: Standard default project values shared via Git (lowest priority). Why Use a .env.python.local File? 1. Hardening Security
Create an .env.example file that contains keys but no secrets (e.g., API_KEY=your_key_here ). This tells other developers what variables they need to set up.
By following these guidelines and using .env.python.local , you can effectively manage local environment variables in your Python projects and keep sensitive data secure.
: Stores default configuration values shared across all environments (development, staging, production). This file is typically committed to version control (Git).
import os from pathlib import Path from dotenv import load_dotenv # Define the root directory of your project BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent def load_environment(): """Loads environment layers, prioritizing .env.python.local.""" env_base = BASE_DIR / ".env" env_local = BASE_DIR / ".env.python.local" # 1. Load baseline configurations if env_base.exists(): load_dotenv(dotenv_path=env_base) # 2. Layer local overrides on top if env_local.exists(): load_dotenv(dotenv_path=env_local, override=True) if __name__ == "__main__": load_environment() # Verify the values loaded correctly print(f"Debug Mode: os.getenv('DEBUG')") print(f"Target Database: os.getenv('DATABASE_URL')") print(f"Log Level: os.getenv('PYTHON_LOG_LEVEL')") Use code with caution. .env.python.local
: Ensure override=True is explicitly passed inside the load_dotenv() function call for your .local file path. Without it, python-dotenv will respect the pre-existing system variables or variables loaded from the previous .env file.
If you change a value in your .env.python.local file but Python still reads the old value, you might need to restart your terminal, virtual environment, or IDE. Some development servers cache environment variables upon boot. Standard .env values are overwriting local values
Create a .env for shared settings and .env.local for local secrets. DEBUG=False API_URL=https://example.com Use code with caution. .env.local
print(f"DB Host: db_host")
Python's built-in os engine reads environment variables, but it cannot natively look inside custom text configurations without an asset parser. The code below searches for your custom .env.python.local file first, falling back to basic defaults if it isn't found. python-dotenv - PyPI
With envo , you can define environment variables directly in Python and activate shells that automatically reload when files change.
The 12-factor app methodology, which has become the gold standard for building modern applications, strongly recommends storing configuration in the environment. This approach keeps your codebase clean, secure, and portable across different deployment environments.
If you need to integrate this environment file setup with ? : Standard default project values shared via Git
import os from pathlib import Path from dotenv import load_dotenv # Define the path to your project root base_dir = Path(__file__).resolve().parent # 1. Load the local overrides first local_env_path = base_dir / '.env.python.local' if local_env_path.exists(): load_dotenv(dotenv_path=local_env_path) # 2. Load the base configurations second (fills in missing gaps) base_env_path = base_dir / '.env' if base_env_path.exists(): load_dotenv(dotenv_path=base_env_path) # Accessing the configured variables is_debug = os.getenv("DEBUG") == "True" db_url = os.getenv("DATABASE_URL") timeout = os.getenv("API_TIMEOUT") print(f"Debug Mode: is_debug") print(f"Database URL: db_url") print(f"API Timeout: timeout seconds") Use code with caution. Expected Output
# Development settings DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost/myapp DEBUG=true SECRET_KEY=dev-secret-key-123 API_BASE_URL=https://api.example.com
# Celery (Task Queue) CELERY_BROKER_URL=redis://localhost:6379/0 CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND=redis://localhost:6379/0