Published: October 8, 2025
Last updated: October 3, 2026
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The preferred configuration method is to use config.yaml. However, environment variables are available for secrets, config override, and developer purposes.

Available Variables

VariableConfig EquivalentDescription
FILEBROWSER_CONFIG-Config file path when no CLI argument provided
FILEBROWSER_DATABASEserver.databasev1.x.x only. BoltDB database file path (e.g. database.db). Removed in v2.0.0 — use FILEBROWSER_DATABASE_PATH instead.
FILEBROWSER_DATABASE_PATHserver.database.pathv2.0.0+. SQLite path used when server.database.path is empty (application default: filebrowser.sqlite). Official Docker images set this to /home/filebrowser/data/database.sqlite. A path in config is not overridden by this variable.
FILEBROWSER_ADMIN_PASSWORDauth.methods.password.adminPasswordPassword admin password
FILEBROWSER_ONLYOFFICE_SECRETintegrations.office.secretOnlyOffice JWT secret
FILEBROWSER_FFMPEG_PATHintegrations.media.ffmpegPathPath to FFmpeg binaries
FILEBROWSER_OIDC_CLIENT_IDauth.methods.oidc.clientIdOIDC client ID
FILEBROWSER_OIDC_CLIENT_SECRETauth.methods.oidc.clientSecretOIDC client secret
FILEBROWSER_JWT_TOKEN_SECRETauth.keyJWT signing key
FILEBROWSER_TOTP_SECRETauth.totpSecretTOTP encryption secret
FILEBROWSER_RECAPTCHA_SECRETauth.methods.password.recaptcha.secretreCAPTCHA secret key
FILEBROWSER_LDAP_USER_PASSWORDauth.methods.ldap.userPasswordLDAP bind (service account) password. Same on v1.5.x stable and v2.x beta.
FILEBROWSER_DISABLE_AUTOMATIC_BACKUPN/ADisable automatic backup

Usage Example

Docker Compose:

YAML 
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services:
  filebrowser:
    image: ghcr.io/gtsteffaniak/filebrowser:stable
    environment:
      - FILEBROWSER_ADMIN_PASSWORD=secure-password
      - FILEBROWSER_ONLYOFFICE_SECRET=office-secret
    volumes:
      - ./config.yaml:/home/filebrowser/config.yaml

CLI:

BASH 
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export FILEBROWSER_ADMIN_PASSWORD="secure-password"
export FILEBROWSER_JWT_TOKEN_SECRET="jwt-secret"
./filebrowser -c config.yaml

Next Steps