[Bug]: "env_files" getting overwritten - requiring different environment files

[creazy231]

Problem Description

I've been attempting to deploy R2R using Coolify (via public repo/docker compose) without success after many hours of troubleshooting.

I'm using the docker compose file which requires different .env files for different services.

The core issue is that R2R requires two separate postgres services with different environment variables defined in the env folder. These are attached to each service using the env_file: directive in the compose.yml.

However, Coolify takes these variables, puts them into the Environment Variables tab, and replaces the custom env_file paths with its own .env file. This approach fails when dealing with two postgres databases that use the same environment variable names.

Questions

• Is there a workaround for this scenario?
• Will Coolify support an array of env_file directives in compose.yml and extend its own .env file when one already exists?

My team would greatly appreciate any assistance with this issue.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Public Repository
2. https://github.com/SciPhi-AI/R2R
3. Base Directory /docker & Build Pack Docker Compose (compose.full.yaml)
4. Deploy

Example Repository URL

https://github.com/SciPhi-AI/R2R/tree/main/docker

Coolify Version

v4.0.0-beta.407

Are you using Coolify Cloud?

No (self-hosted)

Operating System and Version (self-hosted)

Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS

Additional Information

No response

[djsisson]

@creazy231 coolify does not support multiple env files, as a workaround you would do this instead:

services:
  postgres-one:
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=${SERVICE_USER_POSTGRESONE}
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${SERVICE_PASSWORD_POSTGRESONE}
  postgres-two:
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=${SERVICE_USER_POSTGRESTWO}
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${SERVICE_PASSWORD_POSTGRESTWO}

the resulting env file would have 4 different entries for you, ensuring each seperate service gets its own unique value

[Arnaud-IFEA]

Hello,
I up this issue, as it is a real problem. Ok there is a workaround, but this forces us to maintain environment variables that are normally versioned.
the .env that is generated by coolify should not replace existing env files, it should simply be added:

env_file:
  - .my_custom_env_file
  - .env.coolify # generated by coolify 

My 2 cents :).

[djsisson]

@Arnaud-IFEA coolify passes --env-file as a flag to docker compose, this overrides anything that is set in the compose, so any custom env-file is ignored by docker compose
Also any custom env are not saved on the host so they arent even available for you to use in a custom compose start command
You have to have all your env in coolify.