Environment variables

Every DREADNODE_* variable the TUI, CLI, and runtime read — platform identity, logging, LLM proxy, runtime transport, and capability overrides.

Environment variables are useful for scripts, CI, sandboxes, and runtime processes. Connect clients documents how platform variables interact with explicit flags and profiles.

Platform identity

DREADNODE_SERVER, DREADNODE_API_KEY, DREADNODE_ORGANIZATION, DREADNODE_WORKSPACE, and DREADNODE_PROJECT mirror the CLI flags — set them in a shell to avoid typing --server, --api-key, and friends every time.

Connect clients documents them, the resolution order, and the combinations that are rejected.

Logging

Variable	Effect
`DREADNODE_LOG_LEVEL`	CLI and standalone-runtime level: `trace`, `debug`, `info`, `success`, `warning`, `error`, or `critical`
`DREADNODE_LOG_FILE`	Additional file sink for the standalone runtime started by `dn serve`
`DREADNODE_DEBUG`	When set to any truthy value, print full stack traces on CLI errors

The interactive TUI captures trace-level logs in its console and writes ~/.dreadnode/logs/tui.log; its level and file are not controlled by these variables.

LLM proxy (`dn/*`)

When a model uses the dn/* namespace, the TUI sends requests through the Dreadnode LiteLLM proxy using these variables. Managed sandboxes receive them automatically, and local TUI sessions receive them after the platform provisions a short-lived inference key.

Variable	Effect
`DREADNODE_LLM_BASE`	Base URL of the LLM proxy (e.g. a LiteLLM router)
`DREADNODE_LLM_API_KEY`	API key for the LLM proxy

Runtime transport

The TUI and agent runtime talk over HTTP. Use --runtime-server <url> to make the TUI connect to an existing runtime. These variables configure runtime clients, standalone runtimes, and the in-process runtime that bare dn starts:

Variable	Effect
`DREADNODE_RUNTIME_URL`	Runtime URL used by runtime clients and worker subprocesses; it does not select the TUI’s external-runtime mode
`DREADNODE_RUNTIME_HOST`	Host the local runtime binds to. Default `127.0.0.1`
`DREADNODE_RUNTIME_PORT`	Port the runtime binds to. Bare `dn` defaults to an ephemeral port; standalone clients and `dn serve` default to `8787`
`DREADNODE_RUNTIME_TOKEN`	Bearer token gating `/api/*` when the runtime is reachable from outside
`DREADNODE_RUNTIME_ID`	Set automatically when running inside a managed sandbox. Presence flips a few behaviors (e.g. sandbox-mounted storage, `host` label `sandbox`)

DREADNODE_SERVER_HOST, DREADNODE_SERVER_PORT, and SANDBOX_AUTH_TOKEN are deprecated aliases — they still work, but prefer the RUNTIME_* spellings.

Capabilities

Variable	Effect
`DREADNODE_CAPABILITY_DIRS`	Additional capability directories separated by the OS path separator (`:` on Unix, `;` on Windows)
`DREADNODE_CAPABILITY_FLAG__<CAP>__<FLAG>`	Override a capability’s flag. Example: `DREADNODE_CAPABILITY_FLAG__WEB_SECURITY__STRICT_MODE=true`
`DREADNODE_WORKSPACE_CAPABILITIES_DIR`	Workspace-wide capability directory (typically set inside managed sandboxes)

See Capability env vars for how capability authors can declare variables their own tools consume.

Context markers

Set automatically by the platform — not normally something you override.

Variable	Set when
`DREADNODE_SESSION_ID`	A session is active in an automated context (e.g. `airt` assessment runner)
`DREADNODE_PROJECT_ROOT`	The runtime starts inside a project directory