Optional settings

Everything a Crewtavo needs to run is generated when it’s set up. These variables turn on extra features.

Where to add them: on Railway, open the crewtavo service, then Variables, and deploy the change when Railway asks. With Docker, add them to .env.instance and run npm run instance again. (.env.example in the source code lists most of them.)

Features

Variable	Turns on
APP_URL	Your own domain. Settings → Web address sets it for you on Railway. See Use your own domain.
RESEND_API_KEY, EMAIL_FROM	Optional default sender through Resend, used until a company connects its own email. Most businesses connect Resend under Settings → Email instead. See Send email from Crewtavo.
TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID, TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN, TWILIO_FROM_NUMBER	Text messages through Twilio, from one number for every business on the server. All three are needed. See Text clients with Twilio, and for two-way texting, Texting replies.
GOOGLE_MAPS_BROWSER_KEY	Google satellite as a map choice on Measure for every business on the server. Measure works without it on free imagery, and each business can add its own key in Settings → Maps. Turn on the Map Tiles API and restrict the key to it and to your domain. See Map imagery for measuring.
GOOGLE_MAPS_SERVER_KEY	Roof pitch suggestions (Google’s Solar API). Restrict the key to the Solar API.
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (and optionally AI_MODEL)	AI writing help and Ask in the knowledge base, for every business on the server. Not needed: each business can add its own key under Apps → Claude instead, which wins when both are there. See Ask a question.
QUICKBOOKS_CLIENT_ID, QUICKBOOKS_CLIENT_SECRET, QUICKBOOKS_ENVIRONMENT	An Intuit app for QuickBooks Online, set up on the server. Not needed: each business pastes its own app’s keys under Apps → QuickBooks Online instead, which wins when both are there. See Sync with QuickBooks Online.
ZOHO_CLIENT_ID, ZOHO_CLIENT_SECRET, ZOHO_ACCOUNTS_URL	A Zoho app for Zoho Books, set up on the server. Not needed: each business pastes its own app’s keys under Apps → Zoho Books instead, which wins when both are there. See Sync with Zoho Books.
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET	Google sign-in for Google Calendar: pick calendars from a Google account, and put visits on a calendar Crewtavo makes within minutes. See Google Calendar. Not needed for most businesses: without these, Google Calendar works by secret address both ways, with nothing to set up. See Google Calendar and other calendars.
GOOGLE_PICKER_API_KEY	Import from Google Drive in Drive, together with GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID (the secret isn’t needed for it). A browser key restricted to the Google Picker API, your domain and https://docs.google.com/*. See Import from Google Drive.
TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY, TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY	Bot protection on public booking and referral forms (Cloudflare Turnstile).
CREWTAVO_SENTRY_DSN	Error tracking. See Error tracking.

Advanced

Variable	What it’s for
ENCRYPTION_KEY	A separate key for encrypting app tokens and signing client links: 32 or more random bytes in base64, or any 32 or more characters. Without it, one is derived from the instance’s secret. Keep it the same once set: changing it disconnects every app and breaks links already sent to clients.
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY, STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET	Not needed for most businesses: connect Stripe on the Apps page instead. These share one Stripe account with every business on the server that hasn’t connected its own, and need a Stripe webhook pointed at https://your-domain/api/webhooks/stripe; the deployment guide lists its API version and events.
CREWTAVO_SCHEDULER	Set to off on extra copies of the crewtavo service, so background tasks run in one place.
CREWTAVO_VISITOR_IP	Where visitors’ addresses come from, when something other than Railway or one web server is in front. See Behind other proxies.
CREWTAVO_BIND	Docker only: the address port 8080 answers on. Defaults to 127.0.0.1, the server itself.
CREWTAVO_SENTRY_WEB_DSN	Send the web app’s errors to a separate Sentry project. Defaults to CREWTAVO_SENTRY_DSN.
CREWTAVO_SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT	The environment shown on each error report, such as staging. Defaults to production.

Texting replies

For two-way texting, set your Twilio number’s Messaging Configuration → A message comes in webhook to https://your-domain/api/webhooks/twilio (HTTP POST). APP_URL must match that address exactly, because Twilio signs the full address. After a switch to your own domain, the old address keeps working too.

A reply then appears in Messages, in the conversation of the client whose Phone matches the number it came from, and owners, admins and office staff get a notification. A text from a number that isn’t on any client is dropped. The full setup, with A2P 10DLC registration and troubleshooting, is in Text clients with Twilio.

Google Calendar

Optional: Google Calendar already works without this, by secret address (see Google Calendar and other calendars). Google sign-in adds picking calendars from the account and visits that reach Google within minutes.

1. In Google Cloud, create a project and turn on the Google Calendar API.
2. In Google Auth Platform, fill in Branding. Under Data access, add the scopes calendar.calendarlist.readonly, calendar.events.readonly and calendar.app.created.
3. Under Clients, create a Web application client whose redirect address is the one shown on the Google Calendar page under Apps: https://your-domain/api/apps/google_calendar/callback. Set its ID and secret as GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID and GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET.
4. Under Audience, choose Publish app. While the app is in Testing, Google ends every sign-in after 7 days and Google Calendar disconnects a week after it’s connected. On Google Workspace you can choose Internal instead, for people in your organization only.

Until Google verifies the app, people see a “Google hasn’t verified this app” screen when they connect. They choose Advanced, then Go to your app, to continue. Up to 100 people can connect to an unverified app.

Error tracking

Set CREWTAVO_SENTRY_DSN to a project’s DSN from Sentry (Project Settings → Client Keys). A self-hosted GlitchTip, or any other Sentry-compatible service, works the same way.

Reports are errors only: no performance tracing, session tracking or replays. Personal data is removed before anything leaves the server or the browser:

• request bodies, cookies, query strings and headers (except the browser’s User-Agent) are never sent;
• no user is attached: no email, IP address or account ID;
• email addresses, phone numbers, sign-in tokens and client links are masked.

Nothing is collected until the variable is set. You can also turn on Prevent Storing of IP Addresses in the Sentry project’s security settings.

Behind other proxies

Crewtavo limits how often each visitor can use public pages, by the visitor’s address, so it only trusts the address its own proxy sets. On Railway that’s automatic, and with Docker behind one web server see Visitors’ addresses. With something else in front, set CREWTAVO_VISITOR_IP:

Value	When
x-forwarded-for:2	Two proxies add to X-Forwarded-For, such as Cloudflare’s proxy in front of Caddy. List Cloudflare’s addresses in Caddy’s trusted_proxies. The number counts the proxies.
cf-connecting-ip, x-real-ip (or another header)	The proxy in front sets this header to the visitor’s address, replacing any the visitor sent.
connection	Nothing is in front: use the address each connection comes from.

Once set, it’s believed on every connection, so nothing may reach Crewtavo without going through those proxies. Keep port 8080 on the server, and let the web server take connections only from the proxy in front of it. For Cloudflare, allow only Cloudflare’s addresses in the server’s firewall. Caddy with x-forwarded-for:2 doesn’t need the firewall rule, since it replaces the X-Forwarded-For of anyone outside trusted_proxies.