Last Updated: 3/16/2026

Environment Configuration

LinkAce uses environment variables for configuration. All settings are stored in the .env file in the application root.

Configuration Files

.env - Your local environment configuration (not tracked in git)
.env.example - Template with all available settings
.env.dev - Development environment defaults
.env.docker.production - Docker production defaults
.env.sqlite.production - SQLite production defaults

Core Settings

Application


# Application key (generated during setup)
APP_KEY=someRandomStringWith32Characters

# Application name
APP_NAME=LinkAce

# Environment: local, production, staging
APP_ENV=production

# Enable debug mode (never enable in production!)
APP_DEBUG=false

# Application URL
APP_URL=https://your-linkace-instance.com

# Timezone
APP_TIMEZONE=UTC

# Locale
APP_LOCALE=en

Database


# Database driver: mysql, pgsql, sqlsrv, sqlite
DB_CONNECTION=mysql

# Database host
DB_HOST=db

# Database port
DB_PORT=3306

# Database name
DB_DATABASE=linkace

# Database username
DB_USERNAME=linkace

# Database password (use quotes if it contains special characters)
DB_PASSWORD="ChangeThisToASecurePassword!"

API Configuration


# API version
API_VERSION=2.0

# API rate limit (requests per minute)
API_RATE_LIMIT=60

Cache & Session


# Cache driver: file, redis, memcached, database
CACHE_DRIVER=file

# Session driver: file, cookie, database, redis
SESSION_DRIVER=file

# Session lifetime (minutes)
SESSION_LIFETIME=120

Queue


# Queue driver: sync, database, redis, sqs
QUEUE_CONNECTION=sync

Mail


# Mail driver: smtp, sendmail, mailgun, ses, postmark, log
MAIL_MAILER=smtp

# SMTP settings
MAIL_HOST=smtp.mailtrap.io
MAIL_PORT=2525
MAIL_USERNAME=null
MAIL_PASSWORD=null
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

# From address
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=hello@example.com
MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"

Feature Configuration

Link Archiving


# Enable Internet Archive backups
ARCHIVE_BACKUPS_ENABLED=true

# Enable archiving of private links
ARCHIVE_PRIVATE_BACKUPS_ENABLED=false

Link Checking


# Enable automatic link health checks
LINK_CHECK_ENABLED=true

# Check interval (daily, weekly, monthly)
LINK_CHECK_INTERVAL=weekly

User Settings


# Allow user registration
REGISTRATION_ENABLED=true

# Require email verification
EMAIL_VERIFICATION_ENABLED=false

# Enable guest access (view public links without login)
GUEST_ACCESS_ENABLED=true

SSO Configuration


# Enable Single Sign-On
SSO_ENABLED=false

# Allow new user registration via SSO
SSO_REGISTRATION_ENABLED=true

# Disable regular email/password login
REGULAR_LOGIN_DISABLED=false

Provider-Specific Settings

Each SSO provider requires its own configuration. Example for GitHub:


GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your_github_client_id
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=your_github_client_secret
GITHUB_REDIRECT_URI=https://your-linkace.com/auth/github/callback

See the SSO Configuration Guide for provider-specific setup.

Backup Configuration


# AWS S3 or compatible storage for backups
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=
AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1
AWS_BUCKET=
AWS_ENDPOINT=
AWS_USE_PATH_STYLE_ENDPOINT=false

Advanced Settings

Logging


# Log channel: stack, single, daily, slack, syslog, errorlog
LOG_CHANNEL=stack

# Log level: debug, info, notice, warning, error, critical, alert, emergency
LOG_LEVEL=debug

Security


# Trusted proxies (comma-separated IPs or "*" for all)
TRUSTED_PROXIES=

# Force HTTPS
FORCE_HTTPS=false

Performance


# Cache duration (seconds)
CACHE_DURATION=3600

# Default pagination limit
PAGINATION_DEFAULT=25

LinkAce-Specific Configuration

File: config/linkace.php


'default' => [
    'pagination' => 25,
    'date_format' => 'Y-m-d',
    'time_format' => 'H:i',
    'cache_duration' => 3600, // 60 minutes
],
 
'listitem_count_values' => [
    12, 24, 60, 72, 120,
],

Date & Time Formats

Available date formats:

Y-m-d (2024-01-15)
d.m.Y (15.01.2024)
m/d/Y (01/15/2024)
And more…

Available time formats:

H:i (14:30)
h:i a (02:30 pm)
g:i A (2:30 PM)

Docker-Specific Variables

When running LinkAce in Docker:


# Docker-specific database host
DB_HOST=db

# Redis host (if using Redis)
REDIS_HOST=redis
REDIS_PASSWORD=null
REDIS_PORT=6379

Validation

After modifying .env:

Clear configuration cache:
```
php artisan config:clear
```
Rebuild cache:
```
php artisan config:cache
```
Verify settings:
```
php artisan config:show
```

Security Best Practices

Never commit .env to version control
Use strong random strings for APP_KEY
Wrap passwords with special characters in quotes
Disable APP_DEBUG in production
Use HTTPS in production (FORCE_HTTPS=true)
Restrict database access to localhost when possible
Rotate API keys and secrets regularly

Troubleshooting

Configuration Not Loading

Clear cache: php artisan config:clear
Verify .env file exists and is readable
Check for syntax errors in .env
Ensure no duplicate keys

Database Connection Fails

Verify DB_* credentials
Check database service is running
Test connection manually
Ensure database exists
Check firewall/network settings