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Variables

VariableRequiredDefaultUsed ByDescription
THEO_API_KEY✅—CLI, SDK, MCPYour theo_sk_... API key
THEO_BASE_URL—https://www.hitheo.aiCLI, SDK, MCPOverride API base URL
THEO_ALLOW_JS_CONFIG—unsetMCPWhen 1, allows the MCP server to load theo.config.js / theo.config.ts instead of theo.config.json. Off by default for safety — JS/TS config executes arbitrary code from the working directory.
THEO_BASE_URL defaults to the canonical www host. Pointing it at https://hitheo.ai (without www) causes the apex to 307-redirect to www, which some HTTP clients handle by stripping the Authorization header — first-time 401. See 401 Troubleshooting.

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Where They’re Used

  • CLI — theo complete, theo status, theo verify, theo skill publish all read THEO_API_KEY. theo status also probes both apex and www regardless of which one THEO_BASE_URL points at, so a misconfigured env var is surfaced as a warning.
  • MCP Server — The @hitheo/mcp server reads THEO_API_KEY on startup and injects it into every tool call. THEO_BASE_URL defaults to https://www.hitheo.ai as of @hitheo/mcp@0.2.0.
  • SDK — For programmatic use, pass the key directly:
const theo = new Theo({ apiKey: process.env.THEO_API_KEY! });

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Setting Variables

export THEO_API_KEY=theo_sk_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6...

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Precedence

  1. Explicit constructor parameter (SDK) or CLI flag
  2. Environment variable
  3. .env file in the current directory Explicit values always override environment variables.