Environment variables

Environment variables

Environment variables read by malac, malac-control and the install script.

malac

Variable	Meaning
MALAC_HOME	malac's home directory instead of ~/.malac: configuration, credentials, sessions, memory, browser profiles, logs. malac-control uses it too.
MALAC_LOG	Log filter, in tracing syntax, for example debug or malac_core=debug. Default warn. Logs go to stderr, to ~/.malac/malac.log while the full-screen terminal UI is open, and to ~/.malac/daemon.log for the background daemon.
MALAC_WEB_TOKEN	Token for the daemon's web UI and API, instead of the one saved in ~/.malac/daemon.token (same as --token); applies when the daemon starts
MALAC_WEB_DIR	Serve the web UI's files from this directory instead of the copies built into the binary, for UI development; set it for the daemon
MALAC_RELEASES	Release download base for malac update and update checks, for mirrors. Default https://github.com/lobirus/malac/releases.
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Key for the built-in anthropic provider
OPENAI_API_KEY	Key for the built-in openai provider
SHELL	The bash tool uses it when it is bash or zsh, else /bin/sh
TERM	The full-screen terminal UI needs it set and not dumb
COLORTERM	truecolor or 24bit makes the terminal UI use 24-bit color; otherwise it uses the 256-color palette
NO_COLOR	Any non-empty value turns the terminal UI's colors off

The daemon keeps the environment it was started with: after changing a variable such as an API key, run malac daemon restart.

Provider keys can come from any variable you name with api_key_env, and MCP servers, the control service and Milvus read tokens from variables named with token_env. ${VAR} references in MCP command, args, env and headers are expanded from the environment.

Set by malac

Commands run by the bash tool get:

Variable	Value
MALAC	1, so scripts can tell they run under malac
PAGER	cat
GIT_PAGER	cat
SKILL_DIR	The folder of the skill the agent loaded last, so its scripts run as sh "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/x.sh"

Plugin hooks run with CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT, CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA and CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR, and stdio MCP servers from Agent Plugins packages get PLUGIN_ROOT and PLUGIN_DATA.

malac-control

Variable	Meaning
MALAC_CONTROL_TOKEN	Token for malac-control serve, instead of a random one (same as --token)
MALAC_HOME	Where control.toml, control.json and browser profiles live
RUST_LOG	Log filter for stderr. Default info.

Install script

Set these for the sh side of curl … | sh:

Variable	Default	Meaning
MALAC_INSTALL_DIR	~/.local/bin	Where the binaries go
MALAC_VERSION	latest	Release tag to install, for example v0.2.0
MALAC_FROM_SOURCE	unset	1 to always build from source
MALAC_REF	main	Branch or tag to build from source
MALAC_SOURCE	unset	Build this local checkout instead of cloning
MALAC_RELEASES	GitHub releases	Release download base, for mirrors

Release packaging

Variable	Meaning
MALAC_SIGN_IDENTITY	A "Developer ID Installer" identity for scripts/package.sh --pkg to sign the macOS package. See Releasing.