Environment variables

VisionaryAI requires four environment variables to connect to Azure Blob Storage and OpenAI services.

Required variables

All environment variables must be configured in your Azure Function App’s application settings before deployment.

accountName

Your Azure Storage account name. Usage: Used to construct blob storage URLs and authenticate with Azure Storage. Example: visionaryaistorage Where it’s used:

azure/lib/generateSASToken.js:8
azure/src/functions/generateImage.js:7
azure/src/functions/getImages.js:8

const accountName = process.env.accountName;
const blobServiceClient = new BlobServiceClient(
    `https://${accountName}.blob.core.windows.net`,
    sharedKeyCredential
);

accountKey

Your Azure Storage account access key (key1 or key2). Usage: Provides authentication credentials for blob storage operations. Example: abc123def456... (base64-encoded key) Where it’s used:

azure/lib/generateSASToken.js:9
azure/src/functions/getImages.js:9

const accountKey = process.env.accountKey;
const sharedKeyCredential = new StorageSharedKeyCredential(
    accountName,
    accountKey
);

Treat your storage account key like a password. Never commit it to source control or expose it in client-side code.

OPEN_AI_KEY

Your OpenAI API key with access to DALL-E 3 and GPT-3.5 models. Usage: Authenticates requests to OpenAI’s API for image generation and prompt suggestions. Example: sk-proj-... (starts with sk-) Where it’s used:

azure/lib/openai.js:6

const config = new Configuration({
    organization: process.env.OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION,
    apiKey: process.env.OPEN_AI_KEY
})

Get your API key:

Visit OpenAI Platform
Navigate to API keys
Click Create new secret key
Copy and save the key securely

Ensure your OpenAI account has access to DALL-E 3. Check your usage limits and billing settings.

OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION

Your OpenAI organization ID. Usage: Associates API requests with your OpenAI organization for billing and access control. Example: org-abc123... Where it’s used:

azure/lib/openai.js:5

const config = new Configuration({
    organization: process.env.OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION,
    apiKey: process.env.OPEN_AI_KEY
})

Find your organization ID:

Visit OpenAI Platform
Navigate to Settings > Organization
Copy your Organization ID

Configuration methods

Azure Portal

Navigate to your Function App

Open the Azure Portal and go to your Function App resource.

Open Configuration

In the left menu, select Settings > Configuration.

Add application settings

Click New application setting and add each variable:

Name	Value
`accountName`	Your storage account name
`accountKey`	Your storage account key
`OPEN_AI_KEY`	Your OpenAI API key
`OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION`	Your OpenAI org ID

Save changes

Click Save and confirm the restart when prompted.

Azure CLI

Set all variables in a single command:

az functionapp config appsettings set \
  --name visionary-ai-functions \
  --resource-group visionary-ai-rg \
  --settings \
    accountName="visionaryaistorage" \
    accountKey="your-storage-account-key" \
    OPEN_AI_KEY="sk-proj-your-key" \
    OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION="org-your-org-id"

Local development

For local testing, create a local.settings.json file in the azure directory:

azure/local.settings.json

{
  "IsEncrypted": false,
  "Values": {
    "AzureWebJobsStorage": "",
    "FUNCTIONS_WORKER_RUNTIME": "node",
    "accountName": "visionaryaistorage",
    "accountKey": "your-storage-account-key",
    "OPEN_AI_KEY": "sk-proj-your-key",
    "OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION": "org-your-org-id"
  }
}

The local.settings.json file is git-ignored by default. Never commit this file to version control.

Retrieving Azure credentials

Storage account name

az storage account show \
  --name visionaryaistorage \
  --resource-group visionary-ai-rg \
  --query name -o tsv

Storage account key

az storage account keys list \
  --account-name visionaryaistorage \
  --resource-group visionary-ai-rg \
  --query '[0].value' -o tsv

Alternatively, retrieve from the Azure Portal:

Navigate to your Storage Account
Select Security + networking > Access keys
Copy Key from key1 or key2

Validation

Verify your environment variables are set correctly:

Check Function App settings

az functionapp config appsettings list \
  --name visionary-ai-functions \
  --resource-group visionary-ai-rg \
  --query "[?name=='accountName' || name=='OPEN_AI_KEY'].{Name:name, Value:value}" \
  --output table

Sensitive values like accountKey are hidden in the output for security. Use the Azure Portal to verify them.

Test with a function call

Test that environment variables are accessible:

curl https://visionary-ai-functions.azurewebsites.net/api/getChatGPTSuggestion

If configured correctly, this should return a creative prompt. If you receive an error, check:

Environment variables are spelled correctly
OpenAI API key is valid and not expired
Organization ID matches your OpenAI account

Security best practices

Use Azure Key Vault

For production deployments, store secrets in Azure Key Vault:

Create a Key Vault

az keyvault create \
  --name visionary-ai-vault \
  --resource-group visionary-ai-rg \
  --location eastus

Add secrets to Key Vault

az keyvault secret set \
  --vault-name visionary-ai-vault \
  --name accountKey \
  --value "your-storage-account-key"

az keyvault secret set \
  --vault-name visionary-ai-vault \
  --name openAiKey \
  --value "sk-proj-your-key"

Grant Function App access

Enable managed identity and grant Key Vault access:

# Enable system-assigned managed identity
az functionapp identity assign \
  --name visionary-ai-functions \
  --resource-group visionary-ai-rg

# Grant access to Key Vault
az keyvault set-policy \
  --name visionary-ai-vault \
  --object-id <managed-identity-principal-id> \
  --secret-permissions get list

Reference secrets in app settings

Update application settings to reference Key Vault:

az functionapp config appsettings set \
  --name visionary-ai-functions \
  --resource-group visionary-ai-rg \
  --settings \
    accountKey="@Microsoft.KeyVault(SecretUri=https://visionary-ai-vault.vault.azure.net/secrets/accountKey/)" \
    OPEN_AI_KEY="@Microsoft.KeyVault(SecretUri=https://visionary-ai-vault.vault.azure.net/secrets/openAiKey/)"

Rotate credentials regularly

Rotate storage account keys every 90 days
Regenerate OpenAI API keys if compromised
Update Key Vault secrets and app settings after rotation

Restrict access

Use Azure RBAC to limit who can view/edit Function App settings
Enable Azure AD authentication for Function App management
Audit access logs in Azure Monitor

Troubleshooting

”undefined” or “null” values

Symptoms: Functions fail with errors about undefined environment variables. Causes:

Variables not set in Function App configuration
Typos in variable names
Function App not restarted after configuration changes

Solution:

Verify variable names match exactly (case-sensitive)
Check values are set in Azure Portal > Configuration
Restart the Function App

OpenAI authentication errors

Symptoms: “Invalid API key” or “Organization not found” errors. Causes:

Expired or invalid API key
Wrong organization ID
API key doesn’t have DALL-E 3 access

Solution:

Verify API key at OpenAI Platform
Check organization ID matches your account
Ensure billing is set up and DALL-E 3 is enabled

Blob storage authentication errors

Symptoms: “Authentication failed” when uploading/retrieving images. Causes:

Invalid storage account key
Wrong storage account name
Storage account key rotated

Solution:

Regenerate storage account key in Azure Portal
Update accountKey in Function App settings
Verify accountName matches your storage account

Getting Started

Core Features

Azure Deployment

Development

Environment variables

Required variables

accountName

accountKey

OPEN_AI_KEY

OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION

Configuration methods

Azure Portal

Azure CLI

Local development

Retrieving Azure credentials

Storage account name

Storage account key

Validation

Check Function App settings

Test with a function call

Security best practices

Use Azure Key Vault

Rotate credentials regularly

Restrict access

Troubleshooting

”undefined” or “null” values

OpenAI authentication errors

Blob storage authentication errors

Next steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Core Features

Azure Deployment

Development

​Required variables

​accountName

​accountKey

​OPEN_AI_KEY

​OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION

​Configuration methods

​Azure Portal

​Azure CLI

​Local development

​Retrieving Azure credentials

​Storage account name

​Storage account key

​Validation

​Check Function App settings

​Test with a function call

​Security best practices

​Use Azure Key Vault

​Rotate credentials regularly

​Restrict access

​Troubleshooting

​”undefined” or “null” values

​OpenAI authentication errors

​Blob storage authentication errors

​Next steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Required variables

accountName

accountKey

OPEN_AI_KEY

OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION

Configuration methods

Azure Portal

Azure CLI

Local development

Retrieving Azure credentials

Storage account name

Storage account key

Validation

Check Function App settings

Test with a function call

Security best practices

Use Azure Key Vault

Rotate credentials regularly

Restrict access

Troubleshooting

”undefined” or “null” values

OpenAI authentication errors

Blob storage authentication errors

Next steps