Environment variables

A few things belong to the deployment rather than the Settings page: the address the player uses to reach Cinefin, the allowed browser hosts, the timezone, and where runtime data lives. Set these through the environment.

For Docker, put them in a .env file next to docker-compose.yml, or in the web service's environment. For the pipx install, export them before running cinefin, or set them in your service unit.

Most homes only need CINEFIN_SERVER_URL.

Common

Variable	What it is for
CINEFIN_SERVER_URL	The address the player uses to fetch Cinefin-hosted media (idents, trailers, title cards). Do not leave it as localhost when the player is another machine.
TZ	Keeps scheduled screenings in your local timezone.

Networking and security

Variable	What it is for
ALLOWED_HOSTS	The names or IP addresses you browse to. Defaults to * (accept any Host), which is fine for a home box on a trusted LAN; set it to your hostname or IP to restrict it.
CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS	The full browser address, including scheme, needed when you use a hostname with DEBUG=false, for example http://cinema.local:8000.
SECRET_KEY	The Django secret. Cinefin generates one and persists it under the data directory on first start, so you do not need to set it. Set it only to pin a known value.
DEBUG	Leave off outside development.

Storage and logging

Variable	What it is for
CINEFIN_USERDATA_DIR	Where all runtime data lives: the SQLite database, uploaded media, generated cards and the secret key. Docker defaults to /app/userdata (the mounted volume); the pipx install defaults to ~/.local/share/cinefin.
CINEFIN_LOG_FILE	Set to a path such as /app/userdata/logs/cinefin.log to also write a rotating logfile (5 MB x 5). Off by default.

pipx install only

Variable	What it is for
CINEFIN_HOST / CINEFIN_PORT	The address the cinefin command binds to. Defaults to 0.0.0.0:8000.

Everything else is configured in the app, on the Settings page. See Configuration.