Configuration

Everything is configured through environment variables. Put the daemon's credentials in .env.mirror, and leave the rest alone unless you have a reason; the defaults are sane for local use.

Environment Variables

Variable	Used By	Default	What It Does
PROD_USERNAME / PROD_PASSWORD	daemon	(none)	auth to the prod server
VEX_PROD_API_BASE	daemon	https://inviteinstitutehub.org	prod server base URL
DB_PATH	both	db.sqlite3	where the SQLite file lives
CORS_ORIGINS	API	http://localhost:3000,http://localhost:5173	allowed dashboard origins
PIPELINE_INTERVAL	daemon	0.5	base seconds per tick while events are flowing
PIPELINE_IDLE_MAX	daemon	5.0	the idle-backoff ceiling (how far the poll gap stretches when it's quiet)
PIPELINE_PAGE_LIMIT	daemon	500	events fetched per page
PIPELINE_BACKFILL_HOURS	daemon	24	on the first run only, how far back the initial drain goes (<= 0 means replay all history)

Note

Both processes load .env.mirror, but only the daemon actually uses the prod credentials. It's harmless for the API, which never calls prod.

CLI Flags

The daemon's settings are also available as flags, and a flag wins over the matching environment variable:

python -m app.pipeline --interval 1 --idle-max 8 --backfill-hours 2

The full set is --interval, --idle-max, --limit (events per page), --overlap (cursor overlap seconds), and --backfill-hours. Run python -m app.pipeline --help for the inline reference.

Polling And Idle Backoff

While students are active, the daemon polls every PIPELINE_INTERVAL seconds. When nothing's happening, it backs off exponentially toward PIPELINE_IDLE_MAX (so 0.5 → 1 → 2 → 4 → 5s) instead of hammering prod with empty requests, and it snaps right back to fast the moment activity returns.

Tip

Poll load tracks event volume, not roster size. A quiet cohort barely touches prod no matter how many students you're tracking.