Environment Variables - Encore

Encore works out of the box without configuration, but provides several environment variables for advanced use cases such as debugging, testing, or adapting Encore to specific workflow requirements.

Daemon & Development Dashboard

These variables control how the Encore daemon operates and where it exposes its services.

ENCORE_DAEMON_LOG_PATH

Controls the location of the Encore daemon log file.

Default: <user_cache_dir>/encore/daemon.log

Example:

bash

export ENCORE_DAEMON_LOG_PATH=/var/log/encore/daemon.log

ENCORE_DEVDASH_LISTEN_ADDR

Overrides the listen address for the local development dashboard.

Default: Automatically assigned by the daemon

Format: Network address (e.g., localhost:9400)

Example:

bash

export ENCORE_DEVDASH_LISTEN_ADDR=localhost:8080
encore run

ENCORE_MCPSSE_LISTEN_ADDR

Overrides the listen address for the MCP SSE (Model Context Protocol Server-Sent Events) endpoint.

Default: Automatically assigned by the daemon

Format: Network address

Example:

bash

export ENCORE_MCPSSE_LISTEN_ADDR=localhost:9401

ENCORE_OBJECTSTORAGE_LISTEN_ADDR

Overrides the listen address for the object storage service endpoint.

Default: Automatically assigned by the daemon

Format: Network address

Example:

bash

export ENCORE_OBJECTSTORAGE_LISTEN_ADDR=localhost:9402

Logging Configuration

ENCORE_LOG

Sets the log level for your application code. This is especially useful when running encore test, where the --level flag is not available.

Default: trace (log everything)

Valid values: trace, debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic, disabled

Example:

bash

# Only show warnings and above during tests
ENCORE_LOG=warn encore test ./...

bash

# Show debug logs during local development
ENCORE_LOG=debug encore run

ENCORE_LOG takes precedence over the log level set via the --level flag or the log_level field in encore.app. This makes it useful as a per-invocation override.

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Advanced Development

These variables are primarily useful for advanced development scenarios, such as contributing to Encore itself or using custom builds.

ENCORE_RUNTIMES_PATH

Specifies the path to the Encore runtimes directory.

Default: Auto-detected relative to the Encore installation (<install_root>/runtimes)

Example:

bash

export ENCORE_RUNTIMES_PATH=/path/to/custom/runtimes

ENCORE_GOROOT

Specifies the path to the custom Encore Go runtime.

Default: Auto-detected relative to the Encore installation (<install_root>/encore-go)

Example:

bash

export ENCORE_GOROOT=/path/to/custom/encore-go

For most users, these paths are automatically detected and don't need to be set. They are primarily useful when contributing to Encore or testing custom builds.

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