@wshobson/python-configuration

---
name: python-configuration
description: Python configuration management via environment variables and typed settings. Use when externalizing config, setting up pydantic-settings, managing secrets, or implementing environment-specific behavior.
---

# Python Configuration Management

Externalize configuration from code using environment variables and typed settings. Well-managed configuration enables the same code to run in any environment without modification.

## When to Use This Skill

- Setting up a new project's configuration system
- Migrating from hardcoded values to environment variables
- Implementing pydantic-settings for typed configuration
- Managing secrets and sensitive values
- Creating environment-specific settings (dev/staging/prod)
- Validating configuration at application startup

## Core Concepts

### 1. Externalized Configuration

All environment-specific values (URLs, secrets, feature flags) come from environment variables, not code.

### 2. Typed Settings

Parse and validate configuration into typed objects at startup, not scattered throughout code.

### 3. Fail Fast

Validate all required configuration at application boot. Missing config should crash immediately with a clear message.

### 4. Sensible Defaults

Provide reasonable defaults for local development while requiring explicit values for sensitive settings.

## Quick Start

```python
from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
from pydantic import Field

class Settings(BaseSettings):
    database_url: str = Field(alias="DATABASE_URL")
    api_key: str = Field(alias="API_KEY")
    debug: bool = Field(default=False, alias="DEBUG")

settings = Settings()  # Loads from environment
```

## Fundamental Patterns

### Pattern 1: Typed Settings with Pydantic

Create a central settings class that loads and validates all configuration.

```python
from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
from pydantic import Field, PostgresDsn, ValidationError
import sys

class Settings(BaseSettings):
    """Application configuration loaded from environment variables."""

    # Database
    db_host: str = Field(alias="DB_HOST")
    db_port: int = Field(default=5432, alias="DB_PORT")
    db_name: str = Field(alias="DB_NAME")
    db_user: str = Field(alias="DB_USER")
    db_password: str = Field(alias="DB_PASSWORD")

    # Redis
    redis_url: str = Field(default="redis://localhost:6379", alias="REDIS_URL")

    # API Keys
    api_secret_key: str = Field(alias="API_SECRET_KEY")

    # Feature flags
    enable_new_feature: bool = Field(default=False, alias="ENABLE_NEW_FEATURE")

    model_config = {
        "env_file": ".env",
        "env_file_encoding": "utf-8",
    }

# Create singleton instance at module load
try:
    settings = Settings()
except ValidationError as e:
    print(f"Configuration error:\n{e}")
    sys.exit(1)
```

Import `settings` throughout your application:

```python
from myapp.config import settings

def get_database_connection():
    return connect(
        host=settings.db_host,
        port=settings.db_port,
        database=settings.db_name,
    )
```

### Pattern 2: Fail Fast on Missing Configuration

Required settings should crash the application immediately with a clear error.

```python
from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
from pydantic import Field, ValidationError
import sys

class Settings(BaseSettings):
    # Required - no default means it must be set
    api_key: str = Field(alias="API_KEY")
    database_url: str = Field(alias="DATABASE_URL")

    # Optional with defaults
    log_level: str = Field(default="INFO", alias="LOG_LEVEL")

try:
    settings = Settings()
except ValidationError as e:
    print("=" * 60)
    print("CONFIGURATION ERROR")
    print("=" * 60)
    for error in e.errors():
        field = error["loc"][0]
        print(f"  - {field}: {error['msg']}")
    print("\nPlease set the required environment variables.")
    sys.exit(1)
```

A clear error at startup is better than a cryptic `None` failure mid-request.

### Pattern 3: Local Development Defaults

Provide sensible defaults for local development while requiring explicit values for secrets.

```python
class Settings(BaseSettings):
    # Has local default, but prod will override
    db_host: str = Field(default="localhost", alias="DB_HOST")
    db_port: int = Field(default=5432, alias="DB_PORT")

    # Always required - no default for secrets
    db_password: str = Field(alias="DB_PASSWORD")
    api_secret_key: str = Field(alias="API_SECRET_KEY")

    # Development convenience
    debug: bool = Field(default=False, alias="DEBUG")

    model_config = {"env_file": ".env"}
```

Create a `.env` file for local development (never commit this):

```bash
# .env (add to .gitignore)
DB_PASSWORD=local_dev_password
API_SECRET_KEY=dev-secret-key
DEBUG=true
```

### Pattern 4: Namespaced Environment Variables

Prefix related variables for clarity and easy debugging.

```bash
# Database configuration
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
DB_NAME=myapp
DB_USER=admin
DB_PASSWORD=secret

# Redis configuration
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379
REDIS_MAX_CONNECTIONS=10

# Authentication
AUTH_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
AUTH_TOKEN_EXPIRY_SECONDS=3600
AUTH_ALGORITHM=HS256

# Feature flags
FEATURE_NEW_CHECKOUT=true
FEATURE_BETA_UI=false
```

Makes `env | grep DB_` useful for debugging.

## Advanced Patterns

### Pattern 5: Type Coercion

Pydantic handles common conversions automatically.

```python
from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
from pydantic import Field, field_validator

class Settings(BaseSettings):
    # Automatically converts "true", "1", "yes" to True
    debug: bool = False

    # Automatically converts string to int
    max_connections: int = 100

    # Parse comma-separated string to list
    allowed_hosts: list[str] = Field(default_factory=list)

    @field_validator("allowed_hosts", mode="before")
    @classmethod
    def parse_allowed_hosts(cls, v: str | list[str]) -> list[str]:
        if isinstance(v, str):
            return [host.strip() for host in v.split(",") if host.strip()]
        return v
```

Usage:

```bash
ALLOWED_HOSTS=example.com,api.example.com,localhost
MAX_CONNECTIONS=50
DEBUG=true
```

### Pattern 6: Environment-Specific Configuration

Use an environment enum to switch behavior.

```python
from enum import Enum
from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
from pydantic import Field, computed_field

class Environment(str, Enum):
    LOCAL = "local"
    STAGING = "staging"
    PRODUCTION = "production"

class Settings(BaseSettings):
    environment: Environment = Field(
        default=Environment.LOCAL,
        alias="ENVIRONMENT",
    )

    # Settings that vary by environment
    log_level: str = Field(default="DEBUG", alias="LOG_LEVEL")

    @computed_field
    @property
    def is_production(self) -> bool:
        return self.environment == Environment.PRODUCTION

    @computed_field
    @property
    def is_local(self) -> bool:
        return self.environment == Environment.LOCAL

# Usage
if settings.is_production:
    configure_production_logging()
else:
    configure_debug_logging()
```

### Pattern 7: Nested Configuration Groups

Organize related settings into nested models.

```python
from pydantic import BaseModel
from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings

class DatabaseSettings(BaseModel):
    host: str = "localhost"
    port: int = 5432
    name: str
    user: str
    password: str

class RedisSettings(BaseModel):
    url: str = "redis://localhost:6379"
    max_connections: int = 10

class Settings(BaseSettings):
    database: DatabaseSettings
    redis: RedisSettings
    debug: bool = False

    model_config = {
        "env_nested_delimiter": "__",
        "env_file": ".env",
    }
```

Environment variables use double underscore for nesting:

```bash
DATABASE__HOST=db.example.com
DATABASE__PORT=5432
DATABASE__NAME=myapp
DATABASE__USER=admin
DATABASE__PASSWORD=secret
REDIS__URL=redis://redis.example.com:6379
```

### Pattern 8: Secrets from Files

For container environments, read secrets from mounted files.

```python
from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
from pydantic import Field
from pathlib import Path

class Settings(BaseSettings):
    # Read from environment variable or file
    db_password: str = Field(alias="DB_PASSWORD")

    model_config = {
        "secrets_dir": "/run/secrets",  # Docker secrets location
    }
```

Pydantic will look for `/run/secrets/db_password` if the env var isn't set.

### Pattern 9: Configuration Validation

Add custom validation for complex requirements.

```python
from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
from pydantic import Field, model_validator

class Settings(BaseSettings):
    db_host: str = Field(alias="DB_HOST")
    db_port: int = Field(alias="DB_PORT")
    read_replica_host: str | None = Field(default=None, alias="READ_REPLICA_HOST")
    read_replica_port: int = Field(default=5432, alias="READ_REPLICA_PORT")

    @model_validator(mode="after")
    def validate_replica_settings(self):
        if self.read_replica_host and self.read_replica_port == self.db_port:
            if self.read_replica_host == self.db_host:
                raise ValueError(
                    "Read replica cannot be the same as primary database"
                )
        return self
```

## Best Practices Summary

1. **Never hardcode config** - All environment-specific values from env vars
2. **Use typed settings** - Pydantic-settings with validation
3. **Fail fast** - Crash on missing required config at startup
4. **Provide dev defaults** - Make local development easy
5. **Never commit secrets** - Use `.env` files (gitignored) or secret managers
6. **Namespace variables** - `DB_HOST`, `REDIS_URL` for clarity
7. **Import settings singleton** - Don't call `os.getenv()` throughout code
8. **Document all variables** - README should list required env vars
9. **Validate early** - Check config correctness at boot time
10. **Use secrets_dir** - Support mounted secrets in containers