Set Environment Variables

Environment variables allow you to store sensitive information (tokens, API keys, passwords) outside your source code. This is an essential security practice.

Why Use Environment Variables?

Bad Practice

// NEVER DO THIS
const TOKEN = "MTExMTExMTExMTExMTExMTEx.XXXX.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX";
bot.login(TOKEN);

Good Practice

// Token stored in an environment variable
const TOKEN = process.env.DISCORD_TOKEN;
bot.login(TOKEN);

Benefits

• Security - Tokens are not in your code
• Flexibility - Change configuration without modifying code
• Sharing - Share your code without exposing secrets
• Deployment - Same code, different environments

Configure Startup

Before setting your environment variables, you should first configure your server's startup settings. These are not environment variables — they are container-level settings that tell the system how to run your bot.

Go to the "Startup" tab of your server on control.katabump.com. There you will find:

Setting	Description
JS FILE / PY FILE	The entry point file to run (e.g. index.js or main.py)
ADDITIONAL NODE/PY PACKAGES	Extra packages to install beyond what's in your package.json or requirements.txt
Node.js / Python version	The runtime version to use for your server

Automatic Dependency Installation

If you have a package.json (Node.js) or requirements.txt (Python) at the root of your server, the system will install dependencies automatically on startup.

Set Your Environment Variables

Environment variables are configured via a .env file placed at the root of your server. This file allows you to inject secrets and configuration values into your bot's runtime.

Create a .env File

Create a file named .env at the root of your project (next to your package.json or requirements.txt):

DISCORD_TOKEN=MTExMTExMTExMTExMTExMTEx.XXXX.XXXXXXXX
CLIENT_ID=123456789012345678
PREFIX=!

Upload it to your server via Web or SFTP along with your other files.

Format

Each line follows the KEY=VALUE format:

Field	Example
Key	DISCORD_TOKEN
Value	MTExMTExMTExMTExMTExMTEx.XXXX.XXXXXXXX

Security

Never commit your .env file to a public Git repository. Add .env to your .gitignore file.

Naming Convention

Use explicit names in UPPERCASE with underscores:

• DISCORD_TOKEN ✅
• discord-token ❌
• myToken ❌

Essential Discord Variables

Bot Token (required)

Key: DISCORD_TOKEN
Value: Your Discord bot token

Application ID

Key: CLIENT_ID
Value: Your Discord application ID

Server ID (for slash commands)

Key: GUILD_ID
Value: Your test server ID

Usage in Code

Node.js

Install the dotenv package to load your .env file:

npm install dotenv

Then at the very top of your entry point file:

require('dotenv').config();

const { Client, GatewayIntentBits } = require('discord.js');
const client = new Client({ intents: [GatewayIntentBits.Guilds] });

// Access variables
const TOKEN = process.env.DISCORD_TOKEN;
const PREFIX = process.env.PREFIX || '!'; // Default value

client.login(TOKEN);

dotenv

Make sure dotenv is listed in your package.json dependencies so it gets installed automatically on the server.

Python

Install python-dotenv to load your .env file:

pip install python-dotenv

Add it to your requirements.txt:

discord.py==2.3.2
python-dotenv==1.0.0

Then at the top of your main file:

from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv()

import os
import discord

TOKEN = os.getenv('DISCORD_TOKEN')
PREFIX = os.getenv('PREFIX', '!')  # Default value

client = discord.Client()

client.run(TOKEN)

Python Tip

Always use os.getenv() rather than os.environ[] to avoid errors if the variable doesn't exist.

Optional Useful Variables

Variable	Description	Example
PREFIX	Command prefix	!
MONGODB_URI	MongoDB connection	mongodb+srv://...
OPENAI_KEY	OpenAI API key	sk-...
WEBHOOK_URL	Discord webhook URL	https://discord.com/api/webhooks/...
LOG_LEVEL	Log level	info, debug
NODE_ENV	Node.js environment	production, development

Modifying Variables

Changes to environment variables require a restart of the server to take effect:

1. Edit your .env file (via the web file manager or SFTP)
2. Save the file
3. Click "Restart" in the console

Important

Do not delete your DISCORD_TOKEN variable while your bot is running, or it will disconnect.

Debugging Variables

Node.js

// Display all variables (for debugging only!)
console.log('Variables:', process.env);

// Check a specific variable
console.log('Token present:', !!process.env.DISCORD_TOKEN);

Python

import os

# Display all variables (for debugging only!)
print('Variables:', dict(os.environ))

# Check a variable
print('Token present:', bool(os.getenv('DISCORD_TOKEN')))

Security

NEVER commit code that displays your tokens in production!

Complete Example

Node.js with discord.js

require('dotenv').config();
const { Client, GatewayIntentBits } = require('discord.js');

const client = new Client({
    intents: [
        GatewayIntentBits.Guilds,
        GatewayIntentBits.GuildMessages,
        GatewayIntentBits.MessageContent
    ]
});

const TOKEN = process.env.DISCORD_TOKEN;
const PREFIX = process.env.PREFIX || '!';

client.on('ready', () => {
    console.log(`Logged in as ${client.user.tag}`);
});

client.on('messageCreate', (message) => {
    if (message.author.bot) return;
    
    if (message.content === `${PREFIX}ping`) {
        message.reply('Pong!');
    }
});

client.login(TOKEN);

Next Step

Variables configured? Time to manage your server!