Configuration

All MatchNest configuration is done via environment variables in your .env file and the Admin Panel.

Environment Variables

Database

Variable	Default	Description
`DATABASE_URL`	`file:./dev.db`	Prisma database connection string

Authentication

Variable	Description
`JWT_SECRET`	Secret key for signing JWT tokens (min 32 chars)
`NEXTAUTH_URL`	Full URL of your site (e.g. https://yourdomain.com)
`JWT_EXPIRES_IN`	Token expiry duration (default: `7d`)

File Uploads

Variable	Default	Description
`UPLOAD_MAX_SIZE_MB`	`10`	Maximum file upload size in megabytes
`UPLOAD_ALLOWED_TYPES`	`image/jpeg,image/png,image/webp`	Allowed MIME types for uploads

Email (SMTP)

Variable	Description
`SMTP_HOST`	SMTP server hostname
`SMTP_PORT`	SMTP port (typically 587 or 465)
`SMTP_USER`	SMTP login username
`SMTP_PASS`	SMTP login password
`SMTP_FROM`	Sender address (e.g. MatchNest <[email protected]>)

Admin Panel Settings

Most runtime configuration is available through the admin panel at /admin/settings:

General — Site name, logo, tagline, contact email, support phone
Registration — Toggle open registration, email verification, phone OTP, manual approval
Social Links — Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube
Maintenance Mode — Put the site in maintenance mode with a custom message

Subscription Plans

Plans are managed in the admin panel at /admin/packages. You can create, edit, and delete packages. Each package supports:

Name, price, and billing period
Feature flags (interests/month, messages/month, contact views, gallery photos, verified badge, profile boost, etc.)
Custom descriptions

Database Configuration

MatchNest uses Prisma ORM with SQLite by default. For production, switch to PostgreSQL or MySQL:

# prisma/schema.prisma — change the provider
datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"   // "sqlite" | "mysql" | "postgresql"
}

# Update DATABASE_URL in .env accordingly
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/dbname"

After changing providers, run npm run db:push to recreate the schema.