environment Variables

This page explains all environment variables used by SecureAuth.

Environment variables are required for authentication, encryption, cloud storage, and external service integrations.

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📄 Creating Environment File

Create a .env file in the root directory of the project.

Example:

# ===============================================
# SecureAuth Environment Configuration
# ===============================================

APP_NAME="SecureAuth"

APP_URL="http://localhost:3000"

PORT=3000

# ===============================================
# TEXTSNAP CONFIGURATION
# ===============================================

TEXTSNAP_INSTANCE_ID="YOUR_INSTANCE_ID"

TEXTSNAP_ACCESS_TOKEN="YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

# ===============================================
# FIREBASE CONFIGURATION
# ===============================================

FIREBASE_DATABASE_URL="YOUR_FIREBASE_DATABASE_URL"

FIREBASE_DATABASE_SECRET="YOUR_FIREBASE_DATABASE_SECRET"

# ===============================================
# SECURITY CONFIGURATION
# ===============================================

JWT_SECRET="YOUR_SUPER_SECRET_KEY"

ENCRYPTION_KEY="YOUR_ENCRYPTION_KEY"

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⚙️ Variable Explanations

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APP_NAME

Application display name.

Example:

APP_NAME="SecureAuth"

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APP_URL

Public application URL.

Used for:

• Redirects
• API callbacks
• PWA configuration
• Authentication validation

Example:

APP_URL="https://example.com"

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PORT

Port used by the backend server.

Example:

PORT=3000

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📲 TextSnap Configuration

SecureAuth uses TextSnap for WhatsApp OTP delivery.

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TEXTSNAP_INSTANCE_ID

Your TextSnap instance ID.

Example:

TEXTSNAP_INSTANCE_ID="YOUR_INSTANCE_ID"

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TEXTSNAP_ACCESS_TOKEN

Access token for TextSnap API authentication.

Example:

TEXTSNAP_ACCESS_TOKEN="YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

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☁️ Firebase Configuration

SecureAuth uses Firebase Realtime Database for secure cloud storage.

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FIREBASE_DATABASE_URL

Firebase Realtime Database URL.

Example:

FIREBASE_DATABASE_URL="https://your-project.firebaseio.com/"

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FIREBASE_DATABASE_SECRET

Firebase database secret key.

Example:

FIREBASE_DATABASE_SECRET="YOUR_SECRET"

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🔒 Security Configuration

These variables are critical for application security.

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JWT_SECRET

Used for JWT authentication and session validation.

⚠️ Use a strong random secret.

Example:

JWT_SECRET="super_secure_random_secret"

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ENCRYPTION_KEY

Used for encrypting sensitive authenticator data.

⚠️ Must remain private.

Example:

ENCRYPTION_KEY="strong_encryption_key"

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🛡️ Security Recommendations

For production environments:

• Never expose .env publicly
• Use strong random secrets
• Rotate credentials regularly
• Restrict database permissions
• Store backups securely

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⚠️ Important Notes

Changing JWT_SECRET

Changing this will invalidate all active sessions.

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Changing ENCRYPTION_KEY

Changing this may make previously encrypted data unreadable.

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🚫 Never Commit .env

Add .env to .gitignore

Example:

.env

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🔍 Verify Environment Variables

To verify variables are loaded:

printenv

or

cat .env

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🛠 Common Issues

Missing Environment Variables

Error example:

Missing required environment variable

Solution:

• Check .env file exists
• Verify variable names
• Restart server after changes

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Invalid Firebase URL

Ensure database URL format is correct.

Example:

https://your-project.firebaseio.com/

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OTP Not Sending

Check:

• TextSnap credentials
• Internet connection
• API limits

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✅ Next Steps

Continue with:

• Authentication Flow
• Security Architecture
• Deployment Guide

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Secure • Fast • Modern ⚡