Environment Setup

Configure every service KitRocket connects to — database, auth, payments, email, and more.

KitRocket uses environment variables for all service configuration. Copy the template and fill in each value:

cp .env.example .env.local

Here's every variable, grouped by service.

Database (Supabase)

KitRocket uses Supabase Postgres via Drizzle ORM.

Go to supabase.com and create a new project
Navigate to Project Settings > Database
Copy the Connection string (URI format)

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres.[project-ref]:[password]@aws-0-[region].pooler.supabase.com:6543/postgres"

Use the Transaction connection pooler (port 6543) for serverless environments like Vercel.

Authentication (Better Auth)

Better Auth handles all authentication flows.

Auth secret

Generate a random secret for session signing:

openssl rand -base64 32

AUTH_SECRET="your-generated-secret"
BETTER_AUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"

Set BETTER_AUTH_URL to your production domain when deploying.

Google OAuth

Go to Google Cloud Console
Create a new OAuth 2.0 Client ID
Set Authorized redirect URI to http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/google

GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID="your-google-client-id"
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET="your-google-client-secret"

GitHub OAuth

Go to GitHub Developer Settings
Create a new OAuth App
Set Authorization callback URL to http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback/github

GITHUB_CLIENT_ID="your-github-client-id"
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET="your-github-client-secret"

Payments (DodoPayments)

DodoPayments is a Merchant of Record — it handles sales tax, VAT, and compliance so you don't have to.

Create an account at dodopayments.com
Navigate to API Keys in the dashboard
Copy your API key

DODO_API_KEY="your-dodo-api-key"
DODO_WEBHOOK_SECRET="your-dodo-webhook-secret"

Set up webhook

Go to Webhooks in the DodoPayments dashboard
Add endpoint URL: https://yourdomain.com/api/webhook/dodo
Select events: payment.completed, subscription.created, subscription.updated, subscription.cancelled
Copy the webhook signing secret

Create products

Go to Products in the DodoPayments dashboard
Create your subscription plans (e.g., Starter, Pro)
Note the product and price IDs

DODO_STARTER_PRICE_ID="price_starter_monthly"
DODO_PRO_PRICE_ID="price_pro_monthly"

Email (Resend)

Resend powers transactional emails with React Email templates.

Create an account at resend.com
Go to API Keys and create a new key
Verify your sending domain under Domains

RESEND_API_KEY="re_your-api-key"
EMAIL_FROM="noreply@yourdomain.com"

For local development, you can use Resend's test domain — emails show up in the Resend dashboard but aren't delivered.

Analytics (PostHog) — Pro

PostHog provides event tracking, feature flags, and session recording.

Create a project at posthog.com
Go to Project Settings
Copy the API key and host URL

NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY="phc_your-posthog-key"
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST="https://us.i.posthog.com"

These are NEXT_PUBLIC_ variables because the PostHog client runs in the browser.

AI (Claude / OpenAI) — Pro

The AI module supports both Anthropic Claude and OpenAI.

Anthropic Claude

Get an API key at console.anthropic.com

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-your-api-key"

OpenAI

Get an API key at platform.openai.com

OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-your-api-key"

Set the provider you want to use:

AI_PROVIDER="anthropic"  # or "openai"
AI_MODEL="claude-sonnet-4-20250514"  # or "gpt-4o"

Full `.env.example` reference

# Database
DATABASE_URL=

# Auth
AUTH_SECRET=
BETTER_AUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=
GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=

# Payments
DODO_API_KEY=
DODO_WEBHOOK_SECRET=
DODO_STARTER_PRICE_ID=
DODO_PRO_PRICE_ID=

# Email
RESEND_API_KEY=
EMAIL_FROM=

# Analytics (Pro)
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY=
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST=

# AI (Pro)
AI_PROVIDER=anthropic
AI_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-20250514
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=
OPENAI_API_KEY=

Next steps

First Run — verify everything is connected
Deployment — push to production on Vercel