Environment variables

Environment variables are read by different surfaces. Prefer explicit SDK options or CLI config when you need per-call behavior; use environment variables for process-level configuration and secrets.

Core client variables

Variable	Used by	Description
`WEBCOMPUTE_API_KEY`	SDK, CLI, MCP	Webcompute API key. Overrides stored CLI config for CLI/MCP. Required by the SDK unless passed as `new Web({ apiKey })`.
`WEBCOMPUTE_SERVER_URL`	SDK, CLI, MCP	Gateway URL. Defaults to `https://api.webcompute.dev`. `http` is accepted only for localhost or loopback.
`WEBCOMPUTE_TIMEOUT`	TypeScript SDK	Default SDK request timeout in milliseconds. Defaults to `120000`. Non-integer values fall back to the default.
`WEBCOMPUTE_DEBUG`	SDK, CLI, MCP	Set to `true` for debug logging and more verbose diagnostics.

MCP variables

Generated MCP host configs prefer CLI args such as ["mcp", "run", "--surface", "agent", "--model", "browsing"]. Use these variables for process-level defaults, secrets, and backward-compatible host setups. CLI flags override WEBCOMPUTE_MCP_SURFACE and WEBCOMPUTE_MODEL_PROFILE.

Variable	Description
`WEBCOMPUTE_MCP_SURFACE`	MCP surface: `runtime`, `agent`, or `all`. Defaults to `runtime`.
`WEBCOMPUTE_MCP_DEFAULT_BROWSER_POLICY`	JSON object used as the default browser policy for MCP-created browsers. Must parse to an object.
`MCP_TRANSPORT`	MCP transport: `stdio` or `http`. Defaults to `stdio`.
`MCP_HOST`	HTTP bind host. HTTP transport must bind to a loopback host.
`MCP_PORT`	HTTP port.
`PORT`	Fallback HTTP port when `MCP_PORT` is not set. Defaults to `8932`.

Agent model variables

These variables configure MCP run_web_agent when it is enabled on the agent or all surface. SDK web.agent() still requires explicit model config.

Variable	Description
`WEBCOMPUTE_MODEL_PROFILE`	Saved model profile name for MCP `run_web_agent` model selection.
`WEBCOMPUTE_AGENT_MODEL`	Direct model ID for MCP `run_web_agent`.
`WEBCOMPUTE_AGENT_MODEL_ROUTE`	Model route: `openai`, `openrouter`, `openai-compatible`, `anthropic`, or `google`.
`WEBCOMPUTE_AGENT_MODEL_API_KEY_ENV`	Name of the environment variable containing the model-provider API key.
`WEBCOMPUTE_AGENT_MODEL_BASE_URL`	Base URL for `openai-compatible` or compatible gateway routes.
`WEBCOMPUTE_AGENT_MODEL_API`	Provider API family: `chat-completions` or `responses`.

Common provider credential variables:

Variable	Typical use
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	OpenAI route.
`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`	OpenRouter route.
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Anthropic route.
`GEMINI_API_KEY`	Google Gemini route.
`GOOGLE_API_KEY`	Google credential alternative.

Model profiles store these provider credential variable names, not the raw provider key values. The key values are read from the environment at run time.

CLI local-runtime variables

Variable	Description
`XDG_CONFIG_HOME`	Overrides config-file base directory.
`XDG_DATA_HOME`	Overrides data-file base directory.
`XDG_STATE_HOME`	Overrides state-file base directory.
`XDG_CACHE_HOME`	Overrides cache-file base directory.
`OPENCODE_CONFIG`	OpenCode config path used by local plugin detection/configuration.
`OPENCODE_CONFIG_DIR`	OpenCode config directory used by local plugin detection/configuration.
`SHELL`	Used by install/setup flows that reason about shell profile updates.
`PATH`	Used by install/setup flows and local runtime detection.
`WC_NO_UNICODE`	Disable Unicode UI symbols when set by the environment.
`WEBCOMPUTE_NO_UPDATE_NOTIFIER`	Set to `1` or `true` to suppress CLI update hints and the background update-manifest check.
`WEBCOMPUTE_PACKAGES_BASE_URL`	Override package download base URL for managed local installs.
`WEBCOMPUTE_INSTALL_BASE_URL`	Override installer base URL for managed local installs.

Local browser-development variables

These are for repo-local browser-server development, not public SDK usage.

Variable	Description
`DISPLAY`	X display for local browser server development. In containerized dev, use `DISPLAY=:1`.
`LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE`	Force software GL rendering in containers. Use `LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1` when Chrome crashes due to GL.

Release/runtime variables

Variable	Description
`WEBCOMPUTE_BROWSER_RUNTIME_MATRIX_ID`	Matrix ID for a promoted browser runtime snapshot. Preserve it with deployment records so rollbacks restore the matching snapshot/runtime tuple.

Secret handling

Use environment-backed secrets for agent runs:

export VENDOR_PASSWORD="..."
web agent --secret password=VENDOR_PASSWORD "Sign in and collect the current invoice total."

Do not place raw API keys, passwords, cookies, proxy URLs, or signed Debug/CDP URLs in prompts.

Get started

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Runtime concepts

Examples

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Reference

API reference

Environment variables

Core client variables

MCP variables

Agent model variables

CLI local-runtime variables

Local browser-development variables

Release/runtime variables

Secret handling

​Core client variables

​MCP variables

​Agent model variables

​CLI local-runtime variables

​Local browser-development variables

​Release/runtime variables

​Secret handling

Core client variables

MCP variables

Agent model variables

CLI local-runtime variables

Local browser-development variables

Release/runtime variables

Secret handling