🔒 Storing persistent env vars | Python | Page 1

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:15 PM

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Im using the spotipy library and want to store my client id and other necessary passwords so that i dont need to enter the credentials each time i run the script. any ideas on hoiw to do this?

stray spearBOT Mar 29, 2024, 5:15 PM

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near lichen Im using the spotipy library and want to store my client id and other necessary ...

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@near lichen

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tender comet Mar 29, 2024, 5:24 PM

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https://pypi.org/project/python-dotenv/

PyPI

python-dotenv

Read key-value pairs from a .env file and set them as environment variables

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i recommend using a dotenv file and this library to read/write to it

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if you're using git, make sure the dotenv file is in the .gitignore

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:27 PM

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tender comet i recommend using a dotenv file and this library to read/write to it

i have created an env so should i replace it?

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tender comet Mar 29, 2024, 5:28 PM

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is spo.py your project?

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:28 PM

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yes

tender comet Mar 29, 2024, 5:30 PM

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ok 2 things:
your project should be a folder containing your virtual environment and your source code (and whatever else is needed for the project), your source code shouldn't be inside your virtual environment (that's what spotify-env is)

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so it should be something like

my-spotify-project
    env
        bin
        blah blah
    spo.py

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:31 PM

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oh right, i just watched the spotipy tutorial on how to set it up

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ok ill sort that out

tender comet Mar 29, 2024, 5:32 PM

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secondly, the virtual environment is a totally different thing that a .env file (I know it's confusing with the similar terms)

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:32 PM

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like this?

tender comet Mar 29, 2024, 5:32 PM

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yeah

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:32 PM

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tender comet secondly, the virtual environment is a totally different thing that a `.env` fil...

alright

tender comet Mar 29, 2024, 5:34 PM

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your OS keeps track of some environment variables, which you can use to store private credentials
the dotenv module allows you to load a .env file as if its contents were from the OS environment

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:35 PM

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right ok

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got to try and get my head around it lol

tender comet Mar 29, 2024, 5:35 PM

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storing them in a file this way makes them a little easier to see and edit and keeps from polluting the global environment

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adding the .env file to .gitignore makes sure you dont publish your private credentials along with your source code

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:36 PM

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alright

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where does gitignore go

tender comet Mar 29, 2024, 5:37 PM

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that would go in the top level of your project folder, but its only relevant if you're using git

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:38 PM

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im not using git atm

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so ill leave it out

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where should the dotenv go

tender comet Mar 29, 2024, 5:40 PM

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also at the top level

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:40 PM

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within the spotify-env?

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or out of it

tender comet Mar 29, 2024, 5:41 PM

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you shouldnt put anything inside the virtual env, that's just a copy of a python interpreter for your project to use

near lichen Mar 29, 2024, 5:41 PM

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oh alright

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stray spearBOT Mar 29, 2024, 6:42 PM

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#🔒 Storing persistent env vars