Environment variables

You rarely need any of these. Each one changes a default you can usually also set with a flag.

Variables apply to commands you run in a terminal. The background app does not see variables you set in a terminal:

On macOS and Linux, it sees only HOME, PATH and the state folder chosen at install, so it uses each agent’s default folders.
On Windows, it is started by Windows when you sign in, not from your PowerShell window, so variables you set with $env: in a window do not reach it.

To make the background app use a different state folder, set COMMANDCHAIN_RUNNER_STATE_DIR when you run the install command.

The CommandChain app

Variable	What it changes
`COMMANDCHAIN_URL`	The CommandChain address used by `commandchain-runner`, `commandchain-runner logout` and the installers when you do not pass one. A `url` argument or `--server` option wins over it. `commandchain-runner status` and `commandchain-runner sessions-connect` do not read it: `status` shows every saved connection, or the one you name with `--url`, and `sessions-connect` uses the hosted CommandChain unless you pass a `url`.
`COMMANDCHAIN_RUNNER_STATE_DIR`	The folder CommandChain uses on this computer. Default: `~/.commandchain` (Windows: `%USERPROFILE%\.commandchain`). Must be an absolute path.
`LOG_LEVEL`	How much the app writes to its log. Set it to `debug` when you capture a log for a bug report. Default: `info`.
`COMMANDCHAIN_RUNNER_PLAIN`	Set to `1` to print plain log lines instead of the friendly text, like `--plain`.
`COMMANDCHAIN_AUTO_UPDATE`	Turns automatic updates off with `0`, `false`, `off` or `no`, and on with `1`, `true`, `on` or `yes`. It wins over `commandchain-runner update --auto`, and `--no-auto-update` wins over it. The background app does not see it, so to turn updates off there, run `commandchain-runner update --auto off`. See Automatic updates.
`COMMANDCHAIN_CLAUDE_PATH`	The Claude Code program `commandchain-runner claude-integration` uses, when `claude` on your `PATH` is not the one you want.

The app reads these the same way the agents do, so set them only if you already set them for the agent.

Variable	What it changes
`CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR`	Claude Code’s configuration folder. Default: `~/.claude`.
`CODEX_HOME`	Codex’s folder. Default: `~/.codex`.
`COPILOT_HOME`	GitHub Copilot’s folder, where its saved sessions are found. Default: `~/.copilot`.
`CURSOR_CONFIG_DIR`	Cursor’s configuration folder, where its saved sessions are found.

Variable	What it changes
`COMMANDCHAIN_RUNNER_VERSION`	The release to install, like `--version` (Windows: `-Version`). Default: the latest.
`COMMANDCHAIN_RUNNER_NAME`	The computer name, like `--display-name` (Windows: `-DisplayName`).
`COMMANDCHAIN_INSTALL_PREFIX`	Where the program goes. Default: `$HOME/.local/bin` on macOS and Linux, `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\CommandChain` on Windows.