Environment variables

This document provides a comprehensive reference for all environment variables currently implemented in Operion services.

Overview

Operion services are configured through environment variables. Each service (API server, worker, dispatcher) shares common configuration patterns but has service-specific requirements.

Service-Specific Configuration

Each Operion service requires specific environment variables for proper operation. All services use the run subcommand to start.

API Server (operion-api)

Command: ./bin/operion-api

Variable	Default	Description
`PORT`	`9091`	Port to run the API server on
`DATABASE_URL`	-	Database connection URL for persistence (required)
`EVENT_BUS_TYPE`	-	Event bus type (kafka, rabbitmq, etc.) (required)
`PLUGINS_PATH`	`./plugins`	Path to the directory containing action plugins
`LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	Log level (debug, info, warn, error)

Note: The plugins-path flag does not have an environment variable mapping in the API server.

Worker Service (operion-worker)

Command: ./bin/operion-worker

Variable	Default	Description
`WORKER_ID`	auto-generated	Custom worker ID (auto-generated if not provided)
`DATABASE_URL`	-	Database connection URL for persistence (required)
`EVENT_BUS_TYPE`	-	Event bus type (kafka, rabbitmq, etc.) (required)
`PLUGINS_PATH`	`./plugins`	Path to the directory containing action plugins
`LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	Log level (debug, info, warn, error)

Dispatcher Service (operion-dispatcher)

Command: ./bin/operion-dispatcher

Variable	Default	Description
`DISPATCHER_ID`	auto-generated	Custom dispatcher ID (auto-generated if not provided)
`DATABASE_URL`	-	Database connection URL for persistence (required)
`EVENT_BUS_TYPE`	-	Event bus type (kafka, rabbitmq, etc.) (required)
`PLUGINS_PATH`	`./plugins`	Path to the directory containing action plugins
`WEBHOOK_PORT`	`8085`	Port for webhook HTTP server
`LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	Log level (debug, info, warn, error)

Database Configuration

The DATABASE_URL environment variable supports various database formats:

# PostgreSQL
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/operion?sslmode=require

# File-based persistence (JSON)
DATABASE_URL=file://./data/workflows.json

Usage Examples

Start API Server

# Using environment variables
export DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/operion"
export EVENT_BUS_TYPE="kafka"
export LOG_LEVEL="debug"
./bin/operion-api

# Using command-line flags
./bin/operion-api --port 8080 --database-url "postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/operion" --event-bus "kafka" --log-level "debug"

Start Worker

# Using environment variables
export DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/operion"
export EVENT_BUS_TYPE="kafka" 
export WORKER_ID="worker-01"
./bin/operion-worker

# Using command-line flags
./bin/operion-worker --worker-id "worker-01" --database-url "postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/operion" --event-bus "kafka"

Start Dispatcher

# Using environment variables
export DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/operion"
export EVENT_BUS_TYPE="kafka"
export WEBHOOK_PORT="8085"
./bin/operion-dispatcher

# Using command-line flags
./bin/operion-dispatcher --webhook-port 8085 --database-url "postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/operion" --event-bus "kafka"

Configuration Validation

Operion validates configuration on startup. Missing required variables will prevent the service from starting with clear error messages.

Required for all services:

DATABASE_URL - Must be a valid database connection string
EVENT_BUS_TYPE - Must be a supported event bus type

Next Steps

Installation Guide - Service installation
Docker Deployment - Container deployment
Production Setup - Production configuration

Environment variables

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