Every value is read once at process start and validated with a clear error naming whatever is missing or malformed.

You do not have to set any of this. docker compose up -d works on a fresh clone with no .env at all, and localdrive setup or localdrive init writes a complete one for you. This page is for when you want to change something.

A commented file listing every variable with its default ships in the repository at server/.env.example. Copy it to .env and edit, or read it alongside this page.

Two that are read before `.env` is

These are looked up in the process environment only. Putting them in .env cannot work, because they are what the server uses to decide where .env is.

Variable	Default	What it does
`LOCALDRIVE_HOME`	The platform's own data directory	The install folder. Everything else, including `.env` and `data/`, is found relative to this.
`LD_SECRETS_DIR`	Beside the database	Where generated secrets are written. Worth changing only if the database lives somewhere you would rather not keep keys.

LOCALDRIVE_HOME is the one to reach for when running as a system service, where the account has no home directory of its own. See Keeping it running.

Secrets are generated, not typed

JWT_SECRET, MOUNT_HELPER_SHARED_SECRET, and LAN_DISCOVERY_SHARED_SECRET are created on first start if they are not already set, and written to data/db/secrets.env with owner only permissions. Each mixes fresh randomness with an identifier unique to that machine, so two installs never share one.

They are written down rather than regenerated each start, because a signing key that changed on every restart would invalidate every token in existence.

Setting any of them in the environment overrides the generated one. Deleting the file regenerates them, which signs everyone out.

How it is reached

Variable	Default	Notes
`LD_PORT`	`7443`	The one port everything serves on
`LD_DOMAIN`	empty	Leave empty unless you own one
`LD_TLS_EMAIL`	empty	Renewal notices, only with a domain
`PUBLIC_BASE_URL`	empty	Absolute base for share and invite links
`CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	empty	Exact origins, comma separated, never `*`

Process

Variable	Default
`APP_ENV`	`production`
`LOG_LEVEL`	`info`
`LISTEN_ADDR`	`:8080`

Storage

Variable	Default
`DB_PATH`	`/data/db/localdrive.sqlite`
`LIBRARY_PATH`	`/data/library`
`EXTERNAL_MOUNTS_PATH`	`/data/external`
`DATA_DIR`	`./data` (host side)

Helpers

Variable	Notes
`MOUNT_HELPER_SOCKET`	Empty disables drive management
`MOUNT_HELPER_SHARED_SECRET`	At least 16 characters when the socket is set
`LAN_DISCOVERY_SOCKET`	Empty disables network announcing
`LAN_DISCOVERY_SHARED_SECRET`	At least 16 characters when the socket is set

Authentication

Variable	Default	Notes
`JWT_SECRET`	none	Required, at least 32 characters, rejected if it looks like a placeholder
`ACCESS_TOKEN_TTL`	`15m`
`REFRESH_TOKEN_TTL`	`30d`	Accepts a `d` suffix
`ARGON2_MEMORY_KIB`	`65536`	64 MB per hash in flight; raise if you have RAM
`ARGON2_TIME`	`2`
`ARGON2_THREADS`	`2`

Limits

Variable	Default
`MAX_UPLOAD_CONCURRENCY`	`4`
`WORKER_POOL_SIZE`	`2`
`MAX_READ_CONNS`	`4`
`DEFAULT_QUOTA_BYTES`	`0`, meaning unlimited
`TRASH_RETENTION_DAYS`	`30`
`VERSION_RETENTION_COUNT`	`20`
`VERSION_RETENTION_DAYS`	`180`

Seeds, not settings

These three only apply the first time the server starts. After that they live in the database and are changed in Settings, Server, because deciding later to open or close signups should be a normal setting change rather than a redeploy.

Variable	Default
`ENABLE_LAN_DISCOVERY_DEFAULT`	`true`
`REQUIRE_DEVICE_APPROVAL_DEFAULT`	`true`
`ALLOW_SELF_REGISTRATION_DEFAULT`	`false`

Optional

Variable	Notes
`ENCRYPTION_KEY`	Turns on per file encryption at rest; incompatible with the browsable mirror
`METRICS_ENABLED`	Exposes `/metrics` in Prometheus text format
`LOCALDRIVE_FETCH_FFMPEG`	Set to `false` to stop the server fetching `ffmpeg` by itself. See Requirements

Two that are read before .env is