Principle:Risingwavelabs Risingwave Environment Configuration

Knowledge Sources	RisingWave Docs RisingWave
Domains	Deployment, Configuration_Management
Last Updated	2026-02-09 07:00 GMT

Overview

A configuration management pattern that externalizes deployment-specific settings (storage credentials, telemetry flags, license keys) into environment files consumed by Docker Compose.

Description

Environment Configuration separates deployment-specific settings from the application code and Docker Compose service definitions. This pattern enables the same Docker Compose profiles to be used across different environments (development, staging, production) by swapping only the environment files.

RisingWave uses several configuration layers:

• risingwave.toml: Application-level configuration (mounted into container)
• Environment variables: Runtime settings (ENABLE_TELEMETRY, RW_LICENSE_KEY, RW_SECRET_STORE_PRIVATE_KEY_HEX)
• Storage credential files: Cloud provider access (aws.env, multiple_object_storage.env)
• Docker Compose profiles: Infrastructure topology (standalone vs distributed, storage backend selection)

Usage

Use environment configuration when:

• Deploying RisingWave with different storage backends (S3, GCS, Azure)
• Managing credentials securely across environments
• Customizing telemetry and licensing settings
• Switching between standalone and distributed deployments

Theoretical Basis

Configuration Hierarchy:
    1. Docker Compose file (service definitions, resource limits)
    2. Environment files (.env, aws.env, multiple_object_storage.env)
    3. Config file (risingwave.toml, mounted as volume)
    4. Command-line arguments (--meta-opts, --compute-opts, etc.)

Precedence: CLI args > env vars > config file > defaults

Related Pages

Implemented By

• Implementation:Risingwavelabs_Risingwave_Docker_Environment_Config

Uses Heuristic

• Heuristic:Risingwavelabs_Risingwave_LSM_Compaction_Tuning