Environment Variables

To run the Rendez-vous.ai microservices locally, you must configure environment variables for both the Dashboard and the Core API.

Create a .env file in the root of both the rdv.ai-dashboard and rdv.ai-API repositories (currently no such file is required for rdv.ai-widget).

Dashboard & CMS (`rdv.ai-dashboard`)

This service manages the database, S3 storage, and core authentication.

Variable	Description	Local Dev Example
`PAYLOAD_SECRET`	Secret key used by Payload CMS for cryptographic operations.	`your-secure-random-string`
`PAYLOAD_API_KEY`	API key used for internal REST API requests requiring elevated privileges (e.g., retrieving files).	`your-internal-api-key`
`POSTGRES_USER`	PostgreSQL database user.	`postgres`
`POSTGRES_PASSWORD`	PostgreSQL database password.	`postgres`
`POSTGRES_DB`	PostgreSQL database name.	`rdv_ai`
`POSTGRES_HOST`	Hostname of the database.	`localhost` or `127.0.0.1`
`DATABASE_URL`	Full connection string for the Postgres DB.	`postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/rdv_ai`
`S3_BUCKET`	Name of the S3/MinIO bucket for media storage.	`rdv-media`
`S3_ENDPOINT`	Endpoint URL for the S3 service.	`http://localhost:9000` (Local MinIO)
`S3_ACCESS_KEY`	S3 access key.	`minioadmin`
`S3_SECRET_KEY`	S3 secret key.	`minioadmin`
`JWT_SECRET`	Secret used to sign and verify JSON Web Tokens across the stack.	`your-shared-jwt-secret`
`RESEND_API_KEY`	API key for Resend to send transactional emails.	`re_...`

Core API (`rdv.ai-API`)

This service acts as the orchestration brain. Important: The JWT_SECRET and PAYLOAD_API_KEY must perfectly match the values set in the Dashboard’s .env file to ensure secure cross-service communication.

Internal Routing & Auth

Variable	Description	Local Dev Example
`PORT`	The port the Express.js server runs on.	`3001`
`PAYLOAD_URL`	Base URL of the Dashboard (used by GenQL for GraphQL requests).	`http://localhost:3000` (Note: In production, this uses K8s DNS like `http://service.dashboard...`)
`APOLLO_DASHBOARD_HOST`	Host address of the PayloadCMS dashboard.	`localhost:3000`
`PAYLOAD_API_KEY`	API key to CRUD the PayloadCMS dashboard.	(Must match Dashboard)
`JWT_SECRET`	Secret used to decrypt sensitive information passed from the Dashboard.	(Must match Dashboard)
`FS_HOST`	Hostname of the FreeSWITCH instance.	`your-ngrok-url` or `localhost` (Prod: `svc-int.freeswitch...`)
`FS_PASSWORD`	Password for Event Socket / API access to FreeSWITCH.	`ClueCon`

External AI & Telephony Providers

Variable	Description	Example
`GEMINI_API_KEY`	API key for Google’s Gemini LLMs.	`AIzaSy...`
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	API key for OpenAI models.	`sk-...`
`TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID`	Twilio Account SID for legacy routing or SMS tools.	`AC...`
`TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN`	Twilio Auth Token.	`...`

External Tools & Integrations

Variable	Description	Example
`NYLAS_API_KEY`	API key for Nylas (Calendar sync integration).	`...`
`NYLAS_API_URI`	Base URI for the Nylas API.	`https://api.us.nylas.com`
`GOOGLE_PLACES_API_KEY`	API key for Google Places (used in location-based tools).	`AIzaSy...`
`RESEND_API_KEY`	API key for sending emails via Resend.	`re_...`
`PROXY_HOST`	IP of a setup proxy used for tools requiring static egress IPs.	`192.168.x.x`
`PROXY_PORT`	Port for the static egress proxy.	`8080`

Local Development Helpers

(Place these in .env.local if you wish to keep them out of standard deployments)

Variable	Description	Example
`NGROK_URL`	Used by the `npm run ngrok` script to start the tunnel seamlessly.	`your-domain.ngrok-free.app`
`APOLLO_DEMO_HOST`	(Deprecated) Legacy host definition.	`rendez-vous-ai.vercel.app`