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This page provides a reference of environment variables that can be used to configure OpenHands. Environment variables provide an alternative to TOML configuration files and are particularly useful for containerized deployments, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud environments.

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Environment Variable Naming Convention

OpenHands follows a consistent naming pattern for environment variables:
  • Core settings: Direct uppercase mapping (e.g., debug → DEBUG)
  • LLM settings: Prefixed with LLM_ (e.g., model → LLM_MODEL)
  • Agent settings: Prefixed with AGENT_ (e.g., enable_browsing → AGENT_ENABLE_BROWSING)
  • Sandbox settings: Prefixed with SANDBOX_ (e.g., timeout → SANDBOX_TIMEOUT)
  • Security settings: Prefixed with SECURITY_ (e.g., confirmation_mode → SECURITY_CONFIRMATION_MODE)

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Core Configuration Variables

These variables correspond to the [core] section in config.toml:
Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
DEBUGbooleanfalseEnable debug logging throughout the application
DISABLE_COLORbooleanfalseDisable colored output in terminal
CACHE_DIRstring"/tmp/cache"Directory path for caching
SAVE_TRAJECTORY_PATHstring"./trajectories"Path to store conversation trajectories
REPLAY_TRAJECTORY_PATHstring""Path to load and replay a trajectory file
FILE_STORE_PATHstring"/tmp/file_store"File store directory path
FILE_STOREstring"memory"File store type (memory, local, etc.)
FILE_UPLOADS_MAX_FILE_SIZE_MBinteger0Maximum file upload size in MB (0 = no limit)
FILE_UPLOADS_RESTRICT_FILE_TYPESbooleanfalseWhether to restrict file upload types
FILE_UPLOADS_ALLOWED_EXTENSIONSlist[".*"]List of allowed file extensions for uploads
MAX_BUDGET_PER_TASKfloat0.0Maximum budget per task (0.0 = no limit)
MAX_ITERATIONSinteger100Maximum number of iterations per task
RUNTIMEstring"docker"Runtime environment (docker, local, cli, etc.)
DEFAULT_AGENTstring"CodeActAgent"Default agent class to use
JWT_SECRETstringauto-generatedJWT secret for authentication
RUN_AS_OPENHANDSbooleantrueWhether to run as the openhands user
VOLUMESstring""Volume mounts in format host:container[:mode]

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LLM Configuration Variables

These variables correspond to the [llm] section in config.toml:
Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
LLM_MODELstring"claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022"LLM model to use
LLM_API_KEYstring""API key for the LLM provider
LLM_BASE_URLstring""Custom API base URL
LLM_API_VERSIONstring""API version to use
LLM_TEMPERATUREfloat0.0Sampling temperature
LLM_TOP_Pfloat1.0Top-p sampling parameter
LLM_MAX_INPUT_TOKENSinteger0Maximum input tokens (0 = no limit)
LLM_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENSinteger0Maximum output tokens (0 = no limit)
LLM_MAX_MESSAGE_CHARSinteger30000Maximum characters that will be sent to the model in observation content
LLM_TIMEOUTinteger0API timeout in seconds (0 = no timeout)
LLM_NUM_RETRIESinteger8Number of retry attempts
LLM_RETRY_MIN_WAITinteger15Minimum wait time between retries (seconds)
LLM_RETRY_MAX_WAITinteger120Maximum wait time between retries (seconds)
LLM_RETRY_MULTIPLIERfloat2.0Exponential backoff multiplier
LLM_DROP_PARAMSbooleanfalseDrop unsupported parameters without error
LLM_CACHING_PROMPTbooleantrueEnable prompt caching if supported
LLM_DISABLE_VISIONbooleanfalseDisable vision capabilities for cost reduction
LLM_CUSTOM_LLM_PROVIDERstring""Custom LLM provider name
LLM_OLLAMA_BASE_URLstring""Base URL for Ollama API
LLM_INPUT_COST_PER_TOKENfloat0.0Cost per input token
LLM_OUTPUT_COST_PER_TOKENfloat0.0Cost per output token
LLM_REASONING_EFFORTstring""Reasoning effort for o-series models (low, medium, high)

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AWS Configuration

Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
LLM_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_IDstring""AWS access key ID
LLM_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEYstring""AWS secret access key
LLM_AWS_REGION_NAMEstring""AWS region name

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Agent Configuration Variables

These variables correspond to the [agent] section in config.toml:
Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
AGENT_LLM_CONFIGstring""Name of LLM config group to use
AGENT_FUNCTION_CALLINGbooleantrueEnable function calling
AGENT_ENABLE_BROWSINGbooleanfalseEnable browsing delegate
AGENT_ENABLE_LLM_EDITORbooleanfalseEnable LLM-based editor
AGENT_ENABLE_JUPYTERbooleanfalseEnable Jupyter integration
AGENT_ENABLE_HISTORY_TRUNCATIONbooleantrueEnable history truncation
AGENT_ENABLE_PROMPT_EXTENSIONSbooleantrueEnable microagents (prompt extensions)
AGENT_DISABLED_MICROAGENTSlist[]List of microagents to disable

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Sandbox Configuration Variables

These variables correspond to the [sandbox] section in config.toml:
Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
SANDBOX_TIMEOUTinteger120Sandbox timeout in seconds
SANDBOX_USER_IDinteger1000User ID for sandbox processes
SANDBOX_BASE_CONTAINER_IMAGEstring"nikolaik/python-nodejs:python3.12-nodejs22"Base container image
SANDBOX_USE_HOST_NETWORKbooleanfalseUse host networking
SANDBOX_RUNTIME_BINDING_ADDRESSstring"0.0.0.0"Runtime binding address
SANDBOX_ENABLE_AUTO_LINTbooleanfalseEnable automatic linting
SANDBOX_INITIALIZE_PLUGINSbooleantrueInitialize sandbox plugins
SANDBOX_RUNTIME_EXTRA_DEPSstring""Extra dependencies to install
SANDBOX_RUNTIME_STARTUP_ENV_VARSdict{}Environment variables for runtime
SANDBOX_BROWSERGYM_EVAL_ENVstring""BrowserGym evaluation environment
SANDBOX_VOLUMESstring""Volume mounts (replaces deprecated workspace settings)
SANDBOX_RUNTIME_CONTAINER_IMAGEstring""Pre-built runtime container image
SANDBOX_KEEP_RUNTIME_ALIVEbooleanfalseKeep runtime alive after session ends
SANDBOX_PAUSE_CLOSED_RUNTIMESbooleanfalsePause instead of stopping closed runtimes
SANDBOX_CLOSE_DELAYinteger300Delay before closing idle runtimes (seconds)
SANDBOX_RM_ALL_CONTAINERSbooleanfalseRemove all containers when stopping
SANDBOX_ENABLE_GPUbooleanfalseEnable GPU support
SANDBOX_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICESstring""Specify GPU devices by ID
SANDBOX_VSCODE_PORTintegerautoSpecific port for VSCode server

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Sandbox Environment Variables

Variables prefixed with SANDBOX_ENV_ are passed through to the sandbox environment:
Environment VariableDescription
SANDBOX_ENV_*Any variable with this prefix is passed to the sandbox (e.g., SANDBOX_ENV_OPENAI_API_KEY)

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Security Configuration Variables

These variables correspond to the [security] section in config.toml:
Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
SECURITY_CONFIRMATION_MODEbooleanfalseEnable confirmation mode for actions
SECURITY_SECURITY_ANALYZERstring"llm"Security analyzer to use (llm, invariant)
SECURITY_ENABLE_SECURITY_ANALYZERbooleantrueEnable security analysis

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Debug and Logging Variables

Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
DEBUGbooleanfalseEnable general debug logging
DEBUG_LLMbooleanfalseEnable LLM-specific debug logging
DEBUG_RUNTIMEbooleanfalseEnable runtime debug logging
LOG_TO_FILEbooleanautoLog to file (auto-enabled when DEBUG=true)

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Runtime-Specific Variables

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Docker Runtime

Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
SANDBOX_VOLUME_OVERLAYSstring""Volume overlay configurations

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Remote Runtime

Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
SANDBOX_API_KEYstring""API key for remote runtime
SANDBOX_REMOTE_RUNTIME_API_URLstring""Remote runtime API URL

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Local Runtime

Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
RUNTIME_URLstring""Runtime URL for local runtime
RUNTIME_URL_PATTERNstring""Runtime URL pattern
RUNTIME_IDstring""Runtime identifier
LOCAL_RUNTIME_MODEstring""Enable local runtime mode (1 to enable)

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Integration Variables

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GitHub Integration

Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
GITHUB_TOKENstring""GitHub personal access token

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Third-Party API Keys

Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
OPENAI_API_KEYstring""OpenAI API key
ANTHROPIC_API_KEYstring""Anthropic API key
GOOGLE_API_KEYstring""Google API key
AZURE_API_KEYstring""Azure API key
TAVILY_API_KEYstring""Tavily search API key

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Server Configuration Variables

These are primarily used when running OpenHands as a server:
Environment VariableTypeDefaultDescription
FRONTEND_PORTinteger3000Frontend server port
BACKEND_PORTinteger8000Backend server port
FRONTEND_HOSTstring"localhost"Frontend host address
BACKEND_HOSTstring"localhost"Backend host address
WEB_HOSTstring"localhost"Web server host
SERVE_FRONTENDbooleantrueWhether to serve frontend

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Deprecated Variables

These variables are deprecated and should be replaced:
Environment VariableReplacementDescription
WORKSPACE_BASESANDBOX_VOLUMESUse volume mounting instead
WORKSPACE_MOUNT_PATHSANDBOX_VOLUMESUse volume mounting instead
WORKSPACE_MOUNT_PATH_IN_SANDBOXSANDBOX_VOLUMESUse volume mounting instead
WORKSPACE_MOUNT_REWRITESANDBOX_VOLUMESUse volume mounting instead

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Usage Examples

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Basic Setup with OpenAI

export LLM_MODEL="gpt-4o"
export LLM_API_KEY="your-openai-api-key"
export DEBUG=true

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Docker Deployment with Custom Volumes

export RUNTIME="docker"
export SANDBOX_VOLUMES="/host/workspace:/workspace:rw,/host/data:/data:ro"
export SANDBOX_TIMEOUT=300

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Remote Runtime Configuration

export RUNTIME="remote"
export SANDBOX_API_KEY="your-remote-api-key"
export SANDBOX_REMOTE_RUNTIME_API_URL="https://your-runtime-api.com"

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Security-Enhanced Setup

export SECURITY_CONFIRMATION_MODE=true
export SECURITY_SECURITY_ANALYZER="llm"
export DEBUG_RUNTIME=true

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Notes

  1. Boolean Values: Environment variables expecting boolean values accept true/false, 1/0, or yes/no (case-insensitive).
  2. List Values: Lists should be provided as Python literal strings, e.g., AGENT_DISABLED_MICROAGENTS='["microagent1", "microagent2"]'.
  3. Dictionary Values: Dictionaries should be provided as Python literal strings, e.g., SANDBOX_RUNTIME_STARTUP_ENV_VARS='{"KEY": "value"}'.
  4. Precedence: Environment variables take precedence over TOML configuration files.
  5. Docker Usage: When using Docker, pass environment variables with the -e flag: 
    docker run -e LLM_API_KEY="your-key" -e DEBUG=true openhands/openhands
  6. Validation: Invalid environment variable values will be logged as errors and fall back to defaults.