Environment Variables

Custom Configurations

These variables are present inside your machine’s docker-compose file. Restart the docker containers if you change any variables for them to take effect.

Upgrading from Formbricks 4.x to 5.0? Read the migration guide first. Formbricks v5 makes Hub part of the standard self-hosted runtime and changes how rate limiting is enforced.

For AI_PROVIDER=google, use a Gemini model ID such as gemini-3.5-flash together with Google Cloud credentials. gemini-3.5-flash must use AI_GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=global, us, or eu; keep regional locations such as europe-west3 or me-central2 only for models Google lists as supported there, such as gemini-2.5-flash. Formbricks uses Google Cloud naming here, even though the underlying SDK still talks to Vertex AI endpoints for Gemini model access. For AI_PROVIDER=openai-compatible, the LLM GA v1 self-hosted path is Qwen served by vLLM through an OpenAI-compatible /v1 endpoint. Docker Compose users can enable the bundled Qwen/vLLM service with COMPOSE_PROFILES=qwen, or point AI_OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_BASE_URL at their own endpoint. Set only the variables for the provider you use; unused provider variables can be omitted.

Variable	Description	Required	Default
WEBAPP_URL	Base URL of the private/admin Formbricks app. OAuth and MCP protected-resource URLs are derived from this value.	required	http://localhost:3000
PUBLIC_URL	Base URL for the public domain where surveys and public-facing content are served. If not set, uses WEBAPP_URL. OAuth and MCP do not use PUBLIC_URL.	optional	WEBAPP_URL
NEXTAUTH_URL	Legacy-compatible auth base URL. This should normally be the same as WEBAPP_URL; Formbricks derives the Better Auth issuer under `/api/auth`.	required	http://localhost:3000
BETTER_AUTH_URL	Optional Better Auth base URL override. Set this only when the auth server base differs from NEXTAUTH_URL; preserve any custom subpath.	optional	NEXTAUTH_URL
DATABASE_URL	Database URL with credentials.	required
NEXTAUTH_SECRET	Secret for NextAuth, used for session signing and encryption.	required	(Generated by the user, must not exceed 32 bytes, `openssl rand -hex 32`)
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET	Optional Better Auth secret override. If unset, Formbricks uses NEXTAUTH_SECRET for Better Auth session signing.	optional	NEXTAUTH_SECRET
ENCRYPTION_KEY	Secret used by Formbricks for data encryption and audit log hashing.	required	(Generated by the user, must not exceed 32 bytes, `openssl rand -hex 32`)
CRON_SECRET	API Secret for running cron jobs.	required	(Generated by the user, must not exceed 32 bytes, `openssl rand -hex 32`)
LOG_LEVEL	Minimum log level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal)	optional	info
S3_ACCESS_KEY	Access key for S3.	optional	(resolved by the AWS SDK)
S3_SECRET_KEY	Secret key for S3.	optional	(resolved by the AWS SDK)
S3_REGION	Region for S3.	optional	(resolved by the AWS SDK)
S3_BUCKET_NAME	S3 bucket name for data storage. Formbricks enables S3 storage when this is set.	optional (required if S3 is enabled)
S3_ENDPOINT_URL	Endpoint for S3.	optional	(resolved by the AWS SDK)
S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE	Set to `1` to force path-style S3 URLs. Required for S3-compatible storage (MinIO, RustFS, LocalStack). Leave unset or `0` for standard AWS S3.	optional	0
SAML_DATABASE_URL	Database URL for SAML.	optional	postgres://postgres:@localhost:5432/formbricks-saml
PRIVACY_URL	URL for privacy policy.	optional
TERMS_URL	URL for terms of service.	optional
IMPRINT_URL	URL for imprint.	optional
IMPRINT_ADDRESS	Address for imprint.	optional
EMAIL_AUTH_DISABLED	Disables the ability for users to signup or login via email and password if set to 1.	optional
PASSWORD_RESET_DISABLED	Disables password reset functionality if set to 1.	optional
PASSWORD_HIBP_CHECK_DISABLED	Disables the Have-I-Been-Pwned breach check on password set (signup / reset) if set to 1. The check calls api.pwnedpasswords.com and fails open on network errors; set this on air-gapped / closed-network deployments to skip the outbound call.	optional
PASSWORD_RESET_TOKEN_LIFETIME_MINUTES	Configures how long password reset links remain valid in minutes. Accepted values are integers from 5 to 120.	optional	30
EMAIL_VERIFICATION_DISABLED	Disables email verification if set to 1.	optional
RATE_LIMITING_DISABLED	Disables only the application-level rate limiter if set to 1. It does not disable Envoy or an equivalent edge rate limiter.	optional
TELEMETRY_DISABLED	Disables telemetry reporting if set to 1. Ignored when an Enterprise License is active.	optional
DANGEROUSLY_ALLOW_WEBHOOK_INTERNAL_URLS	Allows webhook URLs to point to internal/private network addresses (e.g. localhost, 192.168.x.x) if set to 1. Useful for self-hosted instances that need to send webhooks to internal services.	optional
INVITE_DISABLED	Disables the ability for invited users to create an account if set to 1.	optional
MAIL_FROM	Email address to send emails from.	optional (required if email services are to be enabled)
MAIL_FROM_NAME	Email name/title to send emails from.	optional (required if email services are to be enabled)
SMTP_HOST	Host URL of your SMTP server.	optional (required if email services are to be enabled)
SMTP_PORT	Host Port of your SMTP server.	optional (required if email services are to be enabled)
SMTP_USER	Username for your SMTP Server.	optional (required if email services are to be enabled)
SMTP_PASSWORD	Password for your SMTP Server.	optional (required if email services are to be enabled)
SMTP_AUTHENTICATED	If set to 0, the server will not require SMTP_USER and SMTP_PASSWORD(default is 1)	optional
SMTP_SECURE_ENABLED	SMTP secure connection. For using TLS, set to 1 else to 0.	optional (required if email services are to be enabled)
SMTP_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED_TLS	If set to 0, the server will accept connections without requiring authorization from the list of supplied CAs.	optional	1
TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY	Site key for Turnstile.	optional
TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY	Secret key for Turnstile.	optional
RECAPTCHA_SITE_KEY	Site key for survey responses recaptcha bot protection	optional
RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY	Secret key for recaptcha bot protection.	optional
GITHUB_ID	Client ID for GitHub.	optional (required if GitHub auth is enabled)
GITHUB_SECRET	Secret for GitHub.	optional (required if GitHub auth is enabled)
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID	Client ID for Google.	optional (required if Google auth is enabled)
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET	Secret for Google.	optional (required if Google auth is enabled)
AI_PROVIDER	Instance-level AI provider used in the background. Supported values: `aws`, `google`, `azure`, `openai-compatible`.	optional (required if AI is enabled)
AI_MODEL	Instance-level AI model or deployment name used by the active provider.	optional (required if `AI_PROVIDER` is set)
AI_GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT	Google Cloud project ID for the `google` AI provider.	optional (required if `AI_PROVIDER=google`)
AI_GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION	Google Cloud location for `google` AI requests. For `gemini-3.5-flash`, use `global`, `us`, or `eu`.	optional (required if `AI_PROVIDER=google`)
AI_GOOGLE_CLOUD_CREDENTIALS_JSON	Optional service account credentials JSON override for the `google` AI provider. Omit when Application Default Credentials are available.	optional
AI_GOOGLE_CLOUD_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS	Optional path to Google Application Default Credentials used by the `google` AI provider.	optional
AI_AWS_REGION	AWS region for Amazon Bedrock.	optional (required if `AI_PROVIDER=aws`)
AI_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID	AWS access key ID for Amazon Bedrock.	optional (required if `AI_PROVIDER=aws`)
AI_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY	AWS secret access key for Amazon Bedrock.	optional (required if `AI_PROVIDER=aws`)
AI_AWS_SESSION_TOKEN	AWS session token for Amazon Bedrock temporary credentials.	optional
AI_AZURE_BASE_URL	Azure OpenAI / Foundry base URL. When set, this is preferred over `AI_AZURE_RESOURCE_NAME`.	optional (one of this or `AI_AZURE_RESOURCE_NAME` required if `AI_PROVIDER=azure`)
AI_AZURE_RESOURCE_NAME	Azure resource name used to assemble the Azure OpenAI URL.	optional (one of this or `AI_AZURE_BASE_URL` required if `AI_PROVIDER=azure`)
AI_AZURE_API_KEY	API key for Azure OpenAI / Foundry.	optional (required if `AI_PROVIDER=azure`)
AI_AZURE_API_VERSION	Azure API version for OpenAI-compatible calls.	optional	v1
AI_OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_BASE_URL	Base URL for a Qwen/vLLM OpenAI-compatible `/v1` endpoint, e.g. `http://vllm:8000/v1`.	optional (required if `AI_PROVIDER=openai-compatible`)
AI_OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_API_KEY	Optional API key for the OpenAI-compatible endpoint.	optional
AI_OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_PROVIDER_NAME	Provider name passed to the OpenAI-compatible adapter. Use `vllm` for the supported Qwen/vLLM self-hosted path.	optional	openai-compatible
AI_OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_SUPPORTS_STRUCTURED_OUTPUTS	Set to `1` when the Qwen/vLLM endpoint supports structured outputs.	optional	0
AI_OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_HEADERS_JSON	Optional JSON object of string-valued headers to send with OpenAI-compatible requests.	optional
AI_OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_QUERY_PARAMS_JSON	Optional JSON object of string-valued query parameters to send with OpenAI-compatible requests.	optional
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY	Secret key for Stripe integration.	optional
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET	Webhook secret for Stripe integration.	optional
DEFAULT_BRAND_COLOR	Default brand color for your app (Can be overwritten from the UI as well).	optional	#64748b
DEFAULT_ORGANIZATION_ID	Automatically assign new users to a specific organization when joining	optional
OIDC_DISPLAY_NAME	Display name for Custom OpenID Connect Provider	optional
OIDC_CLIENT_ID	Client ID for Custom OpenID Connect Provider	optional (required if OIDC auth is enabled)
OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET	Secret for Custom OpenID Connect Provider	optional (required if OIDC auth is enabled)
OIDC_ISSUER	Issuer URL for Custom OpenID Connect Provider (should have .well-known configured at this)	optional (required if OIDC auth is enabled)
OIDC_SIGNING_ALGORITHM	Signing Algorithm for Custom OpenID Connect Provider	optional	RS256
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT	Base OTLP HTTP endpoint for traces and metrics export (e.g. http://collector:4318).	optional
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL	OTLP protocol to use for export.	optional	http/protobuf
OTEL_SERVICE_NAME	Service name reported in OpenTelemetry resource attributes.	optional	formbricks
OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES	Comma-separated resource attributes in OTel format (`key=value,key2=value2`).	optional
OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER	Trace sampler strategy (`always_on`, `always_off`, `traceidratio`, `parentbased_traceidratio`).	optional	always_on
OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG	Sampling argument used by ratio-based samplers (`0` to `1`).	optional
PROMETHEUS_ENABLED	Enables Prometheus metrics if set to 1.	optional
PROMETHEUS_EXPORTER_PORT	Port for Prometheus metrics.	optional	9090
AUTH_SSO_DEFAULT_TEAM_ID	ID of the team that new SSO users are automatically added to. The owning organization is derived from this team. Must be set together with `AUTH_SKIP_INVITE_FOR_SSO=1` for auto-provisioning to work.	optional
AUTH_SKIP_INVITE_FOR_SSO	Set to `1` to allow SSO users to create an account without a manual invite. Keep unset (or `0`) for stricter access control where only invited users can join.	optional	0
HTTP_PROXY	HTTP proxy URL used for outbound requests (e.g., license checks). When both are set, `HTTPS_PROXY` takes precedence.	optional
HTTPS_PROXY	HTTPS proxy URL used for outbound requests. Takes precedence over `HTTP_PROXY`.	optional
SENTRY_DSN	Set this to track errors and monitor performance in Sentry.	optional
SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT	Set this to identify the environment in Sentry	optional
SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN	Set this if you want to make errors more readable in Sentry.	optional
SESSION_MAX_AGE	Configure the maximum age for the session in seconds.	optional	86400 (24 hours)
USER_MANAGEMENT_MINIMUM_ROLE	Set this to control which roles can access user management features. Accepted values: “owner”, “manager”, “disabled”	optional	manager
REDIS_URL	Redis URL for caching, rate limiting, and audit logging. Application will not start without this.	required	redis://localhost:6379
AUDIT_LOG_ENABLED	Set this to 1 to enable audit logging. Requires Redis to be configured with the REDIS_URL env variable.	optional	0
AUDIT_LOG_GET_USER_IP	Set to 1 to include user IP addresses in audit logs from request headers	optional	0

OAuth and MCP URLs

The MCP server is available on the private/admin app at /api/mcp. OAuth discovery and token issuance are also private/admin app surfaces:

{WEBAPP_URL}/api/mcp
{WEBAPP_URL}/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/api/mcp
{WEBAPP_URL}/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server/api/auth

If you use a custom subpath, include that subpath in WEBAPP_URL, NEXTAUTH_URL, and BETTER_AUTH_URL if set. Do not point MCP or OAuth clients at PUBLIC_URL; that domain is reserved for public survey delivery and SDK traffic.

Formbricks Hub

Starting with Formbricks v5, Hub is part of the standard self-hosted runtime. When you run Formbricks with the bundled Docker Compose or Helm assets, the following variables apply:

Variable	Description	Required	Default
HUB_API_KEY	API key used by the Formbricks Hub API. Generate a strong secret and use the same value wherever your deployment supplies Hub auth configuration.	required	(e.g. `openssl rand -hex 32`)
HUB_API_URL	Base URL the Formbricks app uses to call Hub. With the bundled Docker stack, keep this at `http://hub:8080` unless Hub runs elsewhere.	required	`http://hub:8080` (bundled Docker), `http://localhost:8080` (local dev)
HUB_DATABASE_URL	PostgreSQL connection URL for Hub. Omit to use the same database as Formbricks.	optional	Same as Formbricks `DATABASE_URL` (shared database)

Cube Analytics

Cube is part of the baseline Formbricks v5 stack and is required. Formbricks generates the backend Cube JWT from CUBEJS_API_SECRET, so CUBEJS_API_TOKEN is not part of the supported setup contract.

Variable	Description	Required	Default
CUBEJS_API_URL	Base URL the Formbricks app uses to call Cube. Local dev (app on host): `http://localhost:4000`. Docker/container: `http://cube:4000` (service name).	required
CUBEJS_API_SECRET	Shared secret Formbricks uses to sign Cube API JWTs. Generate with `openssl rand -hex 32`.	required
CUBEJS_JWT_ISSUER	JWT issuer expected by Cube and used by Formbricks when signing per-request Cube tokens.	optional	`formbricks-web`
CUBEJS_JWT_AUDIENCE	JWT audience expected by Cube and used by Formbricks when signing per-request Cube tokens.	optional	`formbricks-cube`
CUBEJS_DB_HOST	Database host for the Cube service. Only needed when you run Cube yourself and override defaults.	optional	Depends on your Cube deployment
CUBEJS_DB_PORT	Database port for the Cube service. Only needed when you run Cube yourself and override defaults.	optional	Depends on your Cube deployment
CUBEJS_DB_NAME	Database name for the Cube service. Only needed when you run Cube yourself and override defaults.	optional	Depends on your Cube deployment
CUBEJS_DB_USER	Database user for the Cube service. Only needed when you run Cube yourself and override defaults.	optional	Depends on your Cube deployment
CUBEJS_DB_PASS	Database password for the Cube service. Only needed when you run Cube yourself and override defaults.	optional	Depends on your Cube deployment

The bundled Docker Compose Cube service sets CUBEJS_DEFAULT_API_SCOPES=meta,data directly on the Cube container. If you run Cube outside the bundled Compose stack, configure the equivalent Cube service environment there rather than adding it to the Formbricks app environment. For Helm deployments, the chart deploys Cube by default (cube.enabled: true). To use an external Cube cluster instead, set cube.enabled: false, point CUBEJS_API_URL at your endpoint, and supply CUBEJS_API_SECRET through your existing secret management setup. Note: If you want to configure something that is not possible via above, please open an issue on our GitHub repo here or reach out to us on Github Discussions and we’ll try our best to work out a solution with you.

Self Hosting

Setup

Configuration

Advanced

Custom Configurations

OAuth and MCP URLs

Formbricks Hub

Cube Analytics

​Custom Configurations

​OAuth and MCP URLs

​Formbricks Hub

​Cube Analytics

Custom Configurations

OAuth and MCP URLs

Formbricks Hub

Cube Analytics