Configuration

This guide covers all configuration options for ConsultFlow.

Environment Variables

Backend Configuration

Variable	Required	Description	Example
PORT	No	Server port (default: 3001)	3001
NODE_ENV	No	Environment mode	development / production
MONGODB_URI	Yes	MongoDB connection string	mongodb://localhost:27017/consultflow
AZURE_AD_CLIENT_ID	Yes	Azure AD App Client ID	xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
AZURE_AD_CLIENT_SECRET	Yes	Azure AD App Client Secret	your-secret
AZURE_AD_TENANT_ID	Yes	Azure AD Tenant ID	xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
AZURE_AD_REDIRECT_URI	Yes	OAuth callback URL	http://localhost:3001/auth/callback
SESSION_SECRET	Yes	Session encryption key (32+ chars)	super-secret-key-here
FRONTEND_URL	Yes	Frontend URL for CORS	http://localhost:3000
OPENAI_API_KEY	Yes*	OpenAI API key	sk-...
OPENAI_MODEL	No	OpenAI model name (default: gpt-3.5-turbo)	gpt-4

*Either OPENAI_API_KEY or Azure OpenAI configuration is required.

Azure OpenAI Configuration (Alternative)

Variable	Required	Description
AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT	Yes	Azure OpenAI endpoint URL
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY	Yes	Azure OpenAI API key
AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT_NAME	No	Deployment name (default: gpt-35-turbo)

Frontend Configuration

Variable	Required	Description	Example
NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL	Yes	Backend API URL	http://localhost:3001

Complete Backend .env Example

# ===========================================
# ConsultFlow Backend Configuration
# ===========================================

# Server Configuration
PORT=3001
NODE_ENV=development

# MongoDB Database
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/consultflow

# Azure AD Authentication
# Get these from Azure Portal > App Registrations
AZURE_AD_CLIENT_ID=your-azure-ad-client-id
AZURE_AD_CLIENT_SECRET=your-azure-ad-client-secret
AZURE_AD_TENANT_ID=your-azure-ad-tenant-id
AZURE_AD_REDIRECT_URI=http://localhost:3001/auth/callback

# Session Management
# Generate a secure random string (32+ characters)
SESSION_SECRET=your-super-secret-session-key-change-this-in-production

# Frontend URL (for CORS)
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000

# OpenAI Configuration (Option 1: Standard OpenAI)
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-openai-api-key
OPENAI_MODEL=gpt-3.5-turbo

# Azure OpenAI Configuration (Option 2: Azure OpenAI)
# Uncomment these and comment out OPENAI_API_KEY to use Azure OpenAI
# AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://your-resource.openai.azure.com
# AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=your-azure-openai-api-key
# AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT_NAME=gpt-35-turbo

Production Configuration

For production deployments, ensure:

1. Secure Session Secret

Generate a cryptographically secure session secret:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

2. Use Production MongoDB

MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://user:password@cluster.mongodb.net/consultflow?retryWrites=true&w=majority

3. Update Azure AD Redirect URI

Update your Azure AD app registration with the production callback URL:

AZURE_AD_REDIRECT_URI=https://your-domain.com/auth/callback

4. Set Production Frontend URL

FRONTEND_URL=https://your-domain.com

5. Enable HTTPS

Ensure your production server uses HTTPS for secure cookie transmission.

Microsoft Graph API Scopes

ConsultFlow requests the following Microsoft Graph permissions:

Scope	Type	Purpose
User.Read	Delegated	Read user profile
Mail.Send	Delegated	Send emails via Outlook
Calendars.ReadWrite	Delegated	Create calendar events
ChannelMessage.Send	Delegated	Post to Teams channels
offline_access	Delegated	Refresh tokens

These are configured in your Azure AD app registration.

Troubleshooting Configuration

Check Environment Variables

# Backend - Print loaded configuration
node -e "require('dotenv').config(); console.log(process.env)"

# Verify specific variable
node -e "require('dotenv').config(); console.log(process.env.MONGODB_URI)"

Common Issues

1. "Azure AD configuration is missing"

   • Ensure all AZURE_AD_* variables are set
   • Check for typos in variable names

2. "Either OPENAI_API_KEY or AZURE_OPENAI_ must be set"*

   • Configure either OpenAI or Azure OpenAI
   • Not both, not neither

3. "Session secret too short"

   • SESSION_SECRET must be at least 32 characters

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Next Step

Continue to Azure Setup to configure Microsoft authentication.