Environment Variables

Configure CLI behavior with environment variables instead of repeating flags or editing meldoc.config.yml.

Variables

Variable	Default	Description
MELDOC_TOKEN	—	API token for CLI operations (integration token mdc_..., CLI secret mld.*.*, or JWT)
MELDOC_CONFIG_FILE	meldoc.config.yml in the repo root	Config file path override
MELDOC_CONFIG_FILE_NAME	—	Config file name, resolved against the project root by the MCP server
NO_BROWSER	—	Set to any value to suppress auto-opening the browser during meldoc auth login
MELDOC_MCP_TOKEN	—	Token for the MCP server (meldoc mcp serve); falls back to MELDOC_TOKEN. See Authentication

To set the workspace, put workspaceAlias in meldoc.config.yml or pass --workspace on commands that accept it.

Token priority

Meldoc resolves authentication in this order (highest priority first):

1. --token CLI flag
2. token field in meldoc.config.yml
3. MELDOC_TOKEN environment variable
4. ~/.meldoc/credentials.json (stored by meldoc auth login)

MELDOC_TOKEN

Used for all API operations: push, pull, delete, ci, migrate.

export MELDOC_TOKEN="mld.workspace.secret"
meldoc push

The CLI accepts these token formats:

Format	Example	HTTP header sent
Integration token	mdc_...	X-Cli-Secret
CLI secret	mld.workspace.secret123	X-Cli-Secret
JWT	eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9...	Authorization: Bearer

Whichever format you use, the CLI also sends X-Workspace-Alias and X-Project-Alias whenever workspaceAlias and projectAlias are set in meldoc.config.yml.

MELDOC_MCP_TOKEN

A separate token for the MCP server’s remote API tools (docs_search, docs_get, docs_list, docs_tree, docs_create, docs_update, docs_delete, projects_list and the rest). If it is not set, the MCP server falls back to MELDOC_TOKEN.

Use it to give an AI assistant read-only access while keeping a write-capable token for your own CLI operations:

export MELDOC_TOKEN="mld.workspace.readwrite"      # CLI push/pull
export MELDOC_MCP_TOKEN="mld.workspace.readonly"   # MCP docs browsing

MELDOC_CONFIG_FILE

Override the default config file location. A relative path is resolved against the current working directory.

export MELDOC_CONFIG_FILE="/path/to/custom-config.yml"

MELDOC_CONFIG_FILE_NAME is the same idea for the MCP server, and it takes a file name rather than a path:

export MELDOC_CONFIG_FILE_NAME="meldoc.config.yml"

The server joins that name to the project root once it knows what the root is. Use it when the config is not in a place you can name in advance — an MCP client configuration is written before anyone knows which directory the editor will open, so an absolute path there only works from one checkout, and a relative one only works when the client happens to start in the right directory.

Pointing the CLI somewhere else

Two more variables exist and are documented where they are used rather than here: MELDOC_SERVER overrides the API endpoint (see Troubleshooting), and MELDOC_API_URL with MELDOC_APP_URL do the same for the MCP server (see Advanced Usage). You need them for a self-hosted deployment and almost never otherwise.

NO_BROWSER

Suppress auto-opening the browser during meldoc auth login. The authorization link is printed either way — with NO_BROWSER set, the CLI just leaves it for you to open manually.

NO_BROWSER=1 meldoc auth login

CI environment variables

meldoc ci works out which commit to diff against by reading your CI provider’s own variables, in this order — the first one that is set wins:

GITHUB_EVENT_BEFORE -> CI_COMMIT_BEFORE_SHA -> BITBUCKET_COMMIT~1 -> HEAD~1

HEAD~1 is the fallback when none is set, which is why a shallow clone with a single commit can make a run look like it changed everything. Override with meldoc ci --base <commit>.

What’s next?

Configuration — Project configuration file reference.

CI/CD Integration — CI/CD token setup and pipeline examples.