This page lists all environment variables recognized by the exo CLI. Set them in your shell profile (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc) or inline before a command.
Configuration Root
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|
EXO_CONFIG_DIR | Root directory for all exo config, cache, and credentials. When set, all paths (contexts, credentials, SSH config, AWS credentials, drive tokens, credential-helper cache) are rooted under this directory instead of the system defaults. Equivalent to the --config-dir persistent flag. | (none — system defaults) |
This is useful for running multiple isolated exo sessions on the same machine (e.g., CI/CD pipelines, container builds, or multi-user environments):
# Isolate all exo state under a per-job directory
export EXO_CONFIG_DIR=/tmp/exo-job-42
exo login
exo sync
Or use the --config-dir flag directly (it sets EXO_CONFIG_DIR for all subprocesses automatically):
exo --config-dir /tmp/exo-job-42 sync
Directory layout under EXO_CONFIG_DIR:
| Path | Contents |
|---|
<root>/exo/ | Contexts, SSH config, drive tokens, credentials |
<root>/aws/credentials | AWS shared credentials file |
<root>/cache/exo-credential-helper/ | S3 credential cache |
Core
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|
EXOHUB_CONTEXT | Active context name (alternative to --context flag) | (none) |
EXOHUB_JOBS | Parallel jobs for sync, get, export, copy, fsck, and add operations | 1 |
EXOHUB_LARGE_TEXT_THRESHOLD | Override the fallback large-text threshold used by exo add’s auto routing (e.g. 1MiB). A --large-text-threshold flag takes precedence over this variable. Never overrides an explicit annex.routing rule. | 5MiB |
EXOHUB_API_URL | ExoHub API endpoint | (none — must be set or provided by your ExoHub deployment) |
EXOHUB_GIT_HOST | Default git host URL used by the built-in default context. Useful when deploying ExoHub against a custom GitLab or GitHub instance. | (built-in on internal binary; none on OSS build) |
EXOHUB_CATALOG_URL | ArtifactDB catalog URL for exo atlas and exo download | (auto-resolved from context) |
EXOHUB_BASE_URL | ExoHub host root URL (no /api suffix), used for endpoints outside /api such as the /eds index resolved by exo download --eds | (derived from EXOHUB_API_URL/built-in API base with any trailing /api stripped) |
EXOHUB_PROFILE | Profile name to apply when running exo init in a new directory (equivalent to --profile; ignored if the current directory is already a git repository) | (none) |
EXOHUB_TPL_<NAME> | Expose an environment variable to profile templates as .<NAME> (top-level, e.g. EXOHUB_TPL_BUCKET → .BUCKET) | (none) |
EXO_UPGRADE_URL | URL of the upgrade script used by exo upgrade. Must use https://. Overrides the built-in default when set. The internal binary has a built-in default; the open-source build has none (exo upgrade fails if neither built-in nor env var is set). | (built-in on internal binary; none on OSS build) |
EXOHUB_VERSION_CHECK_URL | Override the version-update-check service URL used by exo version. The internal binary has a built-in default; the open-source build has none (update check is skipped unless set). | (built-in on internal binary; none on OSS build) |
EXOHUB_DOCS_URL | llms.txt index URL for the ExoHub user guide, shown in exo --help, in the MCP server instructions, and used by the MCP docs tool to point agents at usage documentation | https://genentech.github.io/exohub/llms.txt (OSS); internal binary has its own built-in |
Appearance
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|
EXO_THEME | Override the active color theme (e.g., exohub, mono) | (from preferences file, or exohub) |
EXO_THEME_MODE | Override dark/light mode (auto, dark, light) | auto (auto-detects terminal background) |
EXOHUB_DISABLE_TIPS | Unconditionally disable daily tips when set to 1, true, or yes. Intended for CI/server environments. Takes precedence over EXOHUB_TIPS and preferences. Any other non-empty value is ignored. | (unset) |
EXOHUB_TIPS | Control daily tips display (false or 0 to disable). Checked only when EXOHUB_DISABLE_TIPS is not active. | (from preferences tips_enabled, default enabled) |
Authentication
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|
EXO_OIDC_ISSUER | OIDC issuer URL used by exo doctor’s network probe and by the generic/open-source build of the CLI for device flow login | (none — internal binary uses built-in OIDC defaults) |
EXO_OIDC_CLIENT_ID | OIDC client ID for the generic/open-source build | (none — internal binary uses built-in defaults) |
EXO_OIDC_SCOPES | Space-separated OIDC scopes for the generic/open-source build | openid profile |
EXO_OIDC_AUDIENCE | OIDC audience for the generic/open-source build | (none) |
EXO_AWS_ROLE_ARN | IAM role ARN for sts:AssumeRoleWithWebIdentity in the generic/open-source build | (none — internal binary uses built-in defaults) |
EXO_AWS_SESSION_DURATION | STS session duration in seconds for the generic/open-source build | 3600 |
EXO_AWS_REGION | AWS region for the STS call in the generic/open-source build | us-east-1 |
EXOHUB_AWS_PROFILE | AWS credentials profile used by exo | exohub |
EXO_NO_AWS_PROFILE_INJECT | Set to 1 to prevent exo from injecting its own AWS_PROFILE into subcommands (git-annex, s5cmd, etc.). Use this when you want subcommands to use your own pre-set AWS credentials (AWS_PROFILE, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, etc.) instead of exo’s credentials. Note: if any AWS identity variable (AWS_PROFILE, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, or AWS_SESSION_TOKEN) is already set in the environment, exo automatically skips injection even without this flag. | (unset) |
EXOHUB_GIT_TOKEN | Generic git authentication token (used if no provider-specific token is set) | (none) |
EXOHUB_GITLAB_TOKEN | GitLab-specific git token | (none) |
EXOHUB_GITHUB_TOKEN | GitHub-specific git token | (none) |
EXOHUB_GITEA_TOKEN | Gitea-specific git token | (none) |
EXO_TOKEN_FILE | Path to the OAuth token file (overrides EXO_CONFIG_DIR-derived path and system default) | ~/.config/exo/credentials/token.json |
S3 Access Grants
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|
EXOHUB_GRANTS_ACCOUNT_ID | AWS account ID for S3 Access Grants. Required on open-source builds (no built-in default); the internal binary has a built-in production value. When not set on an OSS build, exo doctor’s S3 Control network probe is skipped. | (none — set by internal binary on internal builds) |
EXOHUB_GRANTS_REGION | AWS region for S3 Access Grants. Required on open-source builds (no built-in default); the internal binary has a built-in production value. | (none — set by internal binary on internal builds) |
EXO_CREDENTIAL_HELPER_BIN | Path to the credential helper binary | exo-credential-helper |
Local Standalone Catalog
| Variable | Description | Default |
|———-|————-|———||
| VERSITYGW_SECRET_KEY | Root secret key for the managed versitygw S3-compatible object store launched by exo standalone up. Alternative to the --secret-key flag. | (required — no default) |
Debugging
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|
EXOHUB_CLI_DEBUG | Enable verbose HTTP logging and command echoing | (unset) |
