Advanced Configuration

This guide covers all configuration options for ANTE ERP self-hosted installations.

Configuration Methods

ANTE ERP can be configured through:

Environment Variables (.env file) - Recommended
Docker Compose (docker-compose.yml) - Infrastructure settings
Application Settings (Web Interface) - Runtime configuration

Environment Variables Reference

Database Configuration

PostgreSQL

bash

# Connection String (Pooled)
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://ante:password@postgres:5432/ante_db?schema=public&connection_limit=10

# Direct Connection (for migrations)
DIRECT_URL=postgresql://ante:password@postgres:5432/ante_db?schema=public

# Individual Components (alternative format)
DB_HOST=postgres
DB_PORT=5432
DB_USERNAME=ante
DB_PASSWORD=your_password
DB_DATABASE=ante_db

Connection Limit: Adjust based on expected concurrent users

Small (5-20 users): connection_limit=10
Medium (20-50 users): connection_limit=20
Large (50+ users): connection_limit=50

Redis

bash

# Redis Configuration
REDIS_HOST=redis
REDIS_PORT=6379
REDIS_PASSWORD=your_redis_password
REDIS_DB=0
REDIS_TLS=false

# Connection Pool
REDIS_MAX_RETRIES=3
REDIS_CONNECT_TIMEOUT=10000

# Cache TTL (Time To Live in seconds)
CACHE_TTL=3600  # 1 hour default

MongoDB

bash

# MongoDB Connection
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://ante:password@mongodb:27017/ante?authSource=admin

# With replication (for high availability)
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://ante:password@mongo1:27017,mongo2:27017,mongo3:27017/ante?replicaSet=rs0&authSource=admin

# Connection Pool Settings
MONGODB_POOL_SIZE=10

Security Configuration

bash

# JWT (JSON Web Token) Configuration
JWT_SECRET=your-very-long-random-secret-minimum-32-characters
JWT_EXPIRATION=24h  # Options: 1h, 12h, 24h, 7d, 30d
JWT_REFRESH_EXPIRATION=7d

# Developer API Key (for API integrations)
DEVELOPER_KEY=your-16-character-dev-key

# Encryption Key (for sensitive data)
ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-16-character-enc-key

# Password Policy
PASSWORD_MIN_LENGTH=8
PASSWORD_REQUIRE_UPPERCASE=true
PASSWORD_REQUIRE_LOWERCASE=true
PASSWORD_REQUIRE_NUMBER=true
PASSWORD_REQUIRE_SPECIAL=true

# Session Configuration
SESSION_TIMEOUT=3600  # 1 hour in seconds
SESSION_ABSOLUTE_TIMEOUT=86400  # 24 hours

Application URLs

bash

# Frontend URL (user-facing application)
FRONTEND_URL=https://erp.yourcompany.com

# Backend API URL
API_URL=https://api.yourcompany.com

# WebSocket URL
SOCKET_URL=wss://api.yourcompany.com

# Internal URLs (if different)
INTERNAL_API_URL=http://backend:3001

Email Configuration (SMTP)

bash

# SMTP Server Configuration
SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com  # or your SMTP server
SMTP_PORT=587  # 587 (TLS) or 465 (SSL)
SMTP_SECURE=false  # true for 465, false for 587
SMTP_USERNAME=your-email@gmail.com
SMTP_PASSWORD=your-app-specific-password

# Sender Information
SMTP_FROM_EMAIL=noreply@yourcompany.com
SMTP_FROM_NAME=ANTE ERP

# Email Options
SMTP_TIMEOUT=30000  # 30 seconds
SMTP_MAX_CONNECTIONS=5
SMTP_RATE_LIMIT=10  # emails per second

Popular SMTP Providers:

Provider	Host	Port	Secure
Gmail	smtp.gmail.com	587	false
Outlook	smtp-mail.outlook.com	587	false
SendGrid	smtp.sendgrid.net	587	false
Mailgun	smtp.mailgun.org	587	false
Amazon SES	email-smtp.region.amazonaws.com	587	false

File Upload Configuration

bash

# Upload Limits
UPLOAD_MAX_SIZE=10485760  # 10MB in bytes
UPLOAD_MAX_FILES=10  # Maximum files per upload

# Allowed File Types (MIME types)
UPLOAD_ALLOWED_TYPES=image/*,application/pdf,application/vnd.ms-excel,application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet,application/msword,application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document

# Storage Location
UPLOAD_DIRECTORY=/app/uploads

# External Storage (Optional - for cloud storage)
# AWS S3
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key
AWS_S3_BUCKET=your-bucket-name
AWS_S3_REGION=us-east-1

# DigitalOcean Spaces
DO_SPACES_KEY=your-spaces-key
DO_SPACES_SECRET=your-spaces-secret
DO_SPACES_BUCKET=your-bucket-name
DO_SPACES_REGION=nyc3
DO_SPACES_ENDPOINT=https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com

Monitoring & Logging

bash

# Application Logging
LOG_LEVEL=info  # Options: error, warn, info, debug
LOG_FORMAT=json  # Options: json, text
LOG_FILE_ENABLED=true
LOG_FILE_PATH=/app/logs/app.log
LOG_FILE_MAX_SIZE=10m
LOG_FILE_MAX_FILES=7

# Error Tracking (Sentry)
SENTRY_DSN=https://your-sentry-dsn@sentry.io/project-id
SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT=production
SENTRY_TRACES_SAMPLE_RATE=0.1  # 10% of transactions

# Performance Monitoring (New Relic)
NEW_RELIC_LICENSE_KEY=your-license-key
NEW_RELIC_APP_NAME=ANTE-ERP-Production
NEW_RELIC_LOG_LEVEL=info

# Prometheus Metrics
METRICS_ENABLED=true
METRICS_PORT=9090

Performance Tuning

bash

# Node.js Configuration
NODE_ENV=production
NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=4096  # 4GB heap

# Worker Processes
WORKERS=4  # Number of worker processes (based on CPU cores)

# Rate Limiting
RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=true
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW=900000  # 15 minutes in ms
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS=100  # requests per window

# Queue Configuration
QUEUE_CONCURRENCY=5
QUEUE_ATTEMPTS=3
QUEUE_BACKOFF_DELAY=5000  # 5 seconds

# Cache Configuration
CACHE_ENABLED=true
CACHE_TYPE=redis  # Options: redis, memory
CACHE_DEFAULT_TTL=3600  # 1 hour

Feature Flags

bash

# Module Enablement
MODULE_PROJECTS_ENABLED=true
MODULE_HR_ENABLED=true
MODULE_PAYROLL_ENABLED=true
MODULE_ASSETS_ENABLED=true
MODULE_TREASURY_ENABLED=true
MODULE_LEADS_ENABLED=true

# Feature Toggles
FEATURE_AI_ASSISTANT=false
FEATURE_MOBILE_APP=true
FEATURE_OFFLINE_MODE=false
FEATURE_DARK_MODE=true

# Experimental Features
EXPERIMENTAL_FEATURES=false

Notification Configuration

bash

# Email Notifications
NOTIFICATIONS_EMAIL_ENABLED=true
NOTIFICATIONS_EMAIL_DIGEST=daily  # Options: realtime, hourly, daily, weekly

# In-App Notifications
NOTIFICATIONS_PUSH_ENABLED=true
NOTIFICATIONS_SOUND_ENABLED=true

# Telegram Notifications (Optional)
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your-bot-token
TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=your-chat-id

Localization & Timezone

bash

# Default Language
DEFAULT_LANGUAGE=en  # Options: en, es, fr, de, etc.

# Timezone
TZ=Asia/Manila  # Use IANA timezone identifier
DEFAULT_TIMEZONE=Asia/Manila

# Date/Time Format
DATE_FORMAT=YYYY-MM-DD
TIME_FORMAT=HH:mm:ss
DATETIME_FORMAT=YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss

# Currency
DEFAULT_CURRENCY=PHP  # ISO 4217 currency code
CURRENCY_SYMBOL=₱

Backup Configuration

bash

# Automated Backups
BACKUP_ENABLED=true
BACKUP_SCHEDULE=0 2 * * *  # Cron format (2 AM daily)
BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS=30
BACKUP_LOCATION=/backups

# Backup Notifications
BACKUP_NOTIFY_ON_SUCCESS=false
BACKUP_NOTIFY_ON_FAILURE=true
BACKUP_NOTIFICATION_EMAIL=admin@yourcompany.com

Docker Compose Configuration

Port Mapping

Change default ports in docker-compose.yml:

yaml

services:
  frontend:
    ports:
      - "80:80"  # Change 8080 to 80 for standard HTTP
  
  backend:
    ports:
      - "443:3001"  # Or use reverse proxy
      - "4001:4001"  # WebSocket port

Resource Limits

Set memory and CPU limits:

yaml

services:
  backend:
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '2.0'
          memory: 2G
        reservations:
          cpus: '1.0'
          memory: 1G
  
  postgres:
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 2G
        reservations:
          memory: 512M

Restart Policies

yaml

services:
  backend:
    restart: unless-stopped  # Options: no, always, on-failure, unless-stopped

External Databases

Use external managed databases:

yaml

services:
  # Remove local postgres, redis, mongodb services
  
  backend:
    environment:
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://user:pass@external-db.com:5432/db
      REDIS_HOST: external-redis.com
      MONGODB_URI: mongodb+srv://user:pass@cluster.mongodb.net/db

Custom Volumes

Map to specific directories:

yaml

volumes:
  backend_uploads:
    driver: local
    driver_opts:
      type: none
      o: bind
      device: /mnt/storage/ante-uploads

Application Configuration (Web Interface)

After installation, configure these through the web interface:

Company Settings

Navigate to Settings → Company
Configure:
- Company name and logo
- Address and contact information
- Business registration details
- Fiscal year settings

User Management

Settings → Users & Roles
Create user roles with specific permissions
Define approval hierarchies
Set up departments and teams

Module Configuration

Settings → Modules
Enable/disable modules
Configure module-specific settings
Set default values

Email Templates

Settings → Email Templates
Customize notification templates
Configure email signatures
Set up automated reminders

Configuration Profiles

Development Profile

bash

NODE_ENV=development
LOG_LEVEL=debug
CACHE_ENABLED=false
RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=false

Staging Profile

bash

NODE_ENV=staging
LOG_LEVEL=info
SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT=staging
METRICS_ENABLED=true

Production Profile

bash

NODE_ENV=production
LOG_LEVEL=warn
CACHE_ENABLED=true
RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=true
SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT=production
METRICS_ENABLED=true

Configuration Best Practices

Security

Never commit .env files to version control
Use strong, unique passwords for all services
Rotate keys regularly (JWT secret, API keys)
Limit database user permissions to minimum required
Enable HTTPS for all production deployments

Performance

Enable Redis caching for better performance
Configure connection pooling based on user count
Set appropriate resource limits in Docker
Use CDN for static assets (optional)
Enable compression for API responses

Reliability

Configure automated backups
Set up monitoring and alerts
Use health checks in Docker
Configure log rotation
Test disaster recovery procedures

Scalability

Use external managed databases for large deployments
Configure multiple workers for backend
Use load balancer for high availability
Separate read replicas for databases
Use Redis Cluster for distributed caching

Troubleshooting Configuration Issues

Environment Variables Not Applied

bash

# Recreate containers to apply changes
docker compose down
docker compose up -d

# Or restart specific service
docker compose restart backend

Configuration Validation

bash

# Check environment variables are loaded
docker compose exec backend printenv | grep -E "DATABASE|REDIS|MONGO"

# Test database connection
docker compose exec backend npm run db:test

View Effective Configuration

bash

# View backend configuration
docker compose exec backend cat /app/.env

# View all environment variables
docker compose config

Next Steps

Last Updated: October 27, 2025

Advanced Configuration ​

Configuration Methods ​

Environment Variables Reference ​

​

PostgreSQL ​

Redis ​

MongoDB ​

Security Configuration ​

Application URLs ​

Email Configuration (SMTP) ​

File Upload Configuration ​

Monitoring & Logging ​

Performance Tuning ​

Feature Flags ​

Notification Configuration ​

Localization & Timezone ​

Backup Configuration ​

Docker Compose Configuration ​

Port Mapping ​

Resource Limits ​

Restart Policies ​

External Databases ​

Custom Volumes ​

Application Configuration (Web Interface) ​

Company Settings ​

User Management ​

Module Configuration ​

Email Templates ​

Configuration Profiles ​

Development Profile ​

Staging Profile ​

Production Profile ​

Configuration Best Practices ​

Security ​

Performance ​

Reliability ​

Scalability ​

Troubleshooting Configuration Issues ​

Environment Variables Not Applied ​

Configuration Validation ​

View Effective Configuration ​

Next Steps ​

Advanced Configuration

Configuration Methods

Environment Variables Reference

PostgreSQL

Redis

MongoDB

Security Configuration

Application URLs

Email Configuration (SMTP)

File Upload Configuration

Monitoring & Logging

Performance Tuning

Feature Flags

Notification Configuration

Localization & Timezone

Backup Configuration

Docker Compose Configuration

Port Mapping

Resource Limits

Restart Policies

External Databases

Custom Volumes

Application Configuration (Web Interface)

Company Settings

User Management

Module Configuration

Email Templates

Configuration Profiles

Development Profile

Staging Profile

Production Profile

Configuration Best Practices

Security

Performance

Reliability

Scalability

Troubleshooting Configuration Issues

Environment Variables Not Applied

Configuration Validation

View Effective Configuration

Next Steps