Environment Variables

Clanker reads the following environment variables. When both a config file value and an environment variable are set, the resolution order depends on the specific variable (see notes below).

AI Provider Keys

These variables provide API keys for the supported AI providers. Each can also be set in the config file under ai.providers.<name>.api_key or ai.providers.<name>.api_key_env.

Name	Description	Required	Example
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	OpenAI API key	Required if using the `openai` provider	`sk-proj-abc123...`
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Anthropic API key	Required if using the `anthropic` provider	`sk-ant-api03-abc123...`
`GEMINI_API_KEY`	Google AI Studio (Gemini) API key	Required if using the `gemini-api` provider	`AIzaSy...`
`DEEPSEEK_API_KEY`	DeepSeek API key	Required if using the `deepseek` provider	`sk-abc123...`
`COHERE_API_KEY`	Cohere API key	Required if using the `cohere` provider	`abc123...`
`MINIMAX_API_KEY`	MiniMax API key	Required if using the `minimax` provider	`eyJ...`
`CLANKER_CLOUD_AUTH_TOKEN`	Clanker Cloud auth token	Required if using the `clanker-cloud` provider and configured through `api_key_env`	`ck_...`

AWS Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`AWS_PROFILE`	AWS CLI profile to use for infrastructure queries	No (can be set in config or via `--profile`)	`my-dev-profile`
`AWS_REGION`	AWS region override	No (falls back to profile config, then `us-east-1`)	`us-west-2`
`AWS_DEFAULT_REGION`	Fallback AWS region if `AWS_REGION` is not set	No	`us-east-1`

AWS authentication is handled through local CLI profiles (aws configure --profile <name>), not through raw access key environment variables in Clanker's own configuration. However, standard AWS SDK environment variables like AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY are respected by the underlying AWS CLI.

Clanker Backend Variables

These variables configure integration with the Clanker backend service for credential storage and retrieval.

Name	Description	Required	Example
`CLANKER_BACKEND_API_KEY`	API key for authenticating with the Clanker backend	No (or set via `--api-key` flag)	`ck_live_abc123...`
`CLANKER_BACKEND_ENV`	Backend environment: `testing`, `staging`, or `production`	No (default: `testing`)	`production`
`CLANKER_BACKEND_URL`	Custom backend URL; overrides the `CLANKER_BACKEND_ENV` selection	No	`https://api.clanker.example.com`

DigitalOcean Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`DO_API_TOKEN`	DigitalOcean API token	Required if using DigitalOcean and not set in config	`dop_v1_abc123...`
`DIGITALOCEAN_ACCESS_TOKEN`	Alternative DigitalOcean API token variable	No (fallback if `DO_API_TOKEN` is not set)	`dop_v1_abc123...`

Hetzner Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`HCLOUD_TOKEN`	Hetzner Cloud API token	Required if using Hetzner and not set in config	`abc123...`

GitHub Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	GitHub personal access token	No (can be set in config under `github.token`)	`ghp_abc123...`

For the github-models AI provider, Clanker uses the token from gh auth token (the GitHub CLI) rather than this environment variable.

Sentry Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN`	Sentry User Auth Token	Required if using `clanker sentry` and not set in config	`sntrys_...`
`SENTRY_ORG`	Sentry organization slug	Required if using `clanker sentry` and not set in config	`my-org`
`SENTRY_PROJECT`	Default Sentry project slug	No	`api`
`SENTRY_HOST`	Sentry host; defaults to `sentry.io`	No	`sentry.io`

Linear Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`LINEAR_API_KEY`	Linear Personal API Key	Required if using `clanker linear` and not set in config	`lin_api_...`
`LINEAR_WORKSPACE_ID`	Optional Linear workspace UUID	No	`xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx`
`LINEAR_TEAM`	Default team key	No	`ENG`

Notion Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`NOTION_API_KEY`	Notion internal integration token	Required if using `clanker notion` and not set in config	`ntn_...`
`NOTION_DATABASE_ID`	Default Notion database ID	No	`xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx`

Cloudflare Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN`	Cloudflare API token	Required if using Cloudflare and not set in config	`abc123...`
`CF_API_TOKEN`	Alternative Cloudflare API token variable	No (fallback)	`abc123...`
`CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID`	Cloudflare account ID	No (some operations work without it)	`abc123def456...`
`CF_ACCOUNT_ID`	Alternative Cloudflare account ID variable	No (fallback)	`abc123def456...`

GCP Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`GCP_PROJECT`	GCP project ID	No (can be set in config under `infra.gcp.project_id`)	`my-project-123`
`GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT`	Alternative GCP project ID variable	No (fallback)	`my-project-123`
`GCLOUD_PROJECT`	Alternative GCP project ID variable	No (fallback)	`my-project-123`

For the gemini provider (Vertex AI), GCP Application Default Credentials are used. Run gcloud auth application-default login to configure them.

Azure Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID`	Azure subscription ID	No (can be set in config or via `--azure-subscription`)	`xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx`
`AZ_SUBSCRIPTION_ID`	Alternative Azure subscription ID variable	No (fallback)	`xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx`

Vercel Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`VERCEL_TOKEN`	Vercel API token	Required if using Vercel and not set in config	`...`
`VERCEL_API_TOKEN`	Alternative Vercel token variable	No	`...`
`VERCEL_TEAM_ID`	Team ID for team-scoped accounts	No	`team_...`
`VERCEL_ORG_ID`	Alternative team/org ID variable	No	`team_...`

Fly.io Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`FLY_API_TOKEN`	Fly.io API token	Required if using Fly.io and not set in config	`FlyV1 ...`
`FLY_ACCESS_TOKEN`	Alternative Fly.io token variable	No	`FlyV1 ...`
`FLY_ORG`	Fly.io organization slug	No	`personal`
`FLY_ORG_SLUG`	Alternative organization slug variable	No	`my-org`

Railway Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`RAILWAY_API_TOKEN`	Railway account API token	Required if using Railway and not set in config	`...`
`RAILWAY_WORKSPACE_ID`	Railway workspace/team ID	No	`...`

RAILWAY_TOKEN is intentionally not used because it is often a project deploy token, not the account token needed for API inventory.

Verda Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`VERDA_CLIENT_ID`	Verda API client ID	Required if using Verda and not set in config	`...`
`VERDA_CLIENT_SECRET`	Verda API client secret	Required if using Verda and not set in config	`...`
`VERDA_PROJECT_ID`	Verda project ID	Required for project-scoped operations	`...`

Tencent Cloud Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`TENCENTCLOUD_SECRET_ID`	Tencent Cloud CAM secret ID	Required if using Tencent Cloud and not set in config	`AKIDabc123...`
`TENCENTCLOUD_SECRET_KEY`	Tencent Cloud CAM secret key	Required if using Tencent Cloud and not set in config	`abc123...`
`TENCENTCLOUD_REGION`	Default Tencent Cloud region	No (falls back to `ap-singapore`)	`ap-singapore`
`TENCENT_SECRET_ID`	Alternative Tencent Cloud secret ID variable	No (fallback)	`AKIDabc123...`
`TENCENT_SECRET_KEY`	Alternative Tencent Cloud secret key variable	No (fallback)	`abc123...`
`TENCENT_REGION`	Alternative Tencent Cloud region variable	No (fallback)	`ap-jakarta`

OpenRouter Variables

Name	Description	Required	Example
`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`	OpenRouter API key for Hermes Agent	No (only needed for `clanker talk` / Hermes)	`sk-or-v1-abc123...`

Resolution Priority

For most settings, the resolution order from highest to lowest priority is:

CLI flag (e.g., --openai-key, --profile)
Config file value (e.g., ai.providers.openai.api_key)
Environment variable named in the config (e.g., the value of api_key_env)
Well-known environment variable (e.g., OPENAI_API_KEY)
Built-in default

Environment Variables ​

AI Provider Keys ​

AWS Variables ​

Clanker Backend Variables ​

DigitalOcean Variables ​

Hetzner Variables ​

GitHub Variables ​

Sentry Variables ​

Linear Variables ​

Notion Variables ​

Cloudflare Variables ​

GCP Variables ​

Azure Variables ​

Vercel Variables ​

Fly.io Variables ​

Railway Variables ​

Verda Variables ​

Tencent Cloud Variables ​

OpenRouter Variables ​

Resolution Priority ​