Configuration

Configuration — Environment Variables

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All Tesla Carview settings are configured via the .env file at /opt/tesla-carview/backend/.env.

After any change to .env, restart the backend:

docker compose -f /opt/tesla-carview/docker-compose.prod.yml up -d --build backend

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Required settings (must be set for the app to work)

Variable	Example	Description
JWT_SECRET	some-random-64-char-string	Secret key for signing login tokens. Generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
TESLA_CLIENT_ID	abc123...	From Tesla Developer Portal
TESLA_CLIENT_SECRET	xyz789...	From Tesla Developer Portal
TESLA_AUTH_BASE	https://auth.tesla.com/oauth2/v3	Tesla OAuth base URL — pre-filled by setup wizard; only change if Tesla updates their auth endpoint
FRONTEND_URL	https://tesla.yourdomain.com	The public URL of your installation
DATABASE_PATH	/app/data	Where databases are stored (don't change in Docker)

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Optional but recommended

Variable	Default	Description
AUTO_UPDATE_ENABLED	false	Set to true to auto-update nightly
MFA_REQUIRED_FOR_NEW_USERS	false	Force MFA setup for all new user accounts
REGISTRATION_REQUIRES_INVITE	false	Require an invite code to register a new tenant
POLL_INTERVAL_MS	60000	How often to poll Tesla API when car is active (ms)
POLL_SLEEP_INTERVAL_MS	600000	Polling interval when car is sleeping (ms)

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Dynamic tariff (electricity pricing)

Variable	Description
AWATTAR_ENABLED	true/false — enable aWATTar (DE/AT, free)
TIBBER_TOKEN	Your Tibber API token (get at developer.tibber.com)

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Demo mode

Variable	Default	Description
DEMO_ENABLED	false	Enable public demo tenant with fake data
DEMO_MAX_CONCURRENT	10	Max simultaneous demo users
DEMO_LIFETIME_DAYS	14	How long demo accounts last

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Web Push (notifications)

VAPID keys are required for push notifications ("Charging complete", "Service interval due"). Without them, pushes don't work — the rest of the app runs normally.

Variable	Default	Description
VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY	—	Public key — generate with npx web-push generate-vapid-keys
VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY	—	Private key (generated at the same time)
VAPID_CONTACT	mailto:noreply@example.com	Contact URI for the push service — ideally your own email

Generate both keys with one command:

npx web-push generate-vapid-keys

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Advanced / Fleet Telemetry

Fleet Telemetry provides real-time GPS and telemetry pushed directly from the car to your server — instead of polling the Tesla API every minute. It is optional for most installations, but recommended (or required) for newer Tesla models.

When Fleet Telemetry matters:

• Newer models (e.g. Model Y Juniper, VINs starting with XP7) no longer return GPS data via the standard polling API — Fleet Telemetry is then the only way to get live location data.
• For older models, it's an optional upgrade: lower API load, faster data, and real-time position updates.

Prerequisites:

1. The Virtual Key must be paired first (see Tesla API Setup)
2. Fleet Telemetry must be approved for your Client-ID in the Tesla Developer Portal — this is a separate approval step beyond basic API access. Request it under your app settings.

Variable	Description
FLEET_TELEMETRY_ENABLED	true/false — enable real-time GPS via Fleet Telemetry
FLEET_TELEMETRY_PORT	Port for Fleet Telemetry server (default: 4443)
VIRTUAL_KEY_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH	Path to Virtual Key private key file

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How to generate a secure JWT_SECRET

openssl rand -hex 32
# Output: something like a8f3e9b2c1d4...
# Copy this into your .env file

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Checking your current configuration

# View current .env (careful with sharing output — contains secrets):
cat /opt/tesla-carview/backend/.env

# Check which environment variables the running container sees:
docker compose -f /opt/tesla-carview/docker-compose.prod.yml exec backend env | grep -v PASSWORD | grep -v SECRET

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In-app configuration (Admin → Admin Settings)

Some settings do not require .env changes — they are configured directly in the admin interface and stored in the database. These settings survive updates and do not require a container restart.

Setting	Location	Notes
SMTP / e-mail delivery	Admin → Admin Settings → E-Mail	Host, port, user, password, sender — includes a send-test button
OpenChargeMap API key	Admin → Admin Settings → External APIs	Charging station overlay on route planner — free, register at openchargemap.io/site/develop
HERE Maps API key	Admin → Admin Settings → External APIs	Real-time traffic on route planner — free tier (250 k req/month), register at developer.here.com
xAI API key	Admin → Admin Settings → External APIs	Grok Chat AI assistant — get at console.x.ai
Anthropic API key	Admin → Admin Settings → Monitoring	AI-powered autofix (Claude Haiku) — see below
Self-healing toggle	Admin → Admin Settings → Monitoring	Enable/disable automatic container restart
Alert e-mail address	Admin → Admin Settings → Monitoring	Where monitoring alerts are sent
Monta credentials	Settings → Vehicle profile → Home charging	Per-vehicle: Client ID, Client Secret, Charge-Point ID — available for all vehicle categories
Electricity price per kWh	Settings → Vehicle profile or setup wizard	Per-vehicle energy cost for charging calculations

All of the above can also be configured during the setup wizard — no direct server access required.

What is the Anthropic API key for?

Tesla Carview includes a two-tier self-healing monitoring system that runs automatically on the server:

• Tier 1 — Rule-based autofix (runs every 20 minutes): Handles known, deterministic problems — restarting stopped containers, clearing full disks, fixing file permissions. No AI required, always active.
• Tier 2 — AI autofix (optional): Triggered when Tier 1 cannot fix a problem. Sends the error log to Claude Haiku (Anthropic) and asks it to suggest and optionally apply a fix — a more powerful fallback for unusual problems.

Tier 2 is entirely optional and can simply be left out. The system self-heals reliably with Tier 1 alone — for most installations that is more than sufficient. Without an Anthropic key, unsolvable problems trigger an e-mail alert instead.

Get a key at console.anthropic.com (pay-per-use, Claude Haiku is very cheap — typically a few cents per month for occasional autofix calls).

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Full reference

For a complete list of every environment variable with detailed descriptions, see the technical documentation: docs/10-configuration.en.md