Configuration

Configure tinykit using environment variables. All settings can be configured via a .env file or passed directly to your deployment platform.

Quick Reference

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`LLM_PROVIDER`	No*	-	AI provider to use
`LLM_API_KEY`	No*	-	API key for your provider
`LLM_MODEL`	No	varies	Model name
`LLM_BASE_URL`	No	-	Custom API endpoint
`POCKETBASE_ADMIN_EMAIL`	Yes	-	Database admin email
`POCKETBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD`	Yes	-	Database admin password
`PORT`	No	`3000`	Server port
`HOST`	No	`0.0.0.0`	Server host

*Can also be configured via /tinykit/settings UI after deployment.

AI Provider Settings

LLM_PROVIDER

The AI provider to use for the agent. Options:

Provider	Value	Description
Anthropic	`anthropic`	Claude models (recommended)
OpenAI	`openai`	GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 models
Google	`gemini`	Gemini models

LLM_PROVIDER=anthropic

LLM_API_KEY

Your API key from the provider. Get yours from:

Anthropic: console.anthropic.com
OpenAI: platform.openai.com/api-keys
Google: aistudio.google.com/apikey

LLM_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...

Never commit API keys to version control. Use environment variables or secrets management.

LLM_MODEL

The specific model to use. Defaults vary by provider:

Provider	Default	Recommended
Anthropic	`claude-sonnet-4-20250514`	`claude-sonnet-4-20250514`
OpenAI	`gpt-4o`	`gpt-4o`
Gemini	`gemini-2.0-flash`	`gemini-2.0-flash`

LLM_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-20250514

LLM_BASE_URL

Custom API endpoint for OpenAI-compatible providers. Only needed for:

Self-hosted models
Other OpenAI-compatible APIs

# For local OpenAI-compatible server
LLM_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080/v1

Database Settings

POCKETBASE_ADMIN_EMAIL

Email address for the Pocketbase admin account. Used to initialize the database on first run.

POCKETBASE_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@yourdomain.com

POCKETBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD

Password for the Pocketbase admin account. Must be at least 8 characters.

POCKETBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD=your-secure-password

Use a strong, unique password. This account has full access to your database.

POCKETBASE_URL

Optional. URL of an external Pocketbase instance. By default, tinykit runs its own embedded Pocketbase.

# Only set if using external Pocketbase
POCKETBASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8091

Server Settings

PORT

The port the server listens on.

PORT=3000

Default: 3000 (production), 5173 (development)
Railway and similar platforms set this automatically

HOST

The host address to bind to.

HOST=0.0.0.0

Default: 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces)
Use 127.0.0.1 to restrict to localhost only

Provider Examples

Anthropic (Claude)

LLM_PROVIDER=anthropic
LLM_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...
LLM_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-20250514

OpenAI (GPT-4)

LLM_PROVIDER=openai
LLM_API_KEY=sk-...
LLM_MODEL=gpt-4

Google (Gemini)

LLM_PROVIDER=gemini
LLM_API_KEY=your-gemini-api-key
LLM_MODEL=gemini-pro

Complete Example

Here’s a complete .env file for production:

# AI Configuration
LLM_PROVIDER=anthropic
LLM_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...
LLM_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-20250514

# Database
POCKETBASE_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@yourdomain.com
POCKETBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD=your-secure-password-here

# Server (usually set by platform)
PORT=3000
HOST=0.0.0.0

Platform-Specific Notes

Railway

Railway automatically sets PORT. Configure other variables in the Railway dashboard under Variables.

Docker

Pass variables with -e flags or use --env-file:

docker run -d \
  -e LLM_PROVIDER=anthropic \
  -e LLM_API_KEY=sk-ant-... \
  -e POCKETBASE_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com \
  -e POCKETBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD=password \
  tinykit

VPS / PM2

Use a .env file in the project root, or configure in ecosystem.config.js:

module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: 'tinykit',
    script: './start.sh',
    env: {
      LLM_PROVIDER: 'anthropic',
      LLM_API_KEY: 'sk-ant-...',
      // ...
    }
  }]
}

Troubleshooting

AI responses return errors

Check these in order:

LLM_API_KEY is set and valid
LLM_PROVIDER matches your key (e.g., Anthropic key with anthropic provider)
Your account has credits/quota remaining
Check logs for specific error messages

Pocketbase won't start

Verify:

POCKETBASE_ADMIN_EMAIL is a valid email format
POCKETBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD is at least 8 characters
The pocketbase/pb_data directory is writable

Can't connect to server

Check:

PORT isn’t already in use (lsof -i :3000)
HOST is set correctly for your environment
Firewall allows traffic on the port

Settings not taking effect

Environment variables are read at startup. After changing .env:

Development: Restart npm run dev
PM2: Run pm2 restart tinykit
Docker: Recreate the container
systemd: Run sudo systemctl restart tinykit

Getting Started

Using tinykit

Deployment

Learn More

Quick Reference

AI Provider Settings

LLM_PROVIDER

LLM_API_KEY

LLM_MODEL

LLM_BASE_URL

Database Settings

POCKETBASE_ADMIN_EMAIL

POCKETBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD

POCKETBASE_URL

Server Settings

PORT

HOST

Provider Examples

Anthropic (Claude)

OpenAI (GPT-4)

Google (Gemini)

Complete Example

Platform-Specific Notes

Railway

Docker

VPS / PM2

Troubleshooting

​Quick Reference

​AI Provider Settings

​LLM_PROVIDER

​LLM_API_KEY

​LLM_MODEL

​LLM_BASE_URL

​Database Settings

​POCKETBASE_ADMIN_EMAIL

​POCKETBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD

​POCKETBASE_URL

​Server Settings

​PORT

​HOST

​Provider Examples

​Anthropic (Claude)

​OpenAI (GPT-4)

​Google (Gemini)

​Complete Example

​Platform-Specific Notes

​Railway

​Docker

​VPS / PM2

​Troubleshooting

Quick Reference

AI Provider Settings

LLM_PROVIDER

LLM_API_KEY

LLM_MODEL

LLM_BASE_URL

Database Settings

POCKETBASE_ADMIN_EMAIL

POCKETBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD

POCKETBASE_URL

Server Settings

PORT

HOST

Provider Examples

Anthropic (Claude)

OpenAI (GPT-4)

Google (Gemini)

Complete Example

Platform-Specific Notes

Railway

Docker

VPS / PM2

Troubleshooting