> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.papermap.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Environment variables

> Configuration used by AIR applications and worker processes.

## Applications

The SDK constructor accepts values directly. These conventional names keep
application configuration consistent:

| Variable       | Required | Example                              |
| -------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------ |
| `AIR_BASE_URL` | Yes      | `https://dev.airapi.papermap.ai`     |
| `AIR_APP_KEY`  | Yes      | Project app key from the AIR console |

```python theme={null}
import os

from air import AirClient


client = AirClient(
    os.environ["AIR_BASE_URL"],
    os.environ["AIR_APP_KEY"],
)
```

## Worker CLI

| Variable                   | Required | Default   | Purpose                                  |
| -------------------------- | -------- | --------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| `AIR_BASE_URL`             | Yes      | None      | AIR API origin.                          |
| `AIR_WORKER_KEY`           | Yes      | None      | Project-scoped worker credential.        |
| `AIR_WORKER_ENV`           | No       | `default` | Label describing the worker environment. |
| `AIR_WORKER_CLAIM_TIMEOUT` | No       | `5`       | Task long-poll timeout in seconds.       |

```bash theme={null}
AIR_BASE_URL="https://dev.airapi.papermap.ai" \
AIR_WORKER_KEY="<from-secret-manager>" \
AIR_WORKER_ENV="staging" \
air worker start --module tools
```

<Warning>
  Keep keys out of committed `.env` files. In deployed environments, inject
  them from a managed secret store.
</Warning>