Configuration

The Pikarc backend is configured via environment variables with the PIKARC_ prefix. Settings can also be loaded from a .env file.

Database

Variable	Type	Default	Description
`PIKARC_DB_HOST`	`string`	`localhost`	PostgreSQL host
`PIKARC_DB_PORT`	`integer`	`5432`	PostgreSQL port
`PIKARC_DB_USER`	`string`	`pikarc`	PostgreSQL user
`PIKARC_DB_PASSWORD`	`string`	`pikarc`	PostgreSQL password
`PIKARC_DB_NAME`	`string`	`pikarc`	PostgreSQL database name

The connection URL is computed as:

postgresql+asyncpg://{user}:{password}@{host}:{port}/{name}

Redis

Variable	Type	Default	Description
`PIKARC_REDIS_URL`	`string`	`redis://localhost:6379/0`	Redis connection URL

Redis is used for the guardrail cache layer — spend counters, concurrent run tracking, and kill switch state.

Authentication

Variable	Type	Default	Description
`PIKARC_JWT_SECRET`	`string`	`change-me-in-production`	JWT signing secret. Also used to derive the Fernet key for API key encryption.
`PIKARC_JWT_ALGORITHM`	`string`	`HS256`	JWT signing algorithm
`PIKARC_JWT_EXPIRY_HOURS`	`integer`	`24`	JWT token lifetime in hours

Always change PIKARC_JWT_SECRET in production. The default value is insecure.

Stripe (Optional)

Variable	Type	Default	Description
`PIKARC_STRIPE_SECRET_KEY`	`string \| null`	`null`	Stripe secret key. When not set, plan changes are direct DB updates.
`PIKARC_STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET`	`string \| null`	`null`	Stripe webhook signing secret
`PIKARC_STRIPE_PRO_PRICE_ID`	`string \| null`	`null`	Stripe Price ID for the Pro plan
`PIKARC_STRIPE_SCALE_PRICE_ID`	`string \| null`	`null`	Stripe Price ID for the Scale plan

When PIKARC_STRIPE_SECRET_KEY is not configured, the billing system degrades gracefully — plan changes happen via direct database updates with no payment required. This is the default for local development.

Email (Optional)

Variable	Type	Default	Description
`PIKARC_RESEND_API_KEY`	`string \| null`	`null`	Resend API key for sending emails
`PIKARC_EMAIL_FROM`	`string`	`Pikarc <noreply@pikarc.dev>`	Sender address for emails

When PIKARC_RESEND_API_KEY is not configured, emails are logged to the console instead of sent.

Application

Variable	Type	Default	Description
`PIKARC_DEBUG`	`boolean`	`false`	Enables SQLAlchemy echo and FastAPI debug mode
`PIKARC_CORS_ORIGINS`	`list[string]`	`["http://localhost:3000"]`	Allowed CORS origins
`PIKARC_FRONTEND_URL`	`string`	`http://localhost:3000`	Frontend URL (used for email links and Stripe redirects)

Frontend

The frontend has a single environment variable:

Variable	Default	Description
`NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL`	`http://localhost:8000`	Backend API URL

Example `.env` File

# Database
PIKARC_DB_HOST=localhost
PIKARC_DB_PORT=5432
PIKARC_DB_USER=pikarc
PIKARC_DB_PASSWORD=your-secure-password
PIKARC_DB_NAME=pikarc

# Redis
PIKARC_REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379/0

# Auth
PIKARC_JWT_SECRET=your-production-secret-here

# Stripe (optional)
PIKARC_STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_live_...
PIKARC_STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_...
PIKARC_STRIPE_PRO_PRICE_ID=price_...
PIKARC_STRIPE_SCALE_PRICE_ID=price_...

# Email (optional)
PIKARC_RESEND_API_KEY=re_...

Getting Started

SDK

API Reference

Guides

Configuration

Database

Redis

Authentication

Stripe (Optional)

Email (Optional)

Application

Frontend

Example `.env` File

​Database

​Redis

​Authentication

​Stripe (Optional)

​Email (Optional)

​Application

​Frontend

​Example .env File

Database

Redis

Authentication

Stripe (Optional)

Email (Optional)

Application

Frontend

Example `.env` File