Set Secure Environment Variables

Best Practices for Environment Variables

When your application requires environment variables, never set them directly in the Docker Compose file. Instead, use the Encrypted Secrets section to ensure your sensitive data remains secure.

Configuration Steps

1. Declare Environment Variables in Docker Compose

   Define your environment variables in the Docker Compose file using variable substitution:

   services:
     your-service:
       environment:
         - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY_IN_ENV}
         - TWITTER_API_KEY=${TWITTER_API_KEY_IN_ENV}

   Important: Do not use double quotation marks around variables: ❌ OPENAI_API_KEY="${OPENAI_API_KEY_IN_ENV}"

2. Set Values in Encrypted Secrets

   Configure the actual values in the Encrypted Secrets section of the Phala Cloud UI.

Encrypted Secrets configuration interface

We recommend using Text type for environment variables if you have many variables to set.