Environment variables

Mellow loads a .env file if present, then reads the environment. A starting point is .env.example in the repository.

Required

Variable	Description
`TOKEN`	Discord bot token.
`CLIENT_ID`	Discord application (client) ID. Used for the invite link.
`DATABASE_URL`	PostgreSQL connection string, e.g. `postgres://user:pass@host:5432/mellow?sslmode=require`. Use `sslmode=disable` only for a local database.
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Anthropic API key. Without it, AI features fall back to fixed responses.
`ENCRYPTION_KEY`	32-byte key for per-field AES-256-GCM encryption. If unset, data is stored as plain text (development only).

Variable	Default	Description
`PRIVATE_GUILD_ID`	-	Guild that owner-only commands are registered to.
`OWNER_IDS`	-	Comma-separated Discord user IDs allowed to run owner commands.
`ENCRYPTION_SALT_LIST`	`mellow-encryption-salt`	Comma-separated salts. Writes use the first; reads try all. Add a new salt to the front to rotate keys.
`PORT`	`9420`	Port for the HTTP API.
`API_TOKEN`	-	Bearer token required by `POST /v1/chat` and `POST /v1/feedback`.
`LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	`debug`, `info`, `warn`, or `error`.
`LOG_CHANNEL_ID`	-	Discord channel for internal system logs (gateway, guild join/leave, startup).

Links shown in bot responses

Variable	Default
`WEBSITE_URL`	`https://mymellow.xyz`
`DOCS_URL`	`https://docs.mymellow.xyz`
`SUPPORT_URL`	`https://discord.gg/cYauqJfnNK`
`INVITE_URL`	`<WEBSITE_URL>/invite`
`SOURCE_URL`	`https://github.com/CodeMeAPixel/Mellow`

Dashboard and Mellow+

The

dashboard

The Mellow Dashboard

Manage your preferences, Mellow+ status, data, and servers from the web.

signs users in with Discord OAuth2. It is disabled unless DISCORD_CLIENT_SECRET is set. In the Discord developer portal, add <API_PUBLIC_URL>/v1/auth/callback as a redirect under OAuth2.

Variable	Default	Description
`DISCORD_CLIENT_SECRET`	-	OAuth2 client secret. Enables dashboard login.
`API_PUBLIC_URL`	`https://api.mymellow.xyz`	The public URL of this API. Used for the OAuth redirect, and cookies are marked `Secure` when it is `https`.
`DASHBOARD_URL`	`<WEBSITE_URL>/dashboard`	Where users land after signing in.
`ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	-	Extra origins (comma-separated) allowed to call the API with cookies, for example `http://localhost:3000` in development. `WEBSITE_URL` is always allowed.
`COOKIE_DOMAIN`	-	Share the session cookie between the site and API subdomains, for example `.mymellow.xyz`. Leave empty for local development.
`COOKIE_SAMESITE`	`lax`	`lax`, `strict`, or `none`. Use `none` only on a development API called from another site. It requires `https` and must not be used in production.
`SKU_MELLOW_PLUS_ID`	-	The Mellow+ subscription SKU ID from the developer portal. Enables Mellow+.
`PLUS_STORE_URL`	derived	Overrides the Mellow+ purchase link shown on the dashboard.

Status posting

Variable	Description
`MELLOW_STATUS_API_KEY`	Key sent (as `apiKey` in the body) when posting the 5-minute status heartbeat to the website. The website checks it against its own `MELLOW_STATUS_API_KEY`.
`STATUS_API_URL`	Heartbeat endpoint. Defaults to `<WEBSITE_URL>/api/status`.

The website's status page reads live per-shard detail directly from the bot's GET /v1/status; point the site's MELLOW_BOT_API_URL at the bot's HTTP API base for that.

GitHub (version checks and `/tools github`)

Variable	Description
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	Optional token for higher GitHub API rate limits.
`GITHUB_REPO`	`owner/repo`. Defaults to `CodeMeAPixel/Mellow`, or is derived from `SOURCE_URL`.

Changelog

Variable	Description
`PATCHNOTES_PATH`	Path to `PATCHNOTES.md`, read by the owner-only `/changelog` command.

Omniplex integration

Variable	Description
`OMNIPLEX_TOKEN`	Token for the Omniplex integration. Leave empty to disable.
`OMNIPLEX_BASE_URL`	Base URL for the Omniplex API.

Operational flags

Variable	Description
`MELLOW_MIGRATE_ONLY`	If set, run database migrations and exit without starting the bot.
`MELLOW_FORCE_DEPLOY`	If set, force a full re-registration of slash commands on startup.

Notes

Database migrations are embedded and run automatically at startup (before anything else).
Command registration happens on startup: global commands overwrite the global set, and owner-only commands are pushed to PRIVATE_GUILD_ID.

Environment Variables