Environment variables and persistent files on blitz.cloud

On blitz.cloud, environment variables are set on each app's Environment tab, stored encrypted, and applied the next time the app restarts. Files survive restarts when the app writes them to one of its kept folders. On Pro those folders are copied every night. On the free plan they are not, so keep a copy of anything you can't lose.

Environment variables

Open an app in the dashboard and go to Environment. You can add, change and delete variables there.

• Up to 64 variables per app.
• Values are hidden by default and shown one at a time when you click to reveal them.
• Values are encrypted before they're stored and only decrypted on the way into the app.
• You can paste a whole .env file instead of adding variables one by one.
• A removed variable can be brought back with Undo, right after you remove it.
• Changes apply on the next restart. The page says "Restart needed" until then and has a restart button next to that note.

Variables that connect an app to its database are filled in by blitz.cloud and marked as such. See databases.

For App Store apps, the Environment tab starts with the settings the store entry provides, generated secrets included.

Persistent files

A container's filesystem is thrown away when it restarts. Only the app's kept folders survive.

• App Store apps keep the folders their entry names, like Ghost's content folder.
• Docker images keep the folders they declare with VOLUME, plus any the detection suggests. You can edit the list under Advanced settings in the wizard.
• An app can keep up to 6 folders.
• You can keep another folder later, from the app's Settings tab under Files. It's empty until the app writes something there; nothing from before is carried over.

Behind the scenes, all apps in your account share one disk, and each app gets its own folder on it. An app running on blitz.cloud can't see another app's files, but you can: the Files section of each app's Settings links into FileBrowser Quantum from the App Store, which uploads, downloads and sorts what is in the kept folders of every app in your account.

Storage reservations

Each app that keeps files reserves part of your plan's storage:

The meter in Settings shows what is reserved, not what is actually written. The free plan has 10 GB. See limits.

Backups

Databases are copied every night on both plans. Kept folders are copied every night on Pro, and 30 nights are kept. You can put one back from the app's Settings tab, under Backups, and undo the restore if it wasn't the right night.

On the free plan kept folders are not backed up. If your app stores uploads or a SQLite database on disk, download your own copies regularly, or use a managed database instead of SQLite.

Deleting an app deletes its files. There is no undo.

Exporting your data

"Download my data" in Settings gives you one file with everything we hold about your account: your apps and their settings, databases, domains, builds and history. What is inside your databases is not in it, and there's no download button for that yet. The files your apps keep on disk can be downloaded through FileBrowser Quantum from the App Store. If you want to move somewhere else, write to hallo@blitzworks.io and we'll help you get your data out.