Setting Environment Variables in PyCharm

When working on projects that rely on environment variables, it's crucial to have a convenient way to manage these settings directly within the development environment. In this guide, we'll demonstrate how to effortlessly set environment variables in PyCharm without resorting to manual configurations or bash files.

Specifically, we'll focus on setting the following environment variables for a Django project:

• DATABASE_URL
• DEBUG

Step 1: Access Run Configuration

Begin by opening the Run Configuration selector located in the top-right corner of PyCharm. Click on "Edit Configurations..." to open the Run/Debug Configurations window.

Step 2: Select Project File and Environment Variables

Choose the appropriate Python script or Django project file from the menu and navigate to the "Environment variables" section. Click on the "..." button to open the "Edit Environment Variables" window.

Step 3: Add or Change Variables

Enter or modify the desired environment variables in the following format:

VAR_NAME=VAR_VALUE

For example, to set the DATABASE_URL variable, enter:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://127.0.0.1:5432/my_db_name

Step 4: Confirmation

Once all the necessary environment variables have been set, click "OK" to save your changes. PyCharm will now incorporate these variables into the execution environment for your project.

Accessing Environment Variables in Python

You can access the environment variables set in PyCharm using the os.environ dictionary in your Python code. For instance:

import os
print(os.environ['DATABASE_URL'])

This will output the value of the DATABASE_URL environment variable.

By following these steps, you can conveniently set and manage environment variables in PyCharm, simplifying your development process and ensuring that your projects have access to the necessary configuration settings.