# Environment variables on Ibexa Cloud

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://doc.ibexa.co/en/5.0/llms.txt).

Automatically generated environment variables based on Ibexa Cloud relationships and routes.

Ibexa Cloud automatically generates environment variables based on the configuration of relationships and routes in Upsun. It parses `PLATFORM_RELATIONSHIPS` and `PLATFORM_ROUTES` environment variables and exposes them as application-specific variables.

Environment variable prefixes are created by converting relationship names to uppercase and replacing hyphens with underscores.

When multiple endpoints are defined for a single relationship, numerical indices are used for all entries except the first one, for example: `SOLR`, `SOLR_1`, `SOLR_2`. When multiple services of the same type are present, environment variables are exposed for each service accordingly based on their relationship names.

> **Caution: Environment variables in configuration files**
>
> To prevent Symfony container initialization failures, you must define placeholder values for Ibexa Cloud environment variables in your `.env` file when referencing them in configuration files.
>
> Do it only for the variables that are required for the Symfony container to build.
>
> For example, if your `doctrine.yaml` uses a [database variable](#database-variables) created for a relationship named `pgsql`:
>
> ```yaml
> doctrine:
>     dbal:
>         url: '%env(resolve:PGSQL_URL)%'
> ```
>
> You must define a placeholder value in `.env`:
>
> ```text
> PGSQL_URL="placeholder"
> ```
>
> The actual value of the environment variable is provided by Ibexa Cloud at runtime. The placeholder in `.env` is only required to prevent Symfony container compilation errors during build.

## Relationship naming conventions

You can choose relationship names freely in `.platform.app.yaml` for most services.

The only required names are:

- `dfs_database` - DFS database (required for DFS functionality)
- `redissession` or `valkeysession` - Redis/Valkey for sessions (required for dedicated session storage)

Common relationship name include:

- `database` - main application database
- `rediscache` - Redis for cache
- `elasticsearch` - Elasticsearch search service
- `solr` - Solr search service

## Database variables

For MySQL and PostgreSQL databases, the following variables are generated based on the relationship name (for example, `database`):

- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_URL` - full database URL with charset and server version
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_USER` / `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_USERNAME` - database user
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_PASSWORD` - database password
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_HOST` - database host
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_PORT` - database port
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_NAME` / `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_DATABASE` - database name
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_DRIVER` - database driver
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_SERVER` - database server

For example, for a relationship called `database`, the environment variables are named `DATABASE_URL`, `DATABASE_HOST`, `DATABASE_USER`, etc.

For more information about database configuration, see [Databases](https://doc.ibexa.co/en/5.0/infrastructure_and_maintenance/databases/index.md).

## DFS database variables

When using [distributed file storage (DFS) that uses a separate database](https://doc.ibexa.co/en/5.0/infrastructure_and_maintenance/clustering/clustering/#dfs-io-handler), you must use the relationship name `dfs_database`. In addition to the database variables listed above, additional DFS-specific variables are available when `PLATFORMSH_DFS_NFS_PATH` is set:

- `DFS_NFS_PATH` - NFS path for DFS storage
- `DFS_DATABASE_CHARSET` - database character set
- `DFS_DATABASE_COLLATION` - database collation

## Cache variables

For Redis and Valkey cache services, you can use the following variables:

- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_URL`
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_HOST`
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_PORT`
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_SCHEME`

In addition, you can use the following global variables:

- `CACHE_POOL` - `cache.redis` for both Redis and Valkey
- `CACHE_DSN` - cache connection string

For more information about persistence cache configuration, see [Persistence cache](https://doc.ibexa.co/en/5.0/infrastructure_and_maintenance/cache/persistence_cache/index.md).

## Session variables

For Redis-based session storage, the following variables are available.

- `SESSION_HANDLER_ID` - session handler class name
- `SESSION_SAVE_PATH` - Redis connection in `host:port` format

The system looks for relationships named `redissession` or `valkeysession` first. If not found, it uses the first available Redis-compatible service.

For more information about session configuration, see [Sessions](https://doc.ibexa.co/en/5.0/infrastructure_and_maintenance/sessions/index.md).

## Search engine variables

### Solr

For Solr search engine configuration, you can use the following variables:

- `SEARCH_ENGINE` - set to `solr`
- `SOLR_DSN` - Solr connection string
- `SOLR_CORE` - Solr core name
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_HOST`
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_PORT`
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_NAME` / `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_DATABASE`

For more information, see [Solr search engine](https://doc.ibexa.co/en/5.0/search/search_engines/solr_search_engine/solr_overview/index.md).

### Elasticsearch

For Elasticsearch search engine configuration, you can use the following variables:

- `SEARCH_ENGINE` - set to `elasticsearch`
- `ELASTICSEARCH_DSN` - Elasticsearch connection string
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_URL`
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_HOST`
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_PORT`
- `{RELATIONSHIP_NAME}_SCHEME`

For more information, see [Elasticsearch](https://doc.ibexa.co/en/5.0/search/search_engines/elasticsearch/elasticsearch_overview/index.md).

## HTTP cache variables (Varnish)

For Varnish-based HTTP caching, the following variables are available.

- `HTTPCACHE_PURGE_TYPE` - set to `varnish`
- `HTTPCACHE_PURGE_SERVER` - Varnish server address
- `HTTPCACHE_VARNISH_INVALIDATE_TOKEN` - token for cache invalidation

For more information about HTTP cache and Varnish configuration, see [HTTP cache](https://doc.ibexa.co/en/5.0/infrastructure_and_maintenance/cache/http_cache/http_cache/index.md).