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Typeset requires several environment variables to function properly. This page documents all required and optional environment variables needed for self-hosting.

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Authentication variables

Typeset uses Clerk for user authentication. You’ll need to create a Clerk application and obtain your API keys.
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NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
string
required
Your Clerk publishable key. This is safe to expose in the browser and is used for client-side authentication.Find this in your Clerk dashboard under API Keys.
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CLERK_SECRET_KEY
string
required
Your Clerk secret key. This should be kept secure and is used for server-side authentication.Find this in your Clerk dashboard under API Keys.
Never expose this key in client-side code or commit it to version control.

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Collaboration variables

Typeset uses Liveblocks for real-time collaboration features.
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LIVEBLOCKS_SECRET_KEY
string
required
Your Liveblocks secret key used for authenticating users and managing real-time collaboration.Get this from your Liveblocks dashboard under Project > API Keys.
This is a server-side only key and should never be exposed to the client.

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AI model variables

Typeset integrates with OpenAI and Google AI for the AI assistant feature.
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OPENAI_API_KEY
string
required
Your OpenAI API key for accessing GPT models. Used for the AI assistant that can edit documents and answer questions.Create an API key at platform.openai.com.
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GOOGLE_GENERATIVE_AI_API_KEY
string
Your Google AI API key for accessing Gemini models. This is optional if you only want to use OpenAI models.Get an API key from Google AI Studio.

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LaTeX compilation

Typeset uses Tectonic for LaTeX compilation. The binary must be installed separately and available in your system PATH or in the bin/ directory of your project.
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PATH
string
Ensure your system PATH includes the Tectonic binary location:
  • Linux: /usr/local/bin/tectonic or ./bin/tectonic
  • macOS: /usr/local/bin/tectonic (default installation path)
  • Custom location: Add your custom path to the system PATH

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Optional deployment variables

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NEXT_PUBLIC_VERCEL_URL
string
Automatically set by Vercel. This is used for generating absolute URLs in production.If self-hosting outside of Vercel, set this to your domain name (e.g., typeset.yourdomain.com).

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Example configuration

Create a .env.local file in your project root with the following variables: 
# Authentication (Clerk)
NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
CLERK_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_...

# Collaboration (Liveblocks)
LIVEBLOCKS_SECRET_KEY=sk_...

# AI Models
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
GOOGLE_GENERATIVE_AI_API_KEY=AI...

# Optional: Custom domain
NEXT_PUBLIC_VERCEL_URL=typeset.yourdomain.com
Never commit your .env.local file to version control. Add it to your .gitignore file to prevent accidental exposure of sensitive keys.

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Validating your configuration

After setting up your environment variables:
  1. Restart your development server
  2. Check the browser console for any authentication errors
  3. Test creating a new project to verify Liveblocks integration
  4. Try the AI assistant to confirm API keys are working
  5. Compile a LaTeX document to ensure Tectonic is properly configured

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Next steps

Authentication setup

Configure Clerk authentication in detail

Database configuration

Set up Liveblocks storage

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