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ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES.md

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paperweight environment variables guide

paperweight offers a flexible system for managing configuration and sensitive information, balancing ease of use with security. This guide will walk you through the various methods and best practices.

1. Configuration File (config.yaml)

The primary configuration is stored in config.yaml. This file can contain all your settings, including non-sensitive information and placeholders for sensitive data.

arxiv:
  max_results: 100
notifier:
  email:
    password: ${EMAIL_PASSWORD}

🔒 Security Note: Never commit config.yaml to version control if it contains real credentials.

2. Environment Variables

Environment variables can be used in two ways:

a) Direct reference in config.yaml: Use ${VARIABLE_NAME} syntax in your config file to reference environment variables:

notifier:
  email:
    password: ${EMAIL_PASSWORD}

b) Overriding config values: Set environment variables with the prefix PAPERWEIGHT_ to override any config value:

export PAPERWEIGHT_ARXIV_MAX_RESULTS=200

⚠️ Important: Environment variables take precedence over values in config.yaml.

3. .env File

For local development and managing API keys, you can use a .env file:

  1. Create a file named .env in the root directory of the paperweight project.

  2. Add your API keys and other sensitive information:

    OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key_here
EMAIL_PASSWORD=your_email_password_here

🔒 Security Note: Never commit your .env file to version control.

4. API Keys

API keys require special handling:

  • If using the 'summary' analyzer type, you must provide an API key for the specified LLM provider.
  • You can set the API key in config.yaml, in the .env file, or as an environment variable.

The order of precedence is: environment variable > .env file > config.yaml.

🔄 Best Practice: Regularly rotate your API keys and passwords.

5. Type Conversion

Configuration values are automatically converted to the appropriate type:

  • Boolean values: 'true', '1', 'yes' (case-insensitive) are converted to True, others to False.
  • Integer and float values are converted accordingly.

6. Example Usage

Here's how all these elements come together:

  1. In your config.yaml:

    arxiv:
  max_results: 100
notifier:
  email:
    password: ${EMAIL_PASSWORD}
analyzer:
  type: summary
  llm_provider: openai

  2. In your .env file:

    OPENAI_API_KEY=your_actual_api_key_here
EMAIL_PASSWORD=your_actual_email_password

  3. To override a config value:

    export PAPERWEIGHT_ARXIV_MAX_RESULTS=200

  4. Run paperweight:

    paperweight

This system will combine all these sources to create the final configuration, prioritizing in this order: environment variables > .env file > config.yaml.

Security Summary

  • Use environment variables for the most sensitive information, especially in production environments.
  • Never commit config.yaml or .env files containing real credentials to version control.
  • Regularly rotate your API keys and passwords.
  • For personal use on a private machine, storing non-sensitive config in config.yaml and sensitive data in .env might be acceptable.
  • For shared or production environments, using environment variables is strongly recommended.

Remember, the method you choose depends on your specific needs and security requirements. Always prioritize the security of sensitive information.