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Cardinal shards are configured using environment variables. This page documents all available configuration options, their default values, and usage examples.

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Configuration Options

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CARDINAL_ORG

Type: string
Default: "organization"
Required: Yes The organization identifier for the shard. This is used to namespace your organization within the larger World Engine stack. 
export CARDINAL_ORG="my-game-studio"

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CARDINAL_PROJECT

Type: string
Default: "project"
Required: Yes The project name within the organization. This is used to namespace your project within the organization. 
export CARDINAL_PROJECT="my-awesome-game"

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CARDINAL_SHARD_ID

Type: string
Default: "service"
Required: Yes A unique identifier for this shard. This is used to identify the shard within the project. 
export CARDINAL_SHARD_ID="shard-1"

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CARDINAL_TICK_RATE

Type: uint32
Default: 1
Required: Yes The tick rate determines how frequently the shard processes game state updates (in ticks per second). Higher values provide more responsive gameplay but consume more resources. 
export CARDINAL_TICK_RATE="20"  # 20 ticks per second

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CARDINAL_MODE

Type: string
Default: "LEADER"
Valid Values: "LEADER", "FOLLOWER" The shard mode determines the role of this shard:
  • LEADER: Primary shard that processes game logic and state changes
  • FOLLOWER: Secondary shard that follows the leader’s state (used for scaling and redundancy)
export CARDINAL_MODE="LEADER"

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CARDINAL_LOG_LEVEL

Type: string
Default: "info"
Valid Values: "debug", "info", "warn", "error" Controls the verbosity of log output:
  • debug: Most verbose, includes all log messages
  • info: General information about world operations
  • warn: Warning messages and potential issues
  • error: Only error messages
export CARDINAL_LOG_LEVEL="debug"

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CARDINAL_PRIVATE_KEY

Type: string
Default: None
Required: Yes The hex-encoded Ed25519 private key used for signing inter-shard commands. This key is critical for secure communication between world instances. 
export CARDINAL_PRIVATE_KEY="your-hex-encoded-ed25519-private-key"
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