Environment Variables

Configure your SaaS Starter Vue application with environment variables

The SaaS Starter Vue application uses Laravel’s environment configuration system. All configuration values are stored in the .env file in your project root.

Initial Setup

Copy the example environment file to create your configuration:

cp .env.example .env

After creating your .env file, generate an application key:

php artisan key:generate

Application Settings

APP_NAME · string · default: "Laravel"

The name of your application. This is used throughout the app and in email notifications.

APP_ENV · string · default: "local"

The application environment. Use local for development, staging for staging, and production for production.

This affects debug output and error reporting behavior.

APP_KEY · string · required

The application encryption key. Auto-generated when you run php artisan key:generate.

Never commit this value to version control. Each environment should have a unique key.

APP_DEBUG · boolean · default: "true"

Enable or disable debug mode. Set to false in production to hide detailed error messages.

Always set to false in production to avoid exposing sensitive information.

URL Configuration

APP_URL_BASE · string · default: "saas-starter-vue.test"

The base domain for your application. This is used for tenant subdomain generation.

APP_URL · string · default: "http://${APP_URL_BASE}"

The full URL of your application including protocol. Supports variable substitution from APP_URL_BASE.

Development

APP_URL_BASE=saas-starter-vue.test
APP_URL=http://${APP_URL_BASE}

APP_URL_BASE=yoursaas.com
APP_URL=https://${APP_URL_BASE}

Localization

APP_LOCALE · string · default: "en"

The default locale for your application.

APP_FALLBACK_LOCALE · string · default: "en"

The fallback locale when a translation is not available in the current locale.

APP_FAKER_LOCALE · string · default: "en_US"

The locale used by Faker for generating test data.

Security

BCRYPT_ROUNDS · integer · default: "12"

The number of rounds for bcrypt password hashing. Higher values increase security but require more CPU.

The default of 12 rounds provides good security for most applications.

Logging

LOG_CHANNEL · string · default: "stack"

The default log channel. Options: stack, single, daily, slack, syslog, errorlog

LOG_STACK · string · default: "daily"

When using the stack channel, this determines the channels to use.

LOG_DEPRECATIONS_CHANNEL · string · default: "null"

Channel for logging PHP and Laravel deprecation warnings.

LOG_LEVEL · string · default: "debug"

Minimum log level to record. Options: debug, info, notice, warning, error, critical, alert, emergency

Session & Cache

SESSION_DRIVER · string · default: "database"

Where to store session data. Options: file, cookie, database, memcached, redis, array

SESSION_LIFETIME · integer · default: "120"

Session lifetime in minutes.

CACHE_STORE · string · default: "database"

The default cache store. Options: file, database, redis, memcached, array

QUEUE_CONNECTION · string · default: "database"

Queue driver for background jobs. Options: sync, database, redis, sqs, beanstalkd

Storage & Broadcasting

FILESYSTEM_DISK · string · default: "local"

Default filesystem disk for file storage. Options: local, public, s3

BROADCAST_CONNECTION · string · default: "log"

Default broadcast driver for real-time events. Options: pusher, redis, log, null

AWS Configuration

Required if using S3 for file storage:

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID · string

Your AWS access key ID.

AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY · string

Your AWS secret access key.

AWS_DEFAULT_REGION · string · default: "us-east-1"

The AWS region for your S3 bucket.

AWS_BUCKET · string

The name of your S3 bucket.

Vite Build Configuration

VITE_APP_NAME · string · default: "${APP_NAME}"

Application name passed to Vite for frontend builds.

Example Configuration

Local Development

APP_NAME="My SaaS App"
APP_ENV=local
APP_KEY=base64:your-generated-key-here
APP_DEBUG=true

APP_URL_BASE=myapp.test
APP_URL=http://${APP_URL_BASE}

APP_LOCALE=en
APP_FALLBACK_LOCALE=en

LOG_CHANNEL=stack
LOG_LEVEL=debug

DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=myapp
DB_USERNAME=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=secret

SESSION_DRIVER=database
CACHE_STORE=database
QUEUE_CONNECTION=database

APP_NAME="My SaaS App"
APP_ENV=production
APP_KEY=base64:your-generated-key-here
APP_DEBUG=false

APP_URL_BASE=myapp.com
APP_URL=https://${APP_URL_BASE}

APP_LOCALE=en
APP_FALLBACK_LOCALE=en

LOG_CHANNEL=daily
LOG_LEVEL=error

DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
DB_HOST=your-db-host.com
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=myapp_prod
DB_USERNAME=myapp_user
DB_PASSWORD=secure-password-here

SESSION_DRIVER=database
CACHE_STORE=redis
QUEUE_CONNECTION=redis

REDIS_HOST=your-redis-host.com
REDIS_PASSWORD=your-redis-password
REDIS_PORT=6379

Security Best Practices

Never commit your .env file to version control! The .env file is already included in .gitignore.

• Use different APP_KEY values for each environment
• Set APP_DEBUG=false in production
• Use strong, unique passwords for database and cache connections
• Store sensitive credentials in your hosting provider’s secret management system
• Regularly rotate API keys and credentials

Next Steps

After configuring your environment variables:

1. Set up your database connection and run migrations
2. Configure email for sending transactional emails
3. Start the development server with php artisan serve