How to set environment variables in PyCharm?

I was able to figure out this using a PyCharm plugin called EnvFile. This plugin, basically allows setting environment variables to run configurations from one or multiple files.

The installation is pretty simple:

Preferences > Plugins > Browse repositories… > Search for “Env File” > Install Plugin.

Then, I created a file, in my project root, called environment.env which contains:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://127.0.0.1:5432/my_db_name
DEBUG=1

Then I went to Run->Edit Configurations, and I followed the steps in the next image:

In 3, I chose the file environment.env, and then I could just click the play button in PyCharm, and everything worked like a charm.

This functionality has been added to the IDE now (working Pycharm 2018.3)

Just click the EnvFile tab in the run configuration, click Enable EnvFile and click the + icon to add an env file

Update: Essentially the same as the answer by @imguelvargasf but the the plugin was enabled by default for me.

None of the above methods worked for me. If you are on Windows, try this on PyCharm terminal:

setx YOUR_VAR "VALUE"

You can access it in your scripts using os.environ['YOUR_VAR'].

This is what you can do to source an .env (and .flaskenv) file in the pycharm flask/django console. It would also work for a normal python console of course.

1. Do pip install python-dotenv in your environment (the same as being pointed to by pycharm).

2. Go to: Settings > Build ,Execution, Deployment > Console > Flask/django Console

3. In "starting script" include something like this near the top:

   from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv(verbose=True)

The .env file can look like this:
export KEY=VALUE

It doesn’t matter if one includes export or not for dotenv to read it.

As an alternative you could also source the .env file in the activate shell script for the respective virtual environement.

In the Pycharm Python console just type

ENV_VAR_NAME="STRING VARIABLE"
INT_VAR_NAME=5

Unlike other Python text editors, you do not add export in Pycharm

The original question is:

How to set environment variables in PyCharm?

The two most-upvoted answers tell you how to set environment variables for PyCharm Run/Debug Configurations – manually enter them in "Environment variables" or use EnvFile plugin.

After using PyCharm for many years now, I’ve learned there are other key areas you can set PyCharm environment variables. EnvFile won’t work for these other areas!

Here’s where ELSE to look (in Settings):

• Tools > Terminal > Environment variables
• Languages & Frameworks > Django > Environment variables
• Build, Execution, Deployment > Console > Python Console > Environment variables
• Build, Execution, Deployment > Console > Django Console > Environment variables

and of course, your run/debug configurations that was already mentioned.

This method helped me a lot for calling environmental variable from a .env file and its really easy to implement too.

1. Create a .env file in the root folder of the project

2. Install a package called "python-dotenv"

3. Import and load the package in the .py file where you want to use the environment variable as follows

    import os
    from dotenv import load_dotenv, find_dotenv
   
    load_dotenv(find_dotenv())
    any_secret_var = os.get_env("SECRET_KEY")
   

and BOOM it will work like magic

And the .env file should look like,
don’t place any qoutes around the values in the .env file

    SECRET_KEY=any_secret_value_you_need_to_place_in

Solution tested with virtual environment.

Create an script that define and export or source the env vars. Then define the script as the python interpreter of an existing virtual env. The solution works for any task like run, debug, console …

Example script:

#!/bin/bash


DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
export VAR1="TEST1"
source $DIR/../../.env
$DIR/python "$@"

In case anyone want to set environment variables for all their Run/Debug Configuration, I list my solution here.

1. Go to the Edit Configurations as pointed by other answers.
2. Click edit the configuration templates in the panel.
3. Edit environment variables there.

By doing so, the variables will be there every time you create a new configuration.

Let’s say the environment variables are in a file and store like below.
Copy all of them to clipboard Ctrl+A -> Ctrl+C

Then click on Edit Configurations -> Environment Variables.

Now click on the small paste icon, and all the environment variables, will be available for usage in current environment.