Environment variables

Environment variables let you configure Junie CLI without passing command-line flags. This is especially useful in CI/CD pipelines and headless environments where you set variables in the runner configuration instead of the command line.

Configuration precedence

For settings that exist as both environment variables and command-line flags, command-line flags take priority.

For example, if JUNIE_MODEL is set to sonnet but you run junie --model gpt, the CLI flag takes priority.

Configuration files are resolved separately. For details about config.json, user settings, and the full precedence order, see Junie CLI configuration files.

Authentication

Set one of the following variables to authenticate Junie CLI with your preferred LLM provider.

Junie token

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_API_KEY	-a, --auth	Authentication token (Junie API key) for Junie CLI. Generate one at junie.jetbrains.com/cli.

Provider API keys

Use these variables to authenticate directly with a specific LLM provider (BYOK). Only the key for the provider of your selected model is required.

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	--anthropic-api-key	API key for Anthropic (Claude models).
JUNIE_OPENAI_API_KEY	--openai-api-key	API key for OpenAI (GPT models).
JUNIE_GOOGLE_API_KEY	--google-api-key	API key for Google AI (Gemini models).
JUNIE_GROK_API_KEY	--grok-api-key	API key for xAI (Grok models).
JUNIE_OPENROUTER_API_KEY	--openrouter-api-key	API key for OpenRouter.

Project and task

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_TASK	--task	Task description in plain English. Alternative to passing the task as a positional argument.
JUNIE_PROJECT	-p, --project	Path to the project directory. Defaults to the current working directory.

Model selection

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_MODEL	--model	LLM model to use. If not specified, Junie uses the `Default` model.
JUNIE_LLM_PROVIDER	--provider	BYOK provider to use. Possible values: `openai`, `anthropic`, `google`, `xai`, `openrouter`. If not set, the Junie or Custom model provider is used.

For more details, see Model selection.

Custom model discovery

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_MODEL_DEFAULT_LOCATIONS	--model-default-locations	Enable or disable default custom model locations (per-user and per-project). Defaults to `true`.
JUNIE_MODEL_LOCATIONS	--model-location	Additional paths where Junie should search for custom model profiles. Can be specified multiple times.

For more details, see Custom LLM models.

Configuration files

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_CONFIG_LOCATION	--config-location	Additional `config.json` file paths. Can be specified multiple times.
JUNIE_CONFIG_DEFAULT_LOCATIONS	--config-default-locations	Enable or disable loading configuration from the default user and project locations. Defaults to `true`.

For more details, see Junie CLI configuration files.

Guidelines and customization

Guidelines file

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_GUIDELINES_FILENAME	--guidelines-filename	Name or path of a custom guidelines file to use instead of the default. The file should be placed in `.junie/` at the project root.

When Junie starts a task, it looks for guidelines in the following order:

Custom file. If JUNIE_GUIDELINES_FILENAME is set, Junie uses that file (e.g., .junie/my_guidelines_ci.md).
.junie/AGENTS.md. Primary guidelines file in the Junie project directory.
AGENTS.md. The guidelines file in the project root.
.junie/rules/*.md. All Markdown files in the rules directory, concatenated automatically.
.junie/guidelines.md. Legacy guidelines file (still supported).

For more information on guidelines, see Guidelines and memory.

MCP servers

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_MCP_DEFAULT_LOCATIONS	--mcp-default-locations	Enable or disable default MCP server locations (per-user and per-project). Defaults to `true`.
JUNIE_MCP_LOCATIONS	--mcp-location	Additional paths to MCP configuration folders. Can be specified multiple times.

For more information on configuring MCP servers, see MCP configuration.

Agent skills

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_SKILL_DEFAULT_LOCATIONS	--skill-default-locations	Enable or disable default skill locations (per-user and per-project). Defaults to `true`.
JUNIE_SKILL_LOCATIONS	--skill-location	Additional paths where Junie should search for agent skills. Can be specified multiple times.

For more information on skills, see Agent skills.

Custom slash commands

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_COMMAND_DEFAULT_LOCATIONS	--command-default-locations	Enable or disable default custom slash command locations (per-user and per-project). Defaults to `true`.
JUNIE_COMMAND_LOCATIONS	--command-location	Additional paths where Junie should search for custom slash commands. Can be specified multiple times.

For more information on custom slash commands, see Custom slash commands.

Custom agents

Environment variable	CLI equivalent	Description
JUNIE_AGENT_DEFAULT_LOCATIONS	--agent-default-location	Enable or disable default custom agent locations (per-user and per-project). Defaults to `true`.
JUNIE_AGENT_LOCATIONS	--agent-location	Additional paths where Junie should search for custom agents. Can be specified multiple times.

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