Configuration¶

Precogly is configured through environment variables defined in a .env file at the project root. A commented example is provided at .env.example:

cp .env.example .env

For local development, Precogly works out of the box without a .env file — sensible defaults are built into the Docker Compose configuration. The .env file is only needed when you want to override defaults or deploy to production.

Environment Variables¶

The values below reflect what .env.example provides for local development.

Database¶

Variable	Dev Value	Description
`POSTGRES_DB`	`precogly`	Database name
`POSTGRES_USER`	`precogly`	Database user
`POSTGRES_PASSWORD`	`precogly_dev_password`	Database password
`DATABASE_URL`	`postgres://precogly:precogly_dev_password@db:5432/precogly`	Full connection string (uses `db` hostname inside Docker)

Django¶

Variable	Dev Value	Description
`SECRET_KEY`	`django-insecure-dev-key-change-in-production`	Django secret key
`DEBUG`	`True`	Enable debug mode
`ALLOWED_HOSTS`	`localhost,127.0.0.1`	Accepted hostnames
`DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE`	`config.settings.development`	Settings module to use

CORS & Frontend¶

Variable	Dev Value	Description
`CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	`http://localhost:5173,http://localhost`	Origins allowed for API requests
`FRONTEND_URL`	`http://localhost:5173`	Used for password reset links

Settings Modules¶

Precogly uses split settings for different environments:

Module	When used	Key differences
`config.settings.development`	Local dev	`DEBUG=True`, permissive CORS, debug toolbar
`config.settings.production`	Deployment	`DEBUG=False`, HTTPS enforced, strict CORS

Set the active module via DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE.

Production Deployment¶

Use the production Docker Compose file:

docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml up --build

Required Production Variables¶

These must be set in your .env for production:

SECRET_KEY=your-random-secret-key-here
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=a-strong-database-password
ALLOWED_HOSTS=yourdomain.com
CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://yourdomain.com
FRONTEND_URL=https://yourdomain.com
DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=config.settings.production

Warning

Never use the default SECRET_KEY or POSTGRES_PASSWORD in production. Generate a random secret key with:

python -c "from django.core.management.utils import get_random_secret_key; print(get_random_secret_key())"

What Production Settings Enable¶

The production settings module automatically configures HTTPS redirect, HSTS, secure cookies, X-Frame-Options: DENY, and content type sniffing protection. The frontend is served by nginx as a static bundle.