Environment Variables Setup

Quick Start

1. Create a .env.local file in the web/ directory

2. Add the following variables:

# Database Connection
# Format: postgresql://username:password@host:port/database?schema=public
# Example for local PostgreSQL:
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:password@localhost:5432/openeco?schema=public"

# NextAuth Configuration
# Generate a secret with: node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('base64'))"
NEXTAUTH_SECRET="your-generated-secret-here"

# App URL (for development)
NEXTAUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"

# Optional: App Configuration
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL="http://localhost:3000"
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME="Open Climate Transparency Platform"

Generating NEXTAUTH_SECRET

Run this command to generate a secure secret:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('base64'))"

Copy the output and paste it as your NEXTAUTH_SECRET value.

Database Setup Options

Option 1: Local PostgreSQL

1. Install PostgreSQL on your machine
2. Create a database:

   CREATE DATABASE openeco;
   

3. Use connection string:

   DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:yourpassword@localhost:5432/openeco?schema=public"
   

Option 2: Containerized PostgreSQL (Podman or Docker)

1. Run PostgreSQL in a container (Linux/WSL2 with Podman recommended):

   # Podman (Linux/WSL2)
   podman run --name openeco-postgres \
     -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password \
     -e POSTGRES_DB=openeco \
     -p 5432:5432 \
     -d postgres:15
   
   # Or Docker (Docker Desktop / Rancher Desktop, etc.)
   docker run --name openeco-postgres \
     -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password \
     -e POSTGRES_DB=openeco \
     -p 5432:5432 \
     -d postgres:15
   

2. Use connection string:

   DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:password@localhost:5432/openeco?schema=public"
   

Option 3: Cloud Database (Supabase, Neon, etc.)

1. Create a database on your cloud provider
2. Copy the connection string they provide
3. Use it as your DATABASE_URL

After Setting Up

Once you’ve created .env.local with DATABASE_URL:

# Generate Prisma client
npm run db:generate

# Push schema to database
npm run db:push

# Start development server
npm run dev

Troubleshooting

“Environment variable not found: DATABASE_URL”

• Make sure .env.local is in the web/ directory (same level as package.json)
• Check that the file is named exactly .env.local (not .env.local.txt)
• Restart your terminal/IDE after creating the file

Connection refused errors

• Make sure PostgreSQL is running
• Check that the host, port, username, and password are correct
• Verify the database exists

Authentication errors

• Make sure NEXTAUTH_SECRET is set and is a long random string
• Regenerate the secret if you’re getting session errors