Configuration

All PIKARC_* environment variables for backend configuration.

The Pikarc backend is configured via environment variables with the PIKARC_ prefix. Settings can also be loaded from a .env file.

Database

Variable	Type	Default	Description
PIKARC_DB_HOST	string	localhost	PostgreSQL host
PIKARC_DB_PORT	integer	5432	PostgreSQL port
PIKARC_DB_USER	string	pikarc	PostgreSQL user
PIKARC_DB_PASSWORD	string	pikarc	PostgreSQL password
PIKARC_DB_NAME	string	pikarc	PostgreSQL database name

The connection URL is computed as:

postgresql+asyncpg://{user}:{password}@{host}:{port}/{name}

Redis

Variable	Type	Default	Description
PIKARC_REDIS_URL	string	redis://localhost:6379/0	Redis connection URL

Redis is used for the guardrail cache layer — spend counters, concurrent run tracking, and kill switch state.

Authentication

Variable	Type	Default	Description
PIKARC_JWT_SECRET	string	change-me-in-production	JWT signing secret. Also used to derive the Fernet key for API key encryption.
PIKARC_JWT_ALGORITHM	string	HS256	JWT signing algorithm
PIKARC_JWT_EXPIRY_HOURS	integer	24	JWT token lifetime in hours

Always change PIKARC_JWT_SECRET in production. The default value is insecure.

Stripe (Optional)

Variable	Type	Default	Description
PIKARC_STRIPE_SECRET_KEY	string | null	null	Stripe secret key. When not set, plan changes are direct DB updates.
PIKARC_STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET	string | null	null	Stripe webhook signing secret
PIKARC_STRIPE_PRO_PRICE_ID	string | null	null	Stripe Price ID for the Pro plan
PIKARC_STRIPE_SCALE_PRICE_ID	string | null	null	Stripe Price ID for the Scale plan

When PIKARC_STRIPE_SECRET_KEY is not configured, the billing system degrades gracefully — plan changes happen via direct database updates with no payment required. This is the default for local development.

Email (Optional)

Variable	Type	Default	Description
PIKARC_RESEND_API_KEY	string | null	null	Resend API key for sending emails
PIKARC_EMAIL_FROM	string	Pikarc <[e-mail]>	Sender address for emails

When PIKARC_RESEND_API_KEY is not configured, emails are logged to the console instead of sent.

Application

Variable	Type	Default	Description
PIKARC_DEBUG	boolean	false	Enables SQLAlchemy echo and FastAPI debug mode
PIKARC_CORS_ORIGINS	list[string]	["http://localhost:3000"]	Allowed CORS origins
PIKARC_FRONTEND_URL	string	http://localhost:3000	Frontend URL (used for email links and Stripe redirects)

Frontend

The frontend has a single environment variable:

Variable	Default	Description
NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL	http://localhost:8000	Backend API URL

Example .env File

# Database
PIKARC_DB_HOST=localhost
PIKARC_DB_PORT=5432
PIKARC_DB_USER=pikarc
PIKARC_DB_PASSWORD=your-secure-password
PIKARC_DB_NAME=pikarc

# Redis
PIKARC_REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379/0

# Auth
PIKARC_JWT_SECRET=your-production-secret-here

# Stripe (optional)
PIKARC_STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_live_...
PIKARC_STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_...
PIKARC_STRIPE_PRO_PRICE_ID=price_...
PIKARC_STRIPE_SCALE_PRICE_ID=price_...

# Email (optional)
PIKARC_RESEND_API_KEY=re_...