Environment Variables

Environment variables let you store API keys, database URLs, and other configuration outside your code. This keeps sensitive information secure and makes it easy to use different settings for development and production.

Quick Setup

1. Create a `.env` File

Create a .env file in your project root:

.env

# API Keys
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-api-key-here
DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL=https://discord.com/api/webhooks/your-webhook
 
# Database  
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/myapp
 
# App Settings
NODE_ENV=development
PORT=3000
 
# Redis (optional - only needed if using external Redis)
MOTIA_REDIS_HOST=localhost
MOTIA_REDIS_PORT=6379

2. Add to `.gitignore`

Make sure you never commit your .env file:

.gitignore

.env
.env.local

3. Create Template for Your Team

.env.example

# Copy this to .env and add your actual values
OPENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/myapp

Using Environment Variables in Steps

TypeScript/JavaScript

my-step.step.ts

export const config = {
  type: 'api',
  name: 'chat-with-ai',
  path: '/chat',
  method: 'POST'
}
 
export const handler = async (req, { logger }) => {
  // Use environment variables with process.env
  const apiKey = process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY
  const webhookUrl = process.env.DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL
  
  if (!apiKey) {
    return { status: 400, body: { error: 'Missing API key' } }
  }
  
  logger.info('Using OpenAI API', { hasKey: !!apiKey })
  
  // Your logic here...
  return { status: 200, body: { message: 'Success!' } }
}

Python

my-step.step.py

import os
 
config = {
    'type': 'event', 
    'name': 'process-data',
    'subscribes': ['data.received']
}
 
async def handler(input_data, ctx):
    # Use environment variables with os.environ
    api_key = os.environ.get('OPENAI_API_KEY')
    database_url = os.environ.get('DATABASE_URL')
    
    if not api_key:
        raise ValueError('Missing OPENAI_API_KEY')
    
    ctx.logger.info('Processing with API key', {'has_key': bool(api_key)})
    
    # Your logic here...
    return {'status': 'processed'}

Redis Configuration

Motia uses Redis for internal coordination. By default, it includes an embedded in-memory Redis server for development, so you don't need to install or configure Redis separately.