Configuration

Both backend services validate environment variables during startup. Invalid required values stop the process before it begins accepting work. Keep local .env files and runtime secret injection aligned with these schemas.

Manager settings

Variable	Required / default	Purpose
`NODE_ENV`	`local`	`local`, `development`, `production`, or `test`
`PORT`	required	Manager HTTP port; local examples use `4400`
`CORS_ORIGIN`	required	Allowed browser origin; use an explicit origin outside local development
`DATABASE_URL`	required	PostgreSQL or postgres connection URI
`DATABASE_SSL`	`false`	Enable database TLS
`NATS_SERVERS`	required	Comma-separated NATS URLs
`NATS_CONNECTION_NAME`	required	Connection identity shown by NATS
`NATS_USER_JWT`	required	Manager user JWT under the same NATS account as enrolled Workers
`NATS_USER_SEED`	required	Private NKey seed matching the Manager user JWT
`NATS_ACCOUNT_SIGNING_SEED`	required	Account seed used to issue per-Worker user JWTs
`WORKER_NATS_SERVERS`	required	NATS URLs reachable from Workers; must address the same operator-mode NATS account
`WORKER_PUBLIC_URL`	required	HTTPS Manager URL reachable from Workers; loopback HTTP is permitted only outside production
`TRANSCODE_CPU_ONLY`	`false`	Restrict dispatch to certified CPU execution paths; set `true` for a CPU-only installation
`NATS_JETSTREAM_REPLICAS`	`1`	Positive stream replica count
`WORKER_ENROLLMENT_TOKEN_PEPPER`	required, min 32 chars	HMAC key for enrollment-token hashes
`WORKER_SUSPECTED_AFTER_MS`	`15000`	Heartbeat age before suspected connectivity
`WORKER_OFFLINE_AFTER_MS`	`30000`	Must be greater than suspected threshold
`WORKER_ORPHAN_AFTER_MS`	`120000`	Must be greater than offline threshold

Manager telemetry

Variable	Default	Purpose
`OTEL_SDK_DISABLED`	`false`	Disable all telemetry when true
`OTEL_SERVICE_NAME`	`encode-flow-manager`	Resource service name
`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL`	`http/protobuf`	The only accepted protocol
`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`	local Collector default	Base OTLP/HTTP endpoint
`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS`	empty	URL-encoded exporter headers
`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_ENDPOINT`	derived	Signal-specific trace URL
`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_ENDPOINT`	derived	Signal-specific metrics URL
`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_ENDPOINT`	derived	Signal-specific logs URL
`OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG`	runtime default	Number from 0 through 1
`OTEL_BSP_EXPORT_TIMEOUT`	runtime default	Positive batch span timeout in ms
`OTEL_BSP_MAX_QUEUE_SIZE`	runtime default	Positive batch span queue size
`OTEL_METRIC_EXPORT_INTERVAL`	runtime default	Positive periodic export interval in ms
`OTEL_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT`	runtime default	Positive shutdown flush timeout in ms
`OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`	empty	Comma-separated resource attributes
`OTEL_LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	`none`, `error`, `warn`, `info`, `debug`, `verbose`, or `all`

Signal-specific endpoints, protocols, and headers override their general equivalents. When telemetry is enabled in production, the exporter endpoint must use HTTPS.

Worker settings

Variable	Required / default	Purpose
`NODE_ENV`	`local`	Runtime environment
`PORT`	`3000`	Worker health/runtime HTTP port
`ENCODE_FLOW_WORKER_TOKEN`	first start	Manager-issued enrollment token; the Worker then persists its NKey and renews its lease

The Worker stores its identity and recovery spool in /var/lib/encode-flow. The Manager lease supplies the work directory, S3 access for each attempt, and the capacity derived from certification and the Worker profile cap. Set the profile cap to one concurrent job when Manager, Worker, Web, and Admin share a CPU host.

Output storage and recovery deployment

Configure an existing destination bucket, endpoint, region, path-style setting, and credentials in the project storage override or organization default. A configured profile without a bucket blocks new portal submissions. Without either profile, outputs use Manager storage. Source uploads and previews always stay in Manager storage.

Each submitted portal job saves its destination and encrypted credentials. Later profile edits affect future submissions. Keep encryption keyring entries needed by existing jobs. External MP4 downloads stream through the authenticated portal, and HLS results are read through the saved connection. Direct execution-plan API jobs keep their explicit S3 URI behavior.

Apply AddOutputStorage1791000000000 and AddIncrementalRecovery1791100000000 with yarn nx run @encode-flow/manager:migration:run, then deploy updated Manager, Workers, Web, and Admin. External outputs require Workers advertising separate-output-storage-v1; new portal jobs require incremental-output-recovery-v1. Persist both /var/lib/encode-flow and the supplied work directory so checkpoints and encoded files survive restarts.

See job lifecycle and resume uploads for retention and recovery behavior.

Local examples

# apps/manager/.env
PORT=4400
CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:4500
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/encode_flow
NATS_SERVERS=nats://localhost:4222
NATS_CONNECTION_NAME=encode-flow-manager
NATS_USER_JWT=<from docker/nats/generated/manager.env>
NATS_USER_SEED=<from docker/nats/generated/manager.env>
NATS_ACCOUNT_SIGNING_SEED=<from docker/nats/generated/manager.env>
WORKER_NATS_SERVERS=nats://localhost:4222
WORKER_PUBLIC_URL=http://localhost:4400
TRANSCODE_CPU_ONLY=true
NATS_JETSTREAM_REPLICAS=1
WORKER_ENROLLMENT_TOKEN_PEPPER=replace-with-at-least-32-characters
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4318

# apps/worker/.env
ENCODE_FLOW_WORKER_TOKEN=<Manager-issued enrollment token>