route-commerce/ENVIRONMENT.md

Environment Setup

This guide documents every environment variable the platform uses, what each one does, where to get it, and any gotchas.

Copy .env.example → .env.local and fill in the values.

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Public Variables

These are safe to commit and can be used in client bundles. Prefix with NEXT_PUBLIC_.

NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL

The base URL of your deployment. Used for OAuth redirects and webhook URLs.

• Local: http://localhost:3000
• Production: https://yourdomain.com

NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY

Stripe publishable key for Stripe.js in the client.

• Where to get: Stripe Dashboard → Developers → API Keys → Publishable key
• Format: pk_live_... or pk_test_...

NEXT_PUBLIC_SINGLE_BRAND

Set to a brand slug to hide other brand routes in single-brand mode.

• Example: tuxedo
• Default: empty (multi-brand mode)

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Server-Only Variables

Never prefix with NEXT_PUBLIC_. These must only be accessed in Server Components, Server Actions, or API Routes.

Database

DATABASE_URL

Full Postgres connection string. The app uses this exclusively (no Supabase, no JS client) for every server-side query — server actions and API routes import a shared pg Pool from src/lib/db.ts and call SECURITY DEFINER PL/pgSQL functions.

• Where to get: Neon Dashboard → Project → Connection Details → Connection string (pooled)
• Example: postgresql://user:pass@ep-xxx.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/routecommerce?sslmode=require
• Format: postgres://user:pass@host:port/dbname?sslmode=require

DATABASE_ADMIN_URL (optional)

Same connection string but with elevated perms (typically the direct, non-pooled Neon connection). Only used by scripts/migrate.js for DDL — fall back to DATABASE_URL if unset.

Stripe

STRIPE_SECRET_KEY

Stripe secret key for backend API calls (creating sessions, webhooks, etc.).

• Where to get: Stripe Dashboard → Developers → API Keys → Secret key
• Format: sk_live_... or sk_test_...

STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET

Signing secret for Stripe webhook payloads.

• Where to get: Stripe Dashboard → Developers → Webhooks → select endpoint → Signing secret
• Format: whsec_...

Stripe Price IDs

Create these as recurring prices in your Stripe Dashboard first. Each maps to a plan tier or add-on.

Variable	What it is	Stripe Dashboard
STRIPE_PRICE_STARTER	$49/mo Starter plan	Create a Product → Price at $49/mo
STRIPE_PRICE_FARM	$149/mo Farm plan	Create a Product → Price at $149/mo
STRIPE_PRICE_ENTERPRISE	$399/mo Enterprise plan	Create a Product → Price at $399/mo
STRIPE_PRICE_HARVEST_REACH	$79/mo Harvest Reach add-on	Create a Product → Price at $79/mo recurring
STRIPE_PRICE_WHOLESALE_PORTAL	$99/mo Wholesale Portal add-on	Create a Product → Price at $99/mo recurring
STRIPE_PRICE_WATER_LOG	$39/mo Water Log add-on	Create a Product → Price at $39/mo recurring
STRIPE_PRICE_AI_TOOLS	$59/mo AI Intelligence add-on	Create a Product → Price at $59/mo recurring
STRIPE_PRICE_SQUARE_SYNC	$39/mo Square Sync add-on	Create a Product → Price at $39/mo recurring
STRIPE_PRICE_SMS_CAMPAIGNS	$29/mo SMS Campaigns add-on	Create a Product → Price at $29/mo recurring

Note: Annual pricing requires separate annual prices (e.g., $441/yr for Starter = $49 × 12 × 0.75). Use different price IDs and pass annual=true to checkout actions.

Email (Resend)

RESEND_API_KEY

API key for sending transactional email via Resend.

• Where to get: Resend.com → API Keys → Create API key
• Format: re_...

RESEND_WEBHOOK_SECRET

Signing secret for Resend webhook payloads.

• Where to get: Resend Dashboard → Webhooks → select endpoint → Signing secret
• Format: whsec_...

AI

The platform supports five AI providers. Each brand can override per-provider keys in the admin AI Provider panel (/admin/settings/ai). Env vars here are fallbacks for when no per-brand key is configured.

OPENAI_API_KEY

OpenAI API key for AI features (AI Intelligence Pack add-on).

• Where to get: OpenAI Platform → API Keys → Create secret key
• Format: sk-...

OPENAI_ORG_ID

OpenAI organization ID (optional — for workspace-level usage tracking).

• Where to get: OpenAI Platform → Settings → Organization ID
• Format: org-...

MINIMAX_API_KEY

MiniMax (MiniMax) API key — OpenAI-compatible. Pre-launch default provider.

• Where to get: MiniMax Platform → API Keys
• Format: ey... (JWT-style)
• Used by: getAIClient() falls back to this when no per-brand key is set. ai-import.ts Import Center also prefers this over OPENAI_API_KEY when both are set.

MINIMAX_BASE_URL (optional)

Override the MiniMax API base URL.

• Default: https://api.minimax.io/v1 (global)
• China: https://api.minimaxi.com/v1 (mainland endpoint, lower latency inside China)

Other providers

The admin panel also accepts per-brand keys for Anthropic (sk-ant-...), Google Gemini (AIza...), xAI (xai-...), and custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints. These can also be set globally via ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, XAI_API_KEY.

Square

SQUARE_APP_SECRET

Square app secret for Square API authentication.

• Where to get: Square Developer Dashboard → Your App → Credentials → Application Secret
• Format: sq0...

SQUARE_ENVIRONMENT

Controls whether to use Square sandbox or production.

• Values: sandbox (default for dev) or production
• ⚠️ Note: Production credentials and sandbox credentials are separate. Make sure this matches which credentials you're using.

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Webhook Setup

Stripe

Dashboard: Stripe Dashboard → Developers → Webhooks → Add endpoint

• URL: https://yourdomain.com/api/stripe/webhook
• Events to listen for:
  • checkout.session.completed
  • customer.subscription.updated
  • customer.subscription.deleted
  • invoice.payment_succeeded
  • invoice.payment_failed

Resend

Dashboard: Resend → Webhooks → Add webhook

• URL: https://yourdomain.com/api/resend/webhook
• Events: email_delivered, email_bounced, email_complained

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Local vs Production

Variable	Local (.env.local)	Production (hosting dashboard)
NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL	http://localhost:3000	https://yourdomain.com
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY	sk_test_...	sk_live_...
STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY	pk_test_...	pk_live_...
SQUARE_ENVIRONMENT	sandbox	production

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Gotchas

• Wrong Stripe key type: Using sk_live_ in development or sk_test_ in production will silently fail. Always match key type to environment.
• Stripe price IDs drift: If you create new prices in Stripe Dashboard but forget to update .env.local, billing will fail. Keep them in sync.
• SQUARE_ENVIRONMENT mismatch: Production Square credentials won't work with sandbox. Match it to your app secret type.
• OPENAI_API_KEY for AI features: AI features won't work without this. The AI Intelligence Pack add-on requires a valid OpenAI key.

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Authentication

Production (HTTPS Required)

Neon Auth session cookies use the __Secure- prefix, which requires HTTPS. In production, the auth flow works as follows:

1. User submits credentials to /api/auth/sign-in
2. Neon Auth server sets session cookie with secure: true
3. Browser stores the cookie and sends it with subsequent requests
4. Middleware validates the session cookie

Local Development (HTTP)

For local development over HTTP (e.g., http://localhost:4000), the platform provides a dev_session bypass:

1. Via Login Page: Visit /login - you'll see "Dev Mode — Quick Access" buttons for Platform Admin, Brand Admin, and Store Employee roles.
2. Via Browser Console: document.cookie = 'dev_session=platform_admin; path=/; max-age=86400'
3. Via curl: curl -b "dev_session=platform_admin" http://localhost:4000/admin

The dev_session cookie is automatically recognized by:

• The middleware (src/proxy.ts)
• The getAdminUser() function (src/lib/admin-permissions.ts)

Note: The dev_session bypass only works when NODE_ENV !== "production". In production, only Neon Auth session cookies are accepted.

HTTPS for Local Development

If you prefer to test with real auth over HTTPS locally, you can use a tool like mkcert:

# Install mkcert
brew install mkcert

# Create local CA and install it
mkcert -install

# Generate certificate for localhost
mkcert localhost 127.0.0.1 ::1

# Update next.config.ts to use HTTPS

For most development work, the dev_session bypass is sufficient.