Environment variables

Every environment variable read by the server node's and router's standalone (container) entrypoints.

Embedded use, calling open or serve/route from code, takes options directly and reads no env at all. Everything below maps to a field on OpenOptions, ServeOptions, or RouteOptions, as read by serving/main.ts and router/main.ts respectively.

Server node

Read by serving/main.ts, via the helpers in serving/config.ts.

Variable	Type	Default	Maps to
`LAKEFRONT_POSTGRES`	string (URL or DSN)	— required, throws if unset	`OpenOptions.postgres`: accepts a standard `postgres://user:pass@host/db` URL or the keyword/value form.
`LAKEFRONT_DATA`	string	— required, throws if unset	`OpenOptions.data`
`LAKEFRONT_NAMESPACE`	string	`"lakefront"`	`OpenOptions.namespace`
`LAKEFRONT_S3_ENDPOINT`	string	unset (no S3 config)	`OpenOptions.s3.endpoint`: setting this makes `LAKEFRONT_S3_KEY_ID` and `LAKEFRONT_S3_SECRET` required
`LAKEFRONT_S3_KEY_ID`	string	— required if `LAKEFRONT_S3_ENDPOINT` is set	`OpenOptions.s3.keyId`
`LAKEFRONT_S3_SECRET`	string	— required if `LAKEFRONT_S3_ENDPOINT` is set	`OpenOptions.s3.secret`
`LAKEFRONT_S3_SSL`	`"true"` / anything else	`false`	`OpenOptions.s3.ssl`
`LAKEFRONT_INLINING_ROW_LIMIT`	integer	unset (engine default `10_000` applies)	`OpenOptions.inliningRowLimit`
`LAKEFRONT_CACHE`	string (path)	`"/cache"`	`OpenOptions.cache`
`LAKEFRONT_CACHE_CAPACITY`	integer	`256`	`OpenOptions.cacheCapacity`
`LAKEFRONT_POOL_SIZE`	integer	`24`	`OpenOptions.poolSize`
`LAKEFRONT_WRITE_PATH`	`"wal"` / `"lake"`	`"wal"`	`OpenOptions.writePath`: unset, `""`, or `"wal"` all resolve to `"wal"`; anything else must be exactly `"lake"` or the entrypoint throws
`LAKEFRONT_FLUSH_INTERVAL_MS`	integer	unset (engine default `30_000` applies)	`OpenOptions.flushIntervalMs`
`LAKEFRONT_INDEX_COLUMNS`	comma-separated string	unset (engine default `["id"]` applies)	`OpenOptions.indexColumns`: always includes `"id"`; the env value adds columns beyond it
`LAKEFRONT_AUTH`	`"registry"` / `"none"`	unset (auth off)	`ServeOptions.auth = { registry: true }` when `"registry"`; throws if set to anything else besides `"none"`
`LAKEFRONT_AUTH_SECRET`	string	unset	`ServeOptions.auth = { secret }`: takes priority over `LAKEFRONT_AUTH` when both are set
`LAKEFRONT_NODE_ID`	string	`node-${process.pid}`	`ServeOptions.nodeId`
`PORT`	integer	`8080`	`ServeOptions.port`

Write-path semantics (durability, group commit, the flusher) are covered under write paths. The full OpenOptions knob table, with the trade-offs behind each default, is in the engine reference.

Router

Read by router/main.ts.

Variable	Type	Default	Maps to
`LAKEFRONT_NODES`	comma-separated `id=url` pairs	— required, throws if empty	`RouteOptions.nodes`
`LAKEFRONT_HEDGE_MS`	integer	`250`	`RouteOptions.hedgeDelayMs`
`PORT`	integer	`8080`	`RouteOptions.port`

Demo script

scripts/demo.ts reads one variable, as a fallback for its first CLI argument:

Variable	Type	Default
`LAKEFRONT_ROUTER`	string (URL)	`"http://127.0.0.1:58000"`

compose.yaml walkthrough

The full docker compose topology (which of these variables each service sets, and why the ports are non-default) is covered in the cluster guide.