Environment variables¶

Kosmos is configured through config/.env, the only file it reads. This page lists every variable. How to create the file is covered in Configuration.

Required means there is no default and the application will not start without a value. A default of empty means the feature the variable belongs to stays off or falls back until it is set.

Core¶

Variable	Default	Description
`SECRET_KEY`	Required	Django's secret key. Generate one with: python3 -c 'import secrets; print(secrets.token_urlsafe(50))'
`DEBUG`	`False`	Django debug mode. Always False in production. (boolean)
`ENV`	Required	Name of this environment: prod or dev. dev keeps login sessions in files under .dev-sessions/ and marks the interface as a development instance.
`ALLOWED_HOSTS`	Required	Comma-separated host names the application answers to. (comma-separated list)
`CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS`	empty	Comma-separated full origins (scheme, host and port when not the default) trusted for form posts. Needed behind a reverse proxy. (comma-separated list)
`PUBLIC_BASE_URL`	empty	Scheme and host used to build absolute links outside a web request, such as payment links in emails sent by the background worker. Blank falls back to the host of the request that triggered the send, when there is one.
`TIME_ZONE`	`America/New_York`	The firm's time zone, as a tz database name (for example America/Chicago). Dates shown in the app, the times scheduled jobs run, and the zone events are written to Google Calendar in all follow it.

Database¶

Variable	Default	Description
`DB_NAME`	Required	PostgreSQL database name.
`DB_USER`	Required	PostgreSQL role. It must own the database.
`DB_PASSWORD`	Required	Password for that role.
`DB_HOST`	`localhost`	Database host.
`DB_PORT`	`5432`	Database port.

Email¶

Variable	Default	Description
`EMAIL_BACKEND`	`'console' if DEBUG else 'smtp'`	How outgoing mail is delivered: console (print to the process log, no credentials needed), smtp, or locmem (tests). Defaults to console when DEBUG is on and smtp when it is off.
`EMAIL_HOST`	empty	SMTP server host.
`EMAIL_PORT`	`587`	SMTP server port. (integer)
`EMAIL_USE_TLS`	`True`	Use STARTTLS on the SMTP connection. (boolean)
`EMAIL_TIMEOUT`	`10`	Seconds before a stalled SMTP connection is abandoned. Login codes are sent during the request, so a hung connection would otherwise hang the login page. (integer)
`EMAIL_HOST_USER`	empty	SMTP user name.
`EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD`	empty	SMTP password.
`SERVER_EMAIL`	`webmaster@localhost`	From address for error reports sent to ADMINS.
`DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL`	the value of `SERVER_EMAIL`	From address for mail the application sends. Defaults to SERVER_EMAIL.
`BILLING_FROM_EMAIL`	the value of `DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL`	From address for client-facing billing mail (invoices and payment requests). Defaults to DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL.
`ADMINS`	empty	People who receive error emails, as a Python list of (name, address) tuples.

File storage¶

Variable	Default	Description
`STORAGE_BACKEND`	`local`	Where uploaded files are kept: local (the media/ directory) or s3 (an S3-compatible object store). With local storage, never serve media/ directly from the web server: it holds confidential client documents, and the application streams them only to signed-in users.
`DIGITAL_OCEAN_REGION_NAME`	Required when `STORAGE_BACKEND == 's3'`	Object store region. Required when STORAGE_BACKEND=s3, as are the four settings below. The names say DigitalOcean; any S3-compatible store works.
`DIGITAL_OCEAN_ENDPOINT_URL`	Required when `STORAGE_BACKEND == 's3'`	Object store endpoint URL.
`DIGITAL_OCEAN_BUCKET_NAME`	Required when `STORAGE_BACKEND == 's3'`	Bucket name.
`DIGITAL_OCEAN_ACCESS_KEY_ID`	Required when `STORAGE_BACKEND == 's3'`	Access key id.
`DIGITAL_OCEAN_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`	Required when `STORAGE_BACKEND == 's3'`	Secret access key.

Google Workspace¶

Variable	Default	Description
`GOOGLE_DATA_DIR`	`google/` in the repository	Directory holding the Google OAuth client file (google_tokens.json) and the tokens generated when an integration is connected. A relative path is resolved from the repository root.
`CALENDAR_ID`	empty	Id of the Google Calendar that events sync with.
`DRIVE_NOTES_ROOT`	`Matters - Open`	Name of the Drive folder that holds one subfolder per matter.
`DRIVE_SHARED_DRIVE_ID`	empty	Shared Drive id. Set only when the root folder lives in a Shared Drive.
`GMAIL_LABEL_ROOT`	`Matters - Open`	Parent Gmail label whose child labels can be linked to matters. Blank offers every user label in the mailbox.

Drafting (LibreOffice)¶

Variable	Default	Description
`SOFFICE_BIN`	`soffice`	Headless LibreOffice binary for the server-side redline module (apps/drive/redline.py). Drafting does not currently use that module: edits are applied by the companion extension in the user's LibreOffice.
`UNO_PYTHON`	`/usr/bin/python3`	A Python interpreter that has the UNO bindings (the system python3 with the python3-uno package), not the project virtualenv. Used only by the same server-side redline module.

AI and research¶

Variable	Default	Description
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	empty	Anthropic API key, for the Claude models.
`GEMINI_API_KEY`	empty	Google Gemini API key, for the Gemini models and for the embeddings behind semantic search (the one feature only Gemini provides).
`SEMANTIC_AUTO_INDEX`	`True`	Re-embed a record for semantic search whenever it is saved. The built-in default is True; nothing is queued while no Gemini key is set. After setting one, run manage.py build_semantic_index once. (boolean)
`COURTLISTENER_API_KEY`	empty	CourtListener API token, for case law search and citation checking. While it is blank, the AI is not offered the case law search tools.
`CHAT_RETENTION_DAYS`	`180`	Days after a matter closes before the weekly purge deletes its AI chats. 0 keeps them indefinitely. (integer)

Intakes¶

Variable	Default	Description
`KOSMOS_SEAM_KEY`	empty	Shared secret for the intake API used by a connected website or intake application (the X-Seam-Key header). While blank, that API refuses every request.
`MAILGUN_WEBHOOK_SIGNING_KEY`	empty	Mailgun HTTP webhook signing key, verifying inbound mail posted to /api/inbound-email/. While blank, that webhook refuses every request.
`INTAKE_INBOUND_RECIPIENT`	`kosmos-intakes`	The part before the @ of the address this instance accepts forwarded intake mail on. Mail for any other address is dropped, which lets several instances share one Mailgun route.
`INTAKE_FORM_LINK_MAX_AGE`	`2592000`	Seconds a client intake-form link stays valid. Defaults to 30 days. (integer)

Billing and payments¶

Variable	Default	Description
`LAW_FIRM_ID`	empty	The firm's id in LEDES invoice exports. While it is blank, the Download Ledes action is hidden.
`PAYMENT_PROCESSOR`	`fake`	Which processor collects online payments: none (online payment off; the emailed link still shows the invoice), lawpay, stripe, confido, or fake. fake is for development: it records a payment although no money moves, so never run it where real clients receive invoices. The built-in default is fake; the installer sets none for a production install.
`INVOICE_PAY_LINK_MAX_AGE`	`7776000`	Seconds an emailed payment link stays valid. Defaults to 90 days. Resending the invoice issues a fresh link. (integer)
`LAWPAY_PUBLIC_KEY`	empty	LawPay (AffiniPay) public key, used in the browser by the hosted card fields. Test keys reach only test accounts.
`LAWPAY_SECRET_KEY`	empty	LawPay secret key, used by the server.
`LAWPAY_OPERATING_CARD_ACCOUNT_ID`	empty	LawPay deposit account for card payments to the operating account. List the account ids with manage.py lawpay_accounts. Blank lets the gateway pick its primary account; the same applies to the three settings below.
`LAWPAY_OPERATING_ECHECK_ACCOUNT_ID`	empty	LawPay deposit account for eCheck payments to the operating account.
`LAWPAY_TRUST_CARD_ACCOUNT_ID`	empty	LawPay deposit account for card payments to the trust account. Required before a trust deposit request can be sent: a trust charge is never left to the gateway's choice of account.
`LAWPAY_TRUST_ECHECK_ACCOUNT_ID`	empty	LawPay deposit account for eCheck payments to the trust account.
`LAWPAY_API_BASE`	`https://api.8am.com`	LawPay API host. Change only if AffiniPay moves it.
`STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY`	empty	Stripe publishable key, used in the browser. The firm supplies keys for its own Stripe account.
`STRIPE_SECRET_KEY`	empty	Stripe secret key, used by the server.
`STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET`	empty	Stripe webhook signing secret for the /webhooks/stripe/ endpoint.
`CONFIDO_API_KEY`	empty	Confido Legal (Gravity Legal) API key.
`CONFIDO_WEBHOOK_SECRET`	empty	Confido webhook signing secret for the /webhooks/confido/ endpoint.
`CONFIDO_OPERATING_BANK_ACCOUNT_ID`	empty	Confido bank account id that invoice payments are deposited to. Confido has no default account, so both account ids are required.
`CONFIDO_TRUST_BANK_ACCOUNT_ID`	empty	Confido bank account id that trust deposits go to.
`CONFIDO_API_BASE`	`https://api.sandbox.gravity-legal.com/v2`	Confido API endpoint. The default is the sandbox; for live payments set https://api.gravity-legal.com/v2
`CONFIDO_HOSTED_FIELDS_URL`	`https://js.sandbox.gravity-legal.com/hosted-fields.js`	Confido hosted-fields script. The default is the sandbox; for live payments set https://js.gravity-legal.com/hosted-fields.js