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Environment Variables

M3U Editor uses environment variables for configuration. These are typically set in the .env file in the root directory of your installation.

Application Settings​

APP_KEY​

  • Default: Empty (automatically generated during installation)
  • Description: Application encryption key. Generated automatically during installation with php artisan key:generate
  • Important: Never share this key publicly

APP_DEBUG​

  • Default: false
  • Description: Enable debug mode for development
  • Options: true, false
  • Warning: Never set to true in production environments

APP_URL​

  • Default: http://localhost
  • Description: The base URL where your application is accessible
  • Example: https://m3u.example.com

APP_PORT​

  • Default: 36400
  • Description: Port number for the application (Docker environments)

TZ​

  • Default: UTC
  • Description: Default timezone for the application
  • Example: America/New_York, Europe/London

Localization​

APP_LOCALE​

  • Default: en
  • Description: Default application locale

APP_FALLBACK_LOCALE​

  • Default: en
  • Description: Fallback locale when current locale is unavailable

APP_FAKER_LOCALE​

  • Default: en_US
  • Description: Locale for fake data generation (development/testing)

Database Configuration​

DB_CONNECTION​

  • Default: sqlite
  • Description: Database driver to use
  • Options: sqlite, pgsql, mysql

SQLite (Default)​

SQLite requires no additional configuration and stores data in a local file.

PostgreSQL Configuration​

Enable PostgreSQL by uncommenting and setting these variables:

ENABLE_POSTGRES=true
DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
PG_DATABASE=your_database_name
PG_USER=your_username
PG_PASSWORD=your_password
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=5433

PG_DATABASE​

  • Description: PostgreSQL database name

PG_USER​

  • Description: PostgreSQL username

PG_PASSWORD​

  • Description: PostgreSQL password

DB_HOST​

  • Default: 127.0.0.1
  • Description: PostgreSQL server host

DB_PORT​

  • Default: 5433
  • Description: PostgreSQL server port

M3U Proxy Configuration​

M3U_PROXY_ENABLED​

  • Default: Commented out (uses embedded proxy)
  • Description: Controls proxy mode
    • true: Use embedded proxy (runs in the same container)
    • false or null: Use external proxy service (separate container)
  • Note: For most users, leaving this commented (default) is recommended

M3U_PROXY_HOST​

  • Default: 127.0.0.1
  • Description: Host for embedded proxy
  • Note: Only applies when M3U_PROXY_ENABLED=true

M3U_PROXY_PORT​

  • Default: 8085
  • Description: Internal port for embedded proxy
  • Note: Only applies when M3U_PROXY_ENABLED=true

M3U_PROXY_TOKEN​

  • Default: Auto-generated
  • Description: API authentication token for m3u-proxy service
  • Note: Must match API_TOKEN on external proxy if using external m3u-proxy container

M3U_PROXY_LOG_LEVEL​

  • Default: null (disabled)
  • Description: Enable logging for m3u-proxy
  • Options: DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR
  • Note: Logs written to /var/www/html/storage/logs/m3u-proxy.log

Authentication & Access Control​

AUTO_LOGIN​

  • Default: false
  • Description: Enable auto-login functionality for development/testing
  • Options: true, false
  • Warning: Only use in secure, private environments

LOGIN_PATH​

  • Default: login
  • Description: The path used to login to the application
  • Example: Change to admin for URL /admin

REDIRECT_GUEST_TO_LOGIN​

  • Default: true
  • Description: Redirect unauthenticated users to the login page
  • Options: true, false

User & Group IDs (Docker)​

PUID​

  • Default: 1000
  • Description: User ID to run the application under
  • Note: Not currently implemented, reserved for future use

PGID​

  • Default: 1000
  • Description: Group ID to run the application under
  • Note: Not currently implemented, reserved for future use

WebSocket Configuration​

REVERB_PORT​

  • Default: 36800
  • Description: Port used for WebSocket server
  • Note: No longer needs to be exposed externally (uses reverse proxy internally as of v0.8.0)

REVERB_VERIFY​

  • Default: true
  • Description: Enable SSL verification for WebSocket connections
  • Options: true, false
  • Note: Set to false to disable SSL verification

Redis Configuration​

REDIS_HOST​

  • Default: localhost
  • Description: Redis server hostname
  • Note: Use container name for external Redis instance

REDIS_SERVER_PORT​

  • Default: 36790
  • Description: Redis server port
  • Note: Default uses embedded container instance

REDIS_ENABLED​

  • Default: true
  • Description: Enable/disable embedded Redis instance
  • Options: true, false
  • Note: Set to false when using external Redis server

Playlist Configuration​

MAX_CHANNELS​

  • Default: 50000
  • Description: Maximum number of channels to import for M3U playlists
  • Note: Does not apply to Xtream API playlists (no limit)

DISABLE_SYNC_LOGS​

  • Default: false
  • Description: Disable creation of sync logs for playlists
  • Options: true, false
  • Use Case: Can improve performance with large playlists using SQLite database

INVALIDATE_IMPORT​

  • Default: false
  • Description: Enable automatic invalidation of playlist sync based on threshold
  • Options: true, false
  • See Also: INVALIDATE_IMPORT_THRESHOLD

INVALIDATE_IMPORT_THRESHOLD​

  • Default: 100
  • Description: If current sync will have fewer channels than current count minus this value, sync will be canceled
  • Note: Only applies when INVALIDATE_IMPORT=true
  • Example: If you have 1000 channels and threshold is 100, sync will fail if new import has less than 900 channels

DISABLE_M3U_XTREAM_FORMAT​

  • Default: false
  • Description: By default, all URLs use Xtream API format for stream analysis and limit checking
  • Options: true, false
  • Note: Set to true to return provider URL (or proxied URL) instead for M3U playlists

Proxy URL Override​

PROXY_URL_OVERRIDE​

  • Default: null
  • Description: Override URL for proxied streams
  • Format: Fully qualified domain name including http:// or https://
  • Note: If null or not set, will use APP_URL
  • Use Case: Use when proxy service is accessed via different domain than main application

HLS Storage Configuration​

HLS_TEMP_DIR​

  • Default: /tmp/hls
  • Description: Directory for storing HLS segments
  • Note: Ensure sufficient disk space for concurrent streams

HLS_GC_ENABLED​

  • Default: true
  • Description: Enable garbage collection for old HLS segments
  • Options: true, false
  • Note: Recommended to keep enabled to prevent disk space issues

HLS_GC_INTERVAL​

  • Default: 60
  • Description: How often to run garbage collection (in seconds)
  • Range: Any positive integer

HLS_GC_AGE_THRESHOLD​

  • Default: 300
  • Description: Delete HLS segments older than this value (in seconds)
  • Recommendation: Adjust based on your stream buffering needs

Web Server Configuration​

NGINX_ENABLED​

  • Default: true
  • Description: Enable/disable embedded Nginx web server
  • Options: true, false
  • Note: Set to false when using external web server (e.g., Apache, Caddy)

FPMPORT​

  • Default: 9000
  • Description: PHP-FPM port for external web server integration
  • Use Case: Required when NGINX_ENABLED=false and using external web server

Xtream & STRM Configuration​

XTREAM_SERIES_FOLDER​

  • Default: Series
  • Description: Folder name for series content in STRM file generation
  • Note: Customize to match your media server organization

XTREAM_MOVIE_FOLDER​

  • Default: Movies
  • Description: Folder name for movie content in STRM file generation
  • Note: Customize to match your media server organization

XTREAM_STRM_FOLDER​

  • Default: strm
  • Description: Output folder for generated STRM files
  • Note: Files are created relative to data directory

Logo & Cache Configuration​

LOGO_CACHE_EXPIRY_DAYS​

  • Default: 30
  • Description: Number of days to cache channel logos before refreshing
  • Recommendation: Higher values reduce bandwidth, lower values ensure logos stay current

Debug Configuration​

SHARED_STREAMING_DEBUG​

  • Default: false
  • Description: Enable debug logging for shared streaming/pooling features
  • Options: true, false
  • Use Case: Troubleshooting stream sharing and connection pooling issues

Docker Compose Usage​

Environment variables can be set in your docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  m3u-editor:
    image: sparkison/m3u-editor:latest
    container_name: m3u-editor
    environment:
      - APP_URL=https://m3u.example.com
      - APP_PORT=36400
      - TZ=America/New_York
      - ENABLE_POSTGRES=true
      - PG_DATABASE=m3ue
      - PG_USER=m3ue
      - PG_PASSWORD=secure_password
      - M3U_PROXY_ENABLED=true
    volumes:
      - ./data:/config
    ports:
      - "36400:36400"
    restart: unless-stopped

Or via CLI:

docker run -d \
  --name m3u-editor \
  -e APP_URL=https://m3u.example.com \
  -e APP_PORT=36400 \
  -e TZ=America/New_York \
  -p 36400:36400 \
  -v ./data:/config \
  sparkison/m3u-editor:latest

Best Practices​

  1. Never commit .env files to version control
  2. Use .env.example as a template for new installations
  3. Regenerate APP_KEY for each installation
  4. Keep sensitive values secure (passwords, API keys, tokens)
  5. Use strong passwords for database connections
  6. Set APP_DEBUG=false in production
  7. Use environment-specific values for different deployments
  8. Configure timezone to match your location for accurate logging
  9. Enable PostgreSQL for better performance with large playlists
  10. Monitor HLS storage if using proxy features extensively

Updating Environment Variables​

After modifying environment variables in .env file:

# Clear configuration cache
php artisan config:clear

# Clear application cache
php artisan cache:clear

# Restart queue workers if running
php artisan queue:restart

For Docker installations, restart the container:

docker-compose restart

Or for specific containers:

docker restart m3u-editor

Troubleshooting​

Changes Not Taking Effect​

If environment variable changes aren't being applied:

  1. Clear configuration cache: php artisan config:clear
  2. Restart the application/container
  3. Verify .env file syntax (no quotes around values usually)
  4. Check for typos in variable names

Database Connection Issues​

If you're having database problems:

  1. Verify DB_CONNECTION matches your database type
  2. Check DB_HOST, DB_PORT, DB_DATABASE are correct
  3. Ensure ENABLE_POSTGRES=true if using embedded PostgreSQL
  4. Test database credentials independently

WebSocket/Real-time Updates Not Working​

If notifications aren't appearing:

  1. Check REVERB_PORT is accessible
  2. Verify REVERB_VERIFY matches your SSL setup
  3. Check browser console for WebSocket errors
  4. Ensure ports are properly mapped in Docker

Proxy Not Working​

If stream proxying isn't functioning:

  1. Verify M3U_PROXY_ENABLED is set correctly
  2. Check M3U_PROXY_HOST and M3U_PROXY_PORT are correct
  3. Ensure M3U_PROXY_TOKEN matches between services
  4. Review proxy logs with M3U_PROXY_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG