Environment Variables

Activepieces is configured entirely through environment variables prefixed with AP_. All variables are defined in the source code at packages/server/common/src/lib/system-props.ts.

Environment variables are read from the .env file or passed directly to the container. The .env.example file in the repository shows the minimum required configuration.

Quick Reference

Download the example configuration:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/activepieces/activepieces/main/.env.example

Required Variables

These must be set for Activepieces to function:

string

required

Path to the workflow execution engineDefault: dist/packages/engine/main.jsExample:

AP_ENGINE_EXECUTABLE_PATH=dist/packages/engine/main.js

string

required

256-bit encryption key (32 hex characters) for encrypting sensitive dataGenerate:

openssl rand -hex 32

Changing this key will make existing encrypted data unreadable. Store it securely and never commit to version control.

string

required

Secret key for signing JWT authentication tokensGenerate:

openssl rand -hex 32

Changing this will invalidate all existing user sessions.

string

required

Public URL where users access ActivepiecesExamples:

# Development
AP_FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:8080

# Production
AP_FRONTEND_URL=https://activepieces.yourdomain.com

Database Configuration

PostgreSQL

string

default:"activepieces"

PostgreSQL database name

string

default:"postgres"

PostgreSQL server hostnameExamples:

# Docker Compose
AP_POSTGRES_HOST=postgres

# External server
AP_POSTGRES_HOST=db.example.com

number

default:"5432"

PostgreSQL server port

string

default:"postgres"

PostgreSQL username

string

required

PostgreSQL password

Use a strong password for production deployments.

string

PostgreSQL connection URL (alternative to individual settings)Format: postgresql://username:password@host:port/databaseExample:

AP_POSTGRES_URL=postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/activepieces?sslmode=require

If set, this overrides individual AP_POSTGRES_* variables.

boolean

default:"false"

Enable SSL/TLS for PostgreSQL connection

AP_POSTGRES_USE_SSL=true

string

Path to SSL CA certificate file

AP_POSTGRES_SSL_CA=/path/to/ca-certificate.crt

number

default:"10"

PostgreSQL connection pool sizeRecommended: 10-20 for production

number

default:"30000"

Connection idle timeout in milliseconds

enum

Database type (for advanced use cases)Options: postgres, sqlite

SQLite is for development only. Use PostgreSQL for production.

Redis Configuration

string

default:"redis"

Redis server hostname

number

default:"6379"

Redis server port

string

Redis username (Redis 6+ ACL)

string

Redis password

number

default:"0"

Redis database number (0-15)

string

Redis connection URL (alternative to individual settings)Format: redis://[username:password@]host:port/dbExample:

AP_REDIS_URL=redis://:password@redis:6379/0

boolean

default:"false"

Enable SSL/TLS for Redis connection

string

Path to SSL CA certificate file

enum

default:"standalone"

Redis deployment typeOptions: standalone, sentinel

Redis Sentinel

string

Sentinel master name

string

Comma-separated list of sentinel hostsExample:

AP_REDIS_SENTINEL_HOSTS=sentinel1:26379,sentinel2:26379,sentinel3:26379

enum

Sentinel roleOptions: master, slave

Redis Job Retention

number

default:"7"

How many days to keep failed job data

number

default:"100"

Maximum number of failed jobs to retain

Application Configuration

Environment

enum

default:"prod"

Application environmentOptions: prod, dev

# Production
AP_ENVIRONMENT=prod

# Development
AP_ENVIRONMENT=dev

enum

default:"ce"

Activepieces editionOptions: ce (Community Edition), ee (Enterprise Edition)

Execution

enum

default:"UNSANDBOXED"

Code execution mode for workflowsOptions:

SANDBOX_CODE_ONLY: Sandboxed execution using isolated-vm (128MB limit)
UNSANDBOXED: Direct Node.js execution (development only)

# Production (recommended)
AP_EXECUTION_MODE=SANDBOX_CODE_ONLY

# Development only
AP_EXECUTION_MODE=UNSANDBOXED

Use SANDBOX_CODE_ONLY in production to prevent malicious code execution.

number

default:"128"

Memory limit in MB for sandboxed code executionRange: 64-512 MB

string

Comma-separated environment variables to pass to sandboxExample:

AP_SANDBOX_PROPAGATED_ENV_VARS=NODE_ENV,DEBUG,CUSTOM_VAR

Timeouts

number

default:"600"

Maximum workflow execution time in secondsDefault: 10 minutes

number

default:"30"

Webhook request timeout in seconds

number

Trigger execution timeout in seconds

number

Trigger hook timeout in seconds

number

default:"5"

Default polling interval in minutes for scheduled triggers

Limits

number

default:"10"

Maximum file upload size in megabytes

number

default:"2"

Maximum size of flow run logs in megabytes

number

Limit concurrent job execution per project

Data Retention

number

Days to retain execution data before cleanupExample:

AP_EXECUTION_DATA_RETENTION_DAYS=30

number

Days before archiving flow issues

number

Days before disabling paused flows

File Storage

enum

File storage backendOptions: local, s3Default: local (uses /usr/src/app/cache)

S3 Configuration

string

S3 bucket name for file storage

string

AWS access key ID

string

AWS secret access key

string

AWS regionExample: us-east-1, eu-west-1

string

Custom S3 endpoint for S3-compatible servicesExamples:

# MinIO
AP_S3_ENDPOINT=http://minio:9000

# DigitalOcean Spaces
AP_S3_ENDPOINT=https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com

# Cloudflare R2
AP_S3_ENDPOINT=https://<account_id>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com

boolean

default:"false"

Use pre-signed URLs for S3 file access

boolean

default:"false"

Use IAM Roles for Service Accounts (EKS/Kubernetes)

When enabled, authentication uses pod IAM role instead of access keys.

Email (SMTP)

string

SMTP server hostname

number

default:"587"

SMTP server port

string

SMTP username

string

SMTP password

string

Email address for outgoing emailsExample: noreply@yourdomain.com

string

Display name for outgoing emailsExample: Activepieces

Worker Configuration

enum

default:"WORKER_AND_APP"

Container roleOptions:

WORKER_AND_APP: Run both API and workers (default)
APP: Run API server only
WORKER: Run workers only

Use separate containers for scaling. See Workers guide.

number

Number of concurrent jobs per workerRecommended: 1-4 based on CPU cores

string

Authentication token for dedicated workers

string

Platform ID for dedicated worker deployment

boolean

default:"false"

Pre-load pieces into memory on startup

boolean

default:"false"

Enable PM2 process manager for clustering

AP_PM2_ENABLED=true

Security

string

Optional API key for platform-level authentication

string

HTTP header to extract real client IPExamples:

# Behind Cloudflare
AP_CLIENT_REAL_IP_HEADER=CF-Connecting-IP

# Behind proxy
AP_CLIENT_REAL_IP_HEADER=X-Forwarded-For

string

Comma-separated webhook secrets

Rate Limiting

boolean

default:"false"

Enable authentication rate limiting

number

default:"100"

Maximum authentication requests per window

number

default:"60"

Rate limit window in seconds

boolean

default:"false"

Enable per-project rate limiting

Logging

enum

default:"info"

Logging verbosityOptions: error, warn, info, debug, trace

boolean

default:"false"

Enable pretty-printed logs (development)

# Development
AP_LOG_PRETTY=true

# Production (JSON logs)
AP_LOG_PRETTY=false

Telemetry & Monitoring

boolean

default:"true"

Send anonymous usage telemetry to Activepieces

Helps improve the platform. No sensitive data is collected.

boolean

default:"false"

Enable OpenTelemetry instrumentation

string

OpenTelemetry collector endpoint

string

Headers for OTLP exporter

Advanced Configuration

string

URL for flow template repository

string

Custom pieces registry URL

boolean

default:"false"

Enable development pieces

enum

Pieces synchronization mode

boolean

default:"true"

Automatically enable flows when published

string

Internal service communication URL

string

Path to custom configuration file

boolean

default:"false"

Enable BullMQ Board for queue monitoring

string

Username for queue UI

string

Password for queue UI

Example Configurations

Development

.env

AP_ENGINE_EXECUTABLE_PATH=dist/packages/engine/main.js
AP_ENCRYPTION_KEY=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
AP_JWT_SECRET=test_jwt_secret
AP_ENVIRONMENT=dev
AP_FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:8080
AP_POSTGRES_DATABASE=activepieces
AP_POSTGRES_HOST=localhost
AP_POSTGRES_PORT=5432
AP_POSTGRES_USERNAME=postgres
AP_POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
AP_REDIS_HOST=localhost
AP_REDIS_PORT=6379
AP_EXECUTION_MODE=UNSANDBOXED
AP_LOG_LEVEL=debug
AP_LOG_PRETTY=true
AP_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false

Production

.env

AP_ENGINE_EXECUTABLE_PATH=dist/packages/engine/main.js
AP_ENCRYPTION_KEY=<generated-with-openssl-rand-hex-32>
AP_JWT_SECRET=<generated-with-openssl-rand-hex-32>
AP_ENVIRONMENT=prod
AP_FRONTEND_URL=https://activepieces.yourdomain.com

# Database
AP_POSTGRES_DATABASE=activepieces
AP_POSTGRES_HOST=postgres.yourdomain.com
AP_POSTGRES_PORT=5432
AP_POSTGRES_USERNAME=activepieces
AP_POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<strong-password>
AP_POSTGRES_USE_SSL=true
AP_POSTGRES_POOL_SIZE=20

# Redis
AP_REDIS_HOST=redis.yourdomain.com
AP_REDIS_PORT=6379
AP_REDIS_PASSWORD=<redis-password>
AP_REDIS_USE_SSL=true

# Execution
AP_EXECUTION_MODE=SANDBOX_CODE_ONLY
AP_FLOW_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=600
AP_WEBHOOK_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=30

# Storage
AP_FILE_STORAGE_LOCATION=s3
AP_S3_BUCKET=activepieces-files
AP_S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<aws-access-key>
AP_S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<aws-secret-key>
AP_S3_REGION=us-east-1

# Limits
AP_MAX_FILE_SIZE_MB=50
AP_EXECUTION_DATA_RETENTION_DAYS=90

# Logging
AP_LOG_LEVEL=info
AP_LOG_PRETTY=false

# Monitoring
AP_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true
AP_OTEL_ENABLED=true
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://otel-collector:4318

Next Steps

Database Setup

Configure PostgreSQL

Storage

Setup S3 file storage

Workers

Configure worker processes

Scaling

Scale your deployment

Installation

Configuration

Architecture

Quick Reference

Required Variables

Database Configuration

PostgreSQL

Redis Configuration

Redis Sentinel

Redis Job Retention

Application Configuration

Environment

Execution

Timeouts

Limits

Data Retention

File Storage

S3 Configuration

Email (SMTP)

Worker Configuration

Security

Rate Limiting

Logging

Telemetry & Monitoring

Advanced Configuration

Example Configurations

Development

Production

Next Steps

Database Setup

Storage

Workers

Scaling

​Quick Reference

​Required Variables

​Database Configuration

​PostgreSQL

​Redis Configuration

​Redis Sentinel

​Redis Job Retention

​Application Configuration

​Environment

​Execution

​Timeouts

​Limits

​Data Retention

​File Storage

​S3 Configuration

​Email (SMTP)

​Worker Configuration

​Security

​Rate Limiting

​Logging

​Telemetry & Monitoring

​Advanced Configuration

​Example Configurations

​Development

​Production

​Next Steps

Database Setup

Storage

Workers

Scaling

Quick Reference

Required Variables

Database Configuration

PostgreSQL

Redis Configuration

Redis Sentinel

Redis Job Retention

Application Configuration

Environment

Execution

Timeouts

Limits

Data Retention

File Storage

S3 Configuration

Email (SMTP)

Worker Configuration

Security

Rate Limiting

Logging

Telemetry & Monitoring

Advanced Configuration

Example Configurations

Development

Production

Next Steps