Configuration (config.ini or environment variables)

Trilium supports configuration via a file named config.ini and environment variables. This document provides a comprehensive reference for all configuration options.

Location of the configuration file

The configuration file is not located in the same directory as the application. Instead, the config.ini is located in the <a class="reference-link" href="../Installation%20%26%20Setup/Data%20directory.md">Data directory</a>. As such, the configuration file is only available after starting the application and creating a database.

Configuration Precedence

Configuration values are loaded in the following order of precedence (highest to lowest):

1. Environment variables (checked first)
2. config.ini file values
3. Default values

Environment Variable Patterns

Trilium supports multiple environment variable patterns for flexibility. The primary pattern is: TRILIUM_[SECTION]_[KEY]

Where:

• SECTION is the INI section name in UPPERCASE
• KEY is the camelCase configuration key converted to UPPERCASE (e.g., instanceName → INSTANCENAME)

Additionally, shorter aliases are available for common configurations (see Alternative Variables section below).

Environment Variable Reference

General Section

Network Section

Session Section

Sync Section

MultiFactorAuthentication Section

Logging Section

Alternative Environment Variables

The following alternative environment variable names are also supported and work identically to their longer counterparts:

Network CORS Variables

• TRILIUM_NETWORK_CORS_ALLOW_ORIGIN (alternative to TRILIUM_NETWORK_CORSALLOWORIGIN)
• TRILIUM_NETWORK_CORS_ALLOW_METHODS (alternative to TRILIUM_NETWORK_CORSALLOWMETHODS)
• TRILIUM_NETWORK_CORS_ALLOW_HEADERS (alternative to TRILIUM_NETWORK_CORSALLOWHEADERS)
• TRILIUM_NETWORK_CORS_RESOURCE_POLICY (alternative to TRILIUM_NETWORK_CORSRESOURCEPOLICY)

Sync Variables

• TRILIUM_SYNC_SERVER_HOST (alternative to TRILIUM_SYNC_SYNCSERVERHOST)
• TRILIUM_SYNC_SERVER_TIMEOUT (alternative to TRILIUM_SYNC_SYNCSERVERTIMEOUT)
• TRILIUM_SYNC_SERVER_PROXY (alternative to TRILIUM_SYNC_SYNCPROXY)

OAuth/MFA Variables

• TRILIUM_OAUTH_BASE_URL (alternative to TRILIUM_MULTIFACTORAUTHENTICATION_OAUTHBASEURL)
• TRILIUM_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID (alternative to TRILIUM_MULTIFACTORAUTHENTICATION_OAUTHCLIENTID)
• TRILIUM_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET (alternative to TRILIUM_MULTIFACTORAUTHENTICATION_OAUTHCLIENTSECRET)
• TRILIUM_OAUTH_ISSUER_BASE_URL (alternative to TRILIUM_MULTIFACTORAUTHENTICATION_OAUTHISSUERBASEURL)
• TRILIUM_OAUTH_ISSUER_NAME (alternative to TRILIUM_MULTIFACTORAUTHENTICATION_OAUTHISSUERNAME)
• TRILIUM_OAUTH_ISSUER_ICON (alternative to TRILIUM_MULTIFACTORAUTHENTICATION_OAUTHISSUERICON)

Logging Variables

• TRILIUM_LOGGING_RETENTION_DAYS (alternative to TRILIUM_LOGGING_RETENTIONDAYS)

Boolean Values

Boolean environment variables accept the following values:

• True: "true", "1", 1
• False: "false", "0", 0
• Any other value defaults to false

Using Environment Variables

Both naming patterns are fully supported and can be used interchangeably:

• The longer format follows the section/key pattern for consistency with the INI file structure
• The shorter alternatives provide convenience for common configurations
• You can use whichever format you prefer - both are equally valid

Examples

Docker Compose Example

services:
  trilium:
    image: triliumnext/trilium
    environment:
      # Using full format
      TRILIUM_GENERAL_INSTANCENAME: "My Trilium Instance"
      TRILIUM_NETWORK_PORT: "8080"
      TRILIUM_NETWORK_CORSALLOWORIGIN: "https://myapp.com"
      TRILIUM_SYNC_SYNCSERVERHOST: "https://sync.example.com"
      TRILIUM_MULTIFACTORAUTHENTICATION_OAUTHBASEURL: "https://auth.example.com"
      
      # Or using shorter alternatives (equally valid)
      # TRILIUM_NETWORK_CORS_ALLOW_ORIGIN: "https://myapp.com"
      # TRILIUM_SYNC_SERVER_HOST: "https://sync.example.com"
      # TRILIUM_OAUTH_BASE_URL: "https://auth.example.com"

Shell Export Example

# Using either format
export TRILIUM_GENERAL_NOAUTHENTICATION=false
export TRILIUM_NETWORK_HTTPS=true
export TRILIUM_NETWORK_CERTPATH=/path/to/cert.pem
export TRILIUM_NETWORK_KEYPATH=/path/to/key.pem
export TRILIUM_LOGGING_RETENTIONDAYS=30

# Start Trilium
npm start

config.ini Reference

For the complete list of configuration options and their INI file format, please review the config-sample.ini file in the Trilium repository