Configuration

Draftila is configured through environment variables. Below is a complete reference.

Database

Draftila supports SQLite (default) and PostgreSQL.

SQLite (Default)

No configuration needed — SQLite is the default. The database file is created automatically.

ENV

DB_DRIVER=sqlite
DATABASE_URL=file:/app/data/draftila.sqlite

PostgreSQL

To use PostgreSQL, set the driver and connection string:

ENV

DB_DRIVER=postgresql
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@host:5432/draftila

Migrations

Database migrations run automatically on container startup. To skip them (e.g., if you run migrations separately):

ENV

SKIP_DB_MIGRATE=1

Authentication

Authentication is handled by better-auth.

Variable	Description	Required
`BETTER_AUTH_SECRET`	Secret key for signing tokens. Minimum 32 characters.	Yes
`BETTER_AUTH_URL`	The URL where the API is accessible (used for auth callbacks).	Yes

ENV

BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=your-secret-key-at-least-32-characters
BETTER_AUTH_URL=http://localhost:3001

Never reuse BETTER_AUTH_SECRET across environments. Changing it will invalidate all existing sessions.

Frontend

Variable	Description	Default
`FRONTEND_URL`	The URL where the frontend is accessible. Used for CORS.	`http://localhost:3001`

In Docker, the frontend is bundled with the API and served from the same origin, so this typically matches BETTER_AUTH_URL.

For local development with the Vite dev server:

ENV

FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:5173

Storage

Uploaded files are stored on the local filesystem.

Variable	Description	Default
`STORAGE_DRIVER`	Storage driver. Currently only `local` is supported.	`local`
`STORAGE_PATH`	Directory for uploaded files.	`/app/data/storage`

Server

Variable	Description	Default
`PORT`	The port the API server listens on.	`3001`

Rate Limiting

Variable	Description	Default
`TRUSTED_PROXY_IPS`	Comma-separated IPs to trust for `X-Forwarded-For` headers. Set to `*` to trust all proxies.	Unset

When Draftila runs behind a reverse proxy, set this so rate limiting uses the real client IP instead of the proxy IP.

ENV

TRUSTED_PROXY_IPS=127.0.0.1

When not behind a proxy, leave this unset — Bun's TCP socket IP is used directly.

Admin Creation

Set these to automatically create an admin user on container startup:

Variable	Description	Required
`ADMIN_EMAIL`	Admin email address.	No
`ADMIN_PASSWORD`	Admin password (minimum 8 characters).	No
`ADMIN_NAME`	Admin display name.	No (defaults to "Admin")

If the admin account already exists, these are ignored on subsequent starts.

Full Example

ENV

# Database (SQLite - default)
DB_DRIVER=sqlite
DATABASE_URL=file:/app/data/draftila.sqlite
 
# Database (PostgreSQL - alternative)
# DB_DRIVER=postgresql
# DATABASE_URL=postgresql://draftila:secret@db:5432/draftila
 
# Auth
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=your-secret-key-at-least-32-characters
BETTER_AUTH_URL=http://localhost:3001
 
# Frontend
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3001
 
# Storage
STORAGE_DRIVER=local
STORAGE_PATH=/app/data/storage
 
# Server
PORT=3001
 
# Proxy (if behind nginx/caddy)
# TRUSTED_PROXY_IPS=127.0.0.1
 
# Admin (created on first start)
ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com
ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-me-please
ADMIN_NAME=Admin

Installation Update