Configuration
Environment variables, the server URL and timing knobs.
The server
By default the CLI talks to http://localhost:3000. Point it at another
server with --api-url or BIGA_API_URL:
BIGA_API_URL=https://biga.example.com biga startOn Windows PowerShell:
$env:BIGA_API_URL = "https://biga.example.com"; biga startRelease builds can bake a hosted server in with the DefaultAPIURL link-time
setting, in which case this variable is only needed to override it.
A self-hosted server may require an access key. Its operator gives you one:
BIGA_API_URL=https://biga.example.com BIGA_ACCESS_KEY=bgk_… biga startEnvironment variables
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
BIGA_API_URL | http://localhost:3000 | Server base URL. --api-url overrides it. |
BIGA_ACCESS_KEY | unset | Sent to servers that only accept broadcasts from key holders. Ask the server's operator for one. |
BIGA_HOME | ~/.biga | Where local state is kept. |
BIGA_IDLE_MS | 120 | Quiet time after the last change before a checkpoint is sent. |
BIGA_MAX_WAIT_MS | 1000 | The longest a burst of changes can delay a checkpoint. |
BIGA_STABILITY_MS | 75 | How long a file must stop changing before it is read. |
BIGA_HEARTBEAT_MS | 10000 | How often a broadcast tells the server it is live. |
BIGA_NO_UPDATE_CHECK | unset | Set to anything to skip the daily release check. CI set does the same. |
Raise the timing values on slow disks or filesystems that report partial writes. Lowering them makes updates feel snappier.
How a burst of saves becomes a checkpoint
Every save restarts a quiet timer. Once the folder has been quiet for
BIGA_IDLE_MS, or BIGA_MAX_WAIT_MS has passed since the first change in the
burst, the changed files go out as one checkpoint. A long burst still flushes
every second, so a viewer never waits on you for long.