Server and database

The web server, the MySQL connection and the admin account

Variable	Choices/Defaults	Comments
NODE_ENV string	Default: production	The Node.js environment a valid nodejs environment Nodejs can have multiple environments, like development or production
DB_HOST string / required		The database host a valid IP or FQDN Ansible Forms requires a MySQL database connection to store the configuration of the application.
DB_PORT number added in version 6.3.0	Default: 3306	Database port a positive integer Port of the MySQL or MariaDB server. Required at startup together with DB_HOST, DB_USER and DB_PASSWORD - the application cannot reach its database without it, so changing it needs a restart.
DB_USER string / required		The database user a valid mysql user Ansible Forms requires a MySQL database connection to store the configuration of the application.
DB_PASSWORD string / required		The database password a valid mysql password Ansible Forms requires a MySQL database connection to store the configuration of the application.
DB_POOL_SIZE number	Default: 20	MySQL connection pool size a positive integer Maximum number of concurrent MySQL connections kept in the pool. All database queries share this pool instead of opening a new connection per query, which dramatically reduces connection overhead and improves throughput under load. Increase this if you have many concurrent users or long-running cron-driven jobs; decrease it if your MySQL server has a low `max_connections` limit.
PORT number	Default: 8000	HTTP port a valid TCP port The listening port of the web application
BASE_URL string	Default: /	URL subpath to host the application under a url subpath, for example /ansibleforms Host the whole application (GUI, REST API and Swagger interface) under a URL subpath, typically behind a reverse proxy. For example with `BASE_URL=/ansibleforms`, the application is served under `https://host/ansibleforms/`. Note : when using an OAuth2 identity provider (Entra ID / OIDC), make sure the instance url in the provider settings includes the subpath, so the generated redirect uri matches.
DEFAULT_LANGUAGE string	Default: en	Default language en, nl, fr, it, de, es Sets the language for the application. Users can override this in the UI via the language switcher. The chosen language is persisted in a cookie. Both frontend UI and backend error messages are translated.
HTTPS number	Choices: 0 (default) 1	Enables HTTPS 0, 1 Our docker-compose comes with sample certificates. It is highly recommended to enable HTTPS.
HTTPS_KEY string	Default: %PERSISTENT_FOLDER%/certificates/key.pem	Private key a valid file path The path to the private key of the server certificate, in BASE64/PEM format.
HTTPS_CERT string	Default: %PERSISTENT_FOLDER%/certificates/cert.pem	Certificate a valid file path The path to the server certificate, in BASE64/PEM format.
ADMIN_USERNAME string added in version 5.0.8	Default: admin	Admin username a valid username The admin username is the first user that can login to the application. This user has full access to the application and is created at first start if not present. This user will be added to the `admins` group, which will be created as well if not present.
ADMIN_PASSWORD string added in version 5.0.8	Default: AnsibleForms!123	Admin password a valid password The admin password is the password for first user that can login to the application. This user has full access to the application and is created at first start if not present. This user will be added to the `admins` group, which will be created as well if not present.
ALLOW_SCHEMA_CREATION number added in version 5.0.3	Choices: 0 1 (default)	Enable the schema creation 0, 1 When you start Ansible Forms for the first time and there is no database, Ansible Forms will present you the option to create the schema. Although this is fairly handy, you might want to disable this option to prevent accidental schema re-creation. Also note that if you use the docker-compose solution, the database is created as part of the Mysql initialization. If you use a different database, you might want to enable this option, to at the very least create the schema the very first time. If you want to disable this option, set this variable to 0.
REINIT_ADMIN number added in version 6.0.0	Choices: 0 (default) 1	Reset the local admin user/password at startup 0, 1 Recovery hatch when you’ve lost access to the local `admin` account. When set to `1`, AnsibleForms will at startup: ensure the `admins` group exists, if the local admin user already exists, reset its password to the value of `ADMIN_PASSWORD` and re-attach it to the `admins` group, if it doesn’t exist, create it (same as a fresh install). The action is logged loudly. This is NOT a runtime auth bypass — once the admin is back in shape, unset `REINIT_ADMIN` and restart.
API_BODY_LIMIT_MB number added in version 6.0.0	Default: 50	Maximum JSON / urlencoded request body size (MB) Cap on the size of JSON and urlencoded request bodies accepted by the AnsibleForms API. Default is 50 MB, generous enough for large form designs and heavy job extravars. Increase if you have unusually large forms or expression payloads. Note: this does NOT apply to file uploads (those are governed by `UPLOAD_MAX_GB`).
UPLOAD_MAX_GB number added in version 6.0.0	Default: 10	Maximum size of a single uploaded file (GB) Cap on the size of a single file uploaded through the form upload field, in gigabytes. Default is 10 GB to accommodate large artifacts (e.g. firmware images, upgrade bundles). Set to `0` to disable the cap entirely (not recommended on shared instances).
PROCESS_MAX_BUFFER number added in version 5.0.8	Default: 1024 * 1024	Maximum buffer size a valid number The maximum buffer size for the process execution. If you have large output, you might want to increase this value.
NAV_HOME_LABEL string added in version 5.1.0	Default: Forms	The label of home navigation link a suiting label In the navigation bar, A home link is shown. You can set the label/name of this link with this variable, for example `Services`. Use in combination with `VUE_APP_NAV_HOME_ICON`.
NAV_HOME_ICON string added in version 5.1.0	Default: rectangle-list	The icon of navigation home link a valid free fontawesome icon In the navigation bar, A home link is shown. You can set the icon of this link with this variable, for example `play` or `house`. Use in combination with `VUE_APP_NAV_HOME_LABEL`.