> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Israel-Perez/Nuxt-Secure/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Environment setup

> All required environment variables for running Nuxt Secure.

Nuxt Secure reads configuration from a `.env` file in the project root. The values are loaded into Nuxt's `runtimeConfig` at build time.

<Warning>
  Never commit your `.env` file to version control. Add it to `.gitignore` before your first commit.
</Warning>

## Required variables

<ParamField path="DATABASE_URL" type="string" required>
  PostgreSQL connection string for your Neon (or any PostgreSQL-compatible) database.

  ```
  DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@host/dbname
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="JWT_SECRET" type="string" required>
  Secret key used to sign and verify JSON Web Tokens. Use a random string of at least 32 characters.

  ```
  JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-key-at-least-32-characters
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME" type="string" required>
  Your Cloudinary cloud name. Required for user profile photo uploads.

  ```
  CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your-cloud-name
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="CLOUDINARY_API_KEY" type="string" required>
  Your Cloudinary API key. Required for server-side image upload signing.

  ```
  CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your-api-key
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET" type="string" required>
  Your Cloudinary API secret. Keep this value private — it is only used server-side.

  ```
  CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your-api-secret
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="NUXT_PUBLIC_TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY" type="string" required>
  Cloudflare Turnstile public site key. This value is exposed to the browser and rendered inside the CAPTCHA widget on the login page.

  ```
  NUXT_PUBLIC_TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY=your-site-key
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY" type="string" required>
  Cloudflare Turnstile secret key. Used server-side to verify CAPTCHA tokens. Keep this value private.

  ```
  TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
  ```
</ParamField>

## Complete `.env` example

```ini .env theme={null}
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@host/dbname
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-key-at-least-32-characters
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your-cloud-name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your-api-key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your-api-secret
NUXT_PUBLIC_TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY=your-site-key
TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
```

## Obtaining credentials

### Neon database

1. Go to [neon.tech](https://neon.tech) and create a free account.
2. Create a new project and select a PostgreSQL region.
3. From the **Connection Details** panel, copy the connection string.
4. Paste it as your `DATABASE_URL` value.

<Tip>
  Neon's free tier includes a serverless PostgreSQL instance that works out of the box with Drizzle ORM. No additional configuration is needed.
</Tip>

### Cloudinary

1. Go to [cloudinary.com](https://cloudinary.com) and create a free account.
2. From your **Dashboard**, copy the **Cloud name**, **API key**, and **API secret**.
3. Set each value in your `.env` file:
   * `CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME`
   * `CLOUDINARY_API_KEY`
   * `CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET`

<Note>
  Cloudinary's free tier provides 25 GB of storage and 25 GB of monthly bandwidth — sufficient for development and small deployments.
</Note>

### Cloudflare Turnstile

1. Go to the [Cloudflare dashboard](https://dash.cloudflare.com) and log in or create an account.
2. Navigate to **Turnstile** in the sidebar.
3. Click **Add site** and register your domain (use `localhost` for local development).
4. Copy the **Site key** and **Secret key**.
5. Set each value in your `.env` file:
   * `NUXT_PUBLIC_TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY` — the public site key
   * `TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY` — the private secret key

<Warning>
  Turnstile will not function correctly with placeholder or invalid keys. The login button stays disabled until the CAPTCHA challenge is completed, so the app is unusable without valid Turnstile credentials.
</Warning>