Managing Settings Using Environmental Variables

In software configuration, environmental variables play a crucial role in managing settings. Rocket.Chat leverages environmental variables to provide a flexible and efficient way to manage settings. This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of how Rocket.Chat manages settings using environmental variables

When starting your server, you can set any settings value via an environment variable. You will only have to know the setting id and what type of setting it is (boolean, string, integer, etc.).

Basic Settings

Name	Data Type
_id	SettingId = string
type	| 'boolean'| 'timezone'| 'string'| 'relativeUrl'| 'password'| 'int'| 'select'| 'multiSelect'| 'language'| 'color'| 'font'| 'code'| 'action'| 'asset'| 'roomPick'| 'group'| 'date';
public	boolean
env	boolean
group(Optional)	GroupId = SettingId
section(Optional)	SectionName = string
tab(Optional)	TabId = SettingId
i18nLabel	string
value	SettingValue = string | boolean | number | SettingValueMultiSelect | Date | AssetValue | undefined;
packageValue	SettingValue = string | boolean | number | SettingValueMultiSelect | Date | AssetValue | undefined;
blocked	boolean
enableQuery(Optional)	string
displayQuery(Optional)	string
sorter	number
properties(Optional)	unknown
enterprise(Optional)	boolean
requiredOnWizard(Optional)	boolean
hidden(Optional)	boolean
modules(Optional)	Array
invalidValue(Optional)	SettingValue = string | boolean | number | SettingValueMultiSelect | Date | AssetValue | undefined;
valueSource(Optional)	string
secret(Optional)	boolean
i18nDescription (Optional)	string
autocomplete(Optional)	boolean
processEnvValue(Optional)	SettingValue = string | boolean | number | SettingValueMultiSelect | Date | AssetValue | undefined;
meteorSettingsValue(Optional)	SettingValue = string | boolean | number | SettingValueMultiSelect | Date | AssetValue | undefined;
ts	Date
createdAt	Date
_updatedAt(Optional)	Date
multiline(Optional)	boolean
values(Optional)	Array
placeholder(Optional)	string
wizard(Optional)	step: number; order: number;
persistent(Optional)	boolean
readonly(Optional)	boolean
alert(Optional)	string
private (Optional)	boolean

Group Settings

Name	Data Type
_id	string
hidden	boolean
blocked	boolean
ts	Date
sorter	number
i18nLabel	string
displayQuery	string
i18nDescription	string
value	undefined
type	group
alert	string

Enterprise Settings

Name	Data Type
enterprise	true
invalidValue	SettingValue = string | boolean | number | SettingValueMultiSelect | Date | AssetValue | undefined;

Color Settings

Name	Data Type
type	color
editor	SettingEditor
packageEditor(Optional)	SettingEditor

Action Settings

Name	Data Type
type	action
value	string
actionText(Optional)	string

Code Settings

Name	Data Type
type	action
value	string
actionText(Optional)	string

Asset Settings

Name	Data Type
type	asset
value	AssetValue
fileConstraints	IRocketChatAssetConstraint
asset	string

SelectOption Settings

Name	Data Type
key	string | number;
i18nLabel	string

Editor Settings

Name	Data Type
COLOR	color
EXPRESSION	expression

Date Settings

Name	Data Type
type	date
value	Date

Statistics Settings

Name	Data Type
account2fa(Optional)	boolean
cannedResponsesEnabled (Optional)	boolean
e2e (Optional)	boolean
e2eDefaultDirectRoom(Optional)	boolean
e2eDefaultPrivateRoom(Optional)	boolean
smtpHost(Optional)	string
smtpPort(Optional)	string
fromEmail(Optional)	string
fileUploadEnable(Optional)	boolean
frameworkDevMode(Optional)	boolean
frameworkEnable(Optional)	boolean
surveyEnabled(Optional)	boolean
updateChecker(Optional)	boolean
liveStream(Optional)	boolean
broadcasting(Optional)	boolean
allowEditing(Optional)	boolean
allowDeleting(Optional)	boolean
allowUnrecognizedSlashCommand(Optional)	boolean
allowBadWordsFilter(Optional)	boolean
readReceiptEnabled(Optional)	boolean
readReceiptStoreUsers(Optional)	boolean
otrEnable(Optional)	boolean
pushEnable(Optional)	boolean
globalSearchEnabled(Optional)	boolean
threadsEnabled(Optional)	boolean
bigBlueButton(Optional)	boolean
jitsiEnabled(Optional)	boolean
webRTCEnableChannel(Optional)	boolean
webRTCEnablePrivate(Optional)	boolean
webRTCEnableDirect(Optional)	boolean

Set Setting

To set a setting for the first time, you need only to add the env var SETTING_ID=VALUE when starting the server.

Example:

FileUpload_Storage_Type=hiGoogleCloudStorage

This only works if the setting isn't already set; hence it's most useful for setting on the initial start. If the setting already has a value, you will need to use overwrite setting.

Overwrite Setting

You can overwrite any setting by setting an environment variable prefixed with OOVERWRITE_SETTING_<Setting Id>.

OVERWRITE_SETTING_FileUpload_Storage_Type=GoogleCloudStorage

Settings capable of this can be seen when hovered in the Administration > Workspace > Settings section.

Example Settings code

Block Settings

You can block a setting from being changed by specifying the SETTINGS_BLOCKED environment variable. It is a comma-separated list. You need to add any setting you want to block to this list.

SETTINGS_BLOCKED=FileUpload_Storage_Type,FileUpload_GoogleStorage_AccessId,FileUpload_GoogleStorage_Secret

As an administrator, you can't change this from the UI. You must remove it from the list and reboot the server to change this setting.

Hide Settings

You can hide settings from the client by using the SETTINGS_HIDDEN environment variable.

SETTINGS_HIDDEN=FileUpload_GoogleStorage_AccessId,FileUpload_GoogleStorage_Secret

Take extra caution here because the client needs settings like FileUpload_Storage_Type, so it can not be hidden.

Wizard Required Settings

You can force settings to be required on wizard pages by using the SETTINGS_REQUIRED_ON_WIZARD environment variable.

SETTINGS_REQUIRED_ON_WIZARD=Organization_Type,Organization_Name

Rocket.Chat's use of environmental variables for managing settings provides a powerful and flexible configuration mechanism. To learn more about deploying Rocket.Chat with environment variables, see Environment Variables.