Every BackAnt project ships with a .env file at the project root. This file is loaded at startup by python-dotenv and mapped to the Environment class in api/startup/Environment.py.
Default .env
POSTGRES_USER=postgres
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=test
POSTGRES_DB=postgres
DB_URL=postgres
CLEAR_DB=False
FLASK_APP=app.py
FLASK_ENV=development
TESTING=False
Never commit real credentials to version control. Add .env to .gitignore and use secrets management in production.
Database variables
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|
POSTGRES_USER | PostgreSQL username | postgres |
POSTGRES_PASSWORD | PostgreSQL password | test |
POSTGRES_DB | Database name | postgres |
DB_URL | Hostname of the PostgreSQL server | postgres (Docker service name) |
CLEAR_DB | Drop and recreate all tables on startup | False |
DB_URL should be set to postgres when running inside Docker Compose (the service name resolves as a hostname), and localhost when running Flask directly outside of Docker.
Set CLEAR_DB=True only during development. It drops all tables on every restart.
Flask variables
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|
FLASK_APP | Entry point for Flask | app.py |
FLASK_ENV | development enables debug mode and reloader | development |
TESTING | Enables test mode in Flask | False |
AWS / S3 variables
These are used by the built-in AWSClient in api/apis/aws/AWSClient.py.
| Variable | Description |
|---|
S3_ACCESS_KEY | AWS access key ID |
S3_SECRET_KEY | AWS secret access key |
AWS Cognito variables
Used when integrating Cognito for authentication.
| Variable | Description |
|---|
COGNITO_REGION | AWS region (e.g. eu-central-1) |
COGNITO_USERPOOL_ID | Cognito User Pool ID |
COGNITO_APP_CLIENT_ID | Cognito App Client ID |
COGNITO_APP_CLIENT_SECRET | Cognito App Client Secret |
COGNITO_ACCESS_KEY_ID | IAM access key with Cognito permissions |
COGNITO_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY | Corresponding IAM secret key |
Environment class
All variables are accessed at runtime via the myEnvironment singleton in api/startup/Environment.py. Never read os.environ directly — import from the singleton instead:
from startup.Environment import myEnvironment
db_url = myEnvironment.DB_URL
region = myEnvironment.COGNITO_REGION
Local development without Docker
Set DB_URL=localhost and ensure PostgreSQL is running locally:
DB_URL=localhost
POSTGRES_USER=postgres
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=test
POSTGRES_DB=postgres
CLEAR_DB=False
