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Overview

The RestAPI project uses environment variables for configuration management through the django-environ package. All sensitive configuration values should be stored in a .env file in the project root directory.

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Setup

Create a .env file in your project root based on the .env.example template: 
cp .env.example .env
Never commit your .env file to version control. It should be listed in .gitignore to prevent accidentally exposing sensitive credentials.

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Environment Variables Reference

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Application Settings

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DEBUG
boolean
default:"False"
required
Controls Django’s debug mode. Set to True for development and False for production.When DEBUG=True:
  • CORS allows all origins
  • All hosts are allowed
  • Detailed error pages are shown
When DEBUG=False:
  • CORS is restricted to specific origins
  • Only whitelisted hosts are allowed
  • Generic error pages are shown
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DJANGO_KEY
string
required
Django’s secret key used for cryptographic signing. This must be kept secret in production.Example: django-5a5s4d4as44vcu8cnasuau8sg!
Generate a secure secret key using Django’s built-in tool:
python -c 'from django.core.management.utils import get_random_secret_key; print(get_random_secret_key())'

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Database Configuration

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DB_NAME
string
default:"migo"
required
The name of your PostgreSQL database.Example: migo
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DB_USER
string
default:"postgres"
required
PostgreSQL database username.Example: postgres
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DB_PASSWORD
string
default:"admin"
required
PostgreSQL database password for the specified user.Example: admin
Use a strong password in production environments.
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DB_HOST
string
default:"localhost"
required
PostgreSQL server host address.Example: localhost or 127.0.0.1
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DB_PORT
string
default:"5432"
required
PostgreSQL server port number.Example: 5432 (default PostgreSQL port)

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Example Configuration

Here’s a complete example .env file: 
DEBUG=True
DB_NAME='migo_dev'
DB_USER='postgres'
DB_PASSWORD='admin'
DB_HOST='localhost'
DB_PORT='5432'
DJANGO_KEY='django-insecure-dev-key-change-in-production'

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Loading Environment Variables

The application loads environment variables in RestAPI/settings.py:
RestAPI/settings.py
import environ
import os
from pathlib import Path

BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent

env = environ.Env()
environ.Env.read_env(os.path.join(BASE_DIR, ".env"))

# Access environment variables
SECRET_KEY = env('DJANGO_KEY')
DEBUG = env('DEBUG')
DB_NAME = env('DB_NAME')
DB_USER = env('DB_USER')
DB_PASSWORD = env('DB_PASSWORD')
DB_HOST = env('DB_HOST')
DB_PORT = env('DB_PORT')

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Best Practices

  • Development: Use DEBUG=True and local database credentials
  • Production: Always use DEBUG=False and secure credentials
  • Secret Key: Generate unique keys for each environment
  • Passwords: Use strong, random passwords for database users
  • Version Control: Never commit .env files to Git

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Troubleshooting

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Missing Environment Variables

If you see errors about missing environment variables:
  1. Verify .env file exists in the project root
  2. Check all required variables are defined
  3. Ensure no extra spaces around = signs
  4. Restart the Django development server after changes

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Boolean Values

For the DEBUG variable, use:
  • DEBUG=True or DEBUG=1 for development
  • DEBUG=False or DEBUG=0 for production
Do not use quotes around boolean values: DEBUG=True not DEBUG="True"

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