Base, Visual Builder

Base is the visual drag-and-drop editor for building habits. It runs in the browser and lets you design, test, and export workflows without writing YAML by hand.

What it is

Capability	Description
Visual editor	Connect bits with a node graph UI
YAML export	Export any workflow to version-controlled .habit or stack.yaml and multiple habits .yaml files
Template library	Browse and import community habits
Module manager	Install and manage bits available in your workspace
Binary export	Pack a habit into a standalone executable or app
Mirror	Send/receive habits to other devices via P2P (Mirror)

How to run Base

npx habits base

Base starts at http://localhost:3000/habits/base/ by default.

WARNING

Base exposes module installation and code execution endpoints. Do not expose it publicly on a production server.

Key workflows

• Build a habit, Creating Habits
• Run a habit, Running Habits (Cortex)
• Pack and ship, Packing and Distributing
• Explore variables, Evaluating Variables

Environment Variables

Configure Base by setting these variables before starting the server (inline, in a .env file in the working directory, or via the Admin panel service settings).

Opt-in features (disabled by default)

Variable	Default	Description
HABITS_ALLOW_SERVE	false	Set to true to allow running habits directly from the Base UI. Spawns a Cortex subprocess. Keep false on shared/public instances.

Security controls (enabled by default)

Variable	Default	Description
HABITS_ALLOW_EXECUTE	true	Set to false to disable the workflow execution endpoint (POST /api/execute).
HABITS_ALLOW_MODULES_INSTALL	true	Set to false to disable module installation endpoints.
HABITS_ALLOW_EXPORT	true	Set to false to disable binary/app export endpoints.
HABITS_ALLOW_FORMS_AUTH	true	Set to false to disable forms authentication endpoints.
HABITS_ALLOW_SECURITY_API	true	Set to false to disable security disclosure endpoints.

Server configuration

Variable	Default	Description
HABITS_CORS_ORIGINS	*	Comma-separated list of allowed CORS origins. Set to your domain in production (e.g. https://your-domain.com).
HABITS_BODY_LIMIT_MB	1000	Maximum JSON body size in MB. Lower this (e.g. 10) on public-facing instances.

AI generation

Variable	Required	Description
CLAUDE_API_KEY	No	Your Anthropic API key (sk-ant-...). Pre-configures AI generation for all users. If omitted, users can enter their own key in the Generate modal.
HABITS_AI_DEBUG	No	Set to true to keep temporary staging directories on disk after generation. Useful for debugging generated files.
HABITS_REF_PATH	No	Path to reference materials (bits and example habits). Defaults to ~/.habits/reference.

Example: enabling serve and AI generation

HABITS_ALLOW_SERVE=true CLAUDE_API_KEY=sk-ant-... npx habits@latest base

Or add them to a .env file in the same directory:

HABITS_ALLOW_SERVE=true
CLAUDE_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

For public/shared instances see the hardening guide for recommended settings.

Setting environment variables via the Admin panel

When Base is running as a managed service inside Admin, you configure its environment variables through the Admin UI instead of the command line.

1. Open the Admin UI.
2. Go to Services and find your Base service instance.
3. Click the service to open its settings.
4. Locate the Environment Variables section and add the key-value pairs you need (e.g. HABITS_ALLOW_SERVE = true).
5. Save and restart the service. Admin will pass the variables to the Base process on startup.

This is the recommended approach when running Base in a multi-service deployment, as it keeps configuration centralised and avoids editing files on the server directly.

Relation to other tools

Tool	Relation
Cortex Server	Base exports YAML; Cortex runs it
Admin	Admin can host a Base instance as a managed service
Mirror	Base toolbar includes a Mirror button to send habits P2P