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This page lists the environment variables users and administrators commonly touch. Server-side values live in the control plane .env file created by setup.sh.

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CLI variables

VariableRequiredDescription
TD_SERVER_URLYesURL of the Tandemn server that the CLI should contact.
TD_API_KEYIf enabledAPI key for deployments that require authenticated client and replica communication.
export TD_SERVER_URL=<your-server-url>
export TD_API_KEY=<your-api-key>
Verify the value with: 
echo $TD_SERVER_URL
tandemn check

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Server variables

Server variables are release-specific. After running bash setup.sh, inspect .env.
VariableRequiredDescription
S3_UPLOAD_BUCKETYesExisting S3 bucket for uploaded workloads, chunk outputs, assembled output, and metrics.
HF_TOKENFor gated modelsHuggingFace token for models such as Llama and Gemma.
TD_API_KEYRecommendedShared API key for control plane authentication.
KOI_SERVICE_URLOptionalURL for optional Koi recommendations and lifecycle callbacks. Leave unset for standalone Orca behavior.
ANTHROPIC_API_KEYFor LLM advisorEnables the LLM placement advisor when the performance database is installed.
ORCA_URLKoi service onlyURL Koi uses to call back to Orca/Tandemn System.
Do not expose secrets, credentials, tokens, or private hostnames in public documentation or committed files.

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Common mistakes

  • Setting TD_SERVER_URL in one shell and running tandemn from another shell.
  • Using a server URL that is reachable from the admin machine but not from the user’s network.
  • Leaving S3_UPLOAD_BUCKET pointed at a bucket that does not exist.
  • Setting KOI_SERVICE_URL accidentally when you want standalone behavior.
  • Committing .env by accident.