Configuration

Environment variables, deployment modes, and advanced configuration options.

Deployment Modes

Recall supports several deployment modes, controlled by the DEPLOYMENT_MODE environment variable:

Mode	Description
`local`	Single-org, email/password auth. Best for individual use. (default)
`demo`	Read-only mode for showcasing Recall without allowing changes.
`cloud`	Managed hosting (coming soon).

Environment Variables

When you run recall init, the CLI generates a .env file in your config directory. You can edit this file directly to change settings.

Core Settings

Variable	Description	Default
`DEPLOYMENT_MODE`	Deployment mode	`local`
`DATABASE_URL`	PostgreSQL connection string	Generated by CLI
`BETTER_AUTH_SECRET`	Secret key for session encryption	Auto-generated
`DISABLE_TELEMETRY`	Set to `1` to disable all telemetry. See Telemetry.	—
`DEFAULT_DELAY_HOURS`	How often each enabled prompt is re-run against the AI models, in hours.	`24`

DEFAULT_DELAY_HOURS only takes effect for prompts scheduled after you change it. Prompts that are already scheduled keep the cadence they were created with, even after a restart. To apply a new cadence to an existing prompt, disable it and then re-enable it under Settings → Prompts — re-enabling reschedules it at the current DEFAULT_DELAY_HOURS.

AI Provider Keys

At least one provider is required for Recall to track visibility. See Providers for a full cost/capability breakdown and recommended setups.

Variable	Description
`BRIGHTDATA_API_TOKEN`	BrightData token — recommended scraper for ChatGPT + Google AI Mode. Sign up
`OXYLABS_USERNAME`	Oxylabs Web Scraper API username — alternative scraper for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode. Sign up
`OXYLABS_PASSWORD`	Oxylabs Web Scraper API password
`OLOSTEP_API_KEY`	Olostep key — recommended scraper, powers most large-scale trackers. Sign up
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	OpenAI API key — enables ChatGPT (via API, not the consumer UI)
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Anthropic API key — enables Claude tracking
`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`	OpenRouter key — one key for Claude + other hosted models
`DATAFORSEO_LOGIN`	DataForSEO login — optional, enables DataForSEO targets such as `google-ai-mode:dataforseo:online`, `chatgpt:dataforseo:online`, `perplexity:dataforseo:online`, and `gemini:dataforseo:online`
`DATAFORSEO_PASSWORD`	DataForSEO password
`SCRAPE_TARGETS`	Comma-separated `model:provider[:version][:online]` entries. See Providers.

Updating Configuration

To change environment variables after initial setup:

# Edit the .env file
nano ~/.recall/.env

# Restart services to pick up changes
recall compose down
recall compose up -d

Using an External Database

By default, recall init provisions a PostgreSQL container. To use an existing database instead, choose "Use existing Postgres" during recall init and provide your connection string when prompted.

Your database must be PostgreSQL 15 or later.

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