Adding Dependencies Without a Terminal
 

• Since Lovable does not have a terminal, specify all needed libraries by creating a file named requirements.txt in the editor.
• Add the following line in requirements.txt to include the dotenv package which is required for loading environment variables:

  
  python-dotenv
      

• Lovable will automatically install these dependencies when your project runs.

 
Securing Your Environment Variables
 

• Ensure that the config.env file is not publicly shared. If Lovable offers settings for marking files as private or excluding files from version control, use those features.
• Regularly update and change your credentials stored in config.env to maintain security over time.

• In the Lovable code editor, create a new file named .env. This file will securely store sensitive information like API keys, database URLs, and other configurable settings.
• Add your environment variables in the following format (one per line):

  
  DATABASE_URL=your_database_url_here
  API_KEY=your_api_key_here
  DEBUG\_MODE=True
      

• The structure is simple: each line contains a key, an equal sign, then its corresponding value. Make sure to avoid extra spaces or special characters that might cause issues.

 
Loading Environment Variables in Your Application
 

• Since Lovable does not have a terminal for installing dependencies, include a custom function in your code to load these environment variables. The following snippet reads the .env file and loads each variable into the operating system’s environment:
• Create a file named config.py (or environment.py) in your project’s root directory and paste the code below into it:

  
  import os
  
  def load_env_file(file_path=".env"):
      # Check if the .env file exists
      if os.path.exists(file_path):
          # Open the file and read it line by line
          with open(file_path, "r") as env_file:
              for line in env_file:
                  # Ignore empty lines and comments starting with #
                  if line and not line.startswith("#") and "=" in line:
                      # Split the line into key and value
                      key, value = line.strip().split("=", 1)
                      os.environ[key] = value
  Call the function to load environment variables
  load_env_file()
      

  
  


• This snippet reads your .env file, parses each line, and uses os.environ to make the variables available in your application.

 
Using Loaded Environment Variables
 

• In your main application file (for example, app.py), you need to import and execute the loader function from config.py before using any environment variables.

  
  from config import load_env_file
  
  Load environment variables at the very beginning
  load_env_file()
  import os
  Retrieve environment variables using os.getenv
  database_url = os.getenv("DATABASE_URL")
  api_key = os.getenv("API_KEY")
  Use these variables as needed in your application
  if not database_url or not api_key:
      print("Important environment variables are missing!")
  else:
      print("All required environment variables have been loaded.")
      

  
  


• This ensures that by the time you reference variables like DATABASE_URL or API_KEY, they have been successfully loaded into your program's environment.

 
Placing the Code Snippets in Your Application
 

• Create or update the file config.py in the root directory of your Lovable project with the code provided in the “Loading Environment Variables” section.
• In your main application file (for example, app.py), add the import and function call at the very top to ensure that environment variables are loaded before any other code attempts to use them.
• Throughout your application, whenever you need to access a configuration value, use os.getenv("VARIABLE\_NAME") to retrieve the specific environment variable.

 
Troubleshooting Common Issues
 

• Ensure the .env file exists in your project’s root directory and is properly formatted with each key-value pair on a new line.
• If an environment variable is not showing up, verify you have no extra spaces or misformatted lines in the .env file.
• Make certain that the code to load the environment variables runs before any other code that references them (import it at the very top of your main file).
• If error messages indicate missing variables, print out the value of the variables immediately after loading them to debug and ensure they have been set correctly.
• For enhanced security, if you use a version control system, ensure the .env file is excluded from public repositories by listing it in a .gitignore file (if applicable).