Environment Variables

SmartFall uses environment variables for configuration. Create a .env.local file in the project root.

Required Variables

Database Configuration

Choose one database provider:

PostgreSQL (Prisma)

DATABASE_PROVIDER=prisma
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/smartfall

Convex (Serverless)

DATABASE_PROVIDER=convex
CONVEX_DEPLOYMENT=prod:your-deployment-id

Authentication

# JWT secret for session tokens (generate a random 32+ character string)
JWT_SECRET=your_random_secret_key_here_min_32_chars

# Session duration in hours
SESSION_DURATION=24

# Password hash algorithm (bcrypt rounds, typically 10-12)
BCRYPT_ROUNDS=10

Application Configuration

# Next.js environment
NODE_ENV=development

# Application URL
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000

# IoT Device API Base URL (for device documentation)
NEXT_PUBLIC_IOT_API_URL=http://localhost:3000/api

Security Configuration

# CORS: Comma-separated allowed origins
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,http://localhost:3001

# Enable/disable debug logging
DEBUG=false

# Rate limiting: requests per minute per IP
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS=60000
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS=100

IoT Device Configuration

# Maximum allowed devices per user
MAX_DEVICES_PER_USER=10

# Sensor data retention (in days)
SENSOR_DATA_RETENTION_DAYS=90

# Fall detection confidence threshold (0-1)
FALL_CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD=0.7

# Device heartbeat timeout (in seconds)
DEVICE_HEARTBEAT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=300

Email Configuration (Optional)

For sending fall alerts and notifications:

# Email service provider
EMAIL_PROVIDER=smtp  # or 'sendgrid', 'mailgun'

# SMTP Configuration
SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=your-email@gmail.com
SMTP_PASSWORD=your-app-password
SMTP_FROM=noreply@smartfall.com

# Or SendGrid
SENDGRID_API_KEY=your-sendgrid-api-key

Monitoring & Logging

# Logging level
LOG_LEVEL=info  # 'debug', 'info', 'warn', 'error'

# Enable request logging
REQUEST_LOGGING=false

# Application performance monitoring (optional)
SENTRY_DSN=https://your-sentry-dsn@sentry.io/project-id

Development Variables

Only needed for local development:

# Enable mock data generation
SEED_DATABASE=false

# Enable verbose error messages
VERBOSE_ERRORS=true

# Use mock email (logs instead of sending)
MOCK_EMAIL=true

Production Variables

For production deployments:

NODE_ENV=production
DEBUG=false
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://smartfall.example.com,https://api.smartfall.example.com
SESSION_DURATION=48
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS=1000

Environment File Example

Complete .env.local example:

# Database
DATABASE_PROVIDER=prisma
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:password@localhost:5432/smartfall

# Auth
JWT_SECRET=your_random_secret_key_here_min_32_chars_long
SESSION_DURATION=24
BCRYPT_ROUNDS=10

# App
NODE_ENV=development
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000
NEXT_PUBLIC_IOT_API_URL=http://localhost:3000/api

# Security
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,http://localhost:3001
DEBUG=false

# IoT
MAX_DEVICES_PER_USER=10
SENSOR_DATA_RETENTION_DAYS=90
FALL_CONFIDENCE_THRESHOLD=0.7

# Logging
LOG_LEVEL=info
REQUEST_LOGGING=false

# Development
SEED_DATABASE=false
VERBOSE_ERRORS=true
MOCK_EMAIL=true

Environment Validation

SmartFall validates required environment variables on startup. If a required variable is missing, the application will exit with an error message indicating which variables need to be set.

Updating Environment Variables

After changing .env.local:

Stop the development server (Ctrl+C)
Update .env.local
Restart the development server (npm run dev)

Security Notes

Never commit .env.local to version control
Use strong, random values for JWT_SECRET
Rotate secrets regularly in production
Use different values for each environment (dev, staging, production)
Keep sensitive data secure - don't share or log secrets

Next: Running Locally