79 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
79 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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summary: "Where Clawdbot loads environment variables and the precedence order"
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read_when:
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- You need to know which env vars are loaded, and in what order
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- You are debugging missing API keys in the Gateway
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- You are documenting provider auth or deployment environments
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---
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# Environment variables
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Clawdbot pulls environment variables from multiple sources. The rule is **never override existing values**.
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## Precedence (highest → lowest)
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1) **Process environment** (what the Gateway process already has from the parent shell/daemon).
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2) **`.env` in the current working directory** (dotenv default; does not override).
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3) **Global `.env`** at `~/.clawdbot/.env` (aka `$CLAWDBOT_STATE_DIR/.env`; does not override).
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4) **Config `env` block** in `~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json` (applied only if missing).
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5) **Optional login-shell import** (`env.shellEnv.enabled` or `CLAWDBOT_LOAD_SHELL_ENV=1`), applied only for missing expected keys.
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If the config file is missing entirely, step 4 is skipped; shell import still runs if enabled.
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## Config `env` block
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Two equivalent ways to set inline env vars (both are non-overriding):
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```json5
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{
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env: {
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OPENROUTER_API_KEY: "sk-or-...",
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vars: {
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GROQ_API_KEY: "gsk-..."
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}
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}
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}
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```
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## Shell env import
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`env.shellEnv` runs your login shell and imports only **missing** expected keys:
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```json5
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{
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env: {
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shellEnv: {
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enabled: true,
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timeoutMs: 15000
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}
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}
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}
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```
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Env var equivalents:
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- `CLAWDBOT_LOAD_SHELL_ENV=1`
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- `CLAWDBOT_SHELL_ENV_TIMEOUT_MS=15000`
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## Env var substitution in config
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You can reference env vars directly in config string values using `${VAR_NAME}` syntax:
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```json5
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{
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models: {
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providers: {
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"vercel-gateway": {
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apiKey: "${VERCEL_GATEWAY_API_KEY}"
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}
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}
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}
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}
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```
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See [Configuration: Env var substitution](/gateway/configuration#env-var-substitution-in-config) for full details.
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## Related
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- [Gateway configuration](/gateway/configuration)
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- [FAQ: env vars and .env loading](/help/faq#env-vars-and-env-loading)
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- [Models overview](/concepts/models)
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