How to recognize environment variables from the .env file?

[s2t2]

Description

How to recognize environment variables set in the .env file?

I read the documentation pages about environment variables but noticed the setup was not working.

I have python-dotenv installed already. Here is what I tried:

---
jupyter: python3
---

# My Document Heading

```{python}
#| echo: false
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import os

load_dotenv()

PRODUCT_VERSION = os.getenv("PRODUCT_VERSION", default="OOPS")
```

Version {{< env PRODUCT_VERSION >}} is a minor upgrade. This doesn't work!

Version `{python} PRODUCT_VERSION` is a minor upgrade. This works!

The environment variable reference described by the docs doesn't work. The inline python variable reference does work.

[s2t2]

Actually it seems the environment variables are NOT getting recognized from the .env file. Are they processed out of order?

```{python}
#| echo: false
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import os

load_dotenv()

VIDEO_URL = os.getenv("EXERCISE_1_VIDEO_URL", default="https://vimeo.com/1078779616")
```

{{< video "`{python} VIDEO_URL`"
    title= "Hello, Version Control Exercise Walkthrough" >}}

{{< video `{python} VIDEO_URL`
    title= "Hello, Version Control Exercise Walkthrough" >}}

{{< video "{{< env EXERCISE_1_VIDEO_URL >}}"
    title="Hello, Version Control Exercise Walkthrough" >}}

{{< video "https://vimeo.com/1078779616"
    title= "Hello, Version Control Exercise Walkthrough" >}}

In this example, the fourth works because the URL is hard-coded. The second works, but only because of the default value set in the os.getenv statement (and when it is customized in the .env file it is not recognized.). The first and third do not work.

[cscheid]

Are they processed out of order?

Quarto's processing order is, in general:

• Include shortcodes ("includes")
• executable code cells ("engine execution")
• other shortcodes ("filters and shortcodes")

If you create documents that mix these, then you'll have a hard time controlling the results.

{{< video "`{python} VIDEO_URL`"
    title= "Hello, Version Control Exercise Walkthrough" >}}

This kind of thing is pretty unlikely to work in general, and you can usually look at the output of keep-md: true to see what the engine execution produces. If you need to mix Quarto syntax with execution content in a fine-grained way, you're almost always better off using output: asis, and then producing the desired Quarto syntax for the entire block directly from the Python cell.

[s2t2]

Awesome, thanks. I think all of these options are working now:

{{< video "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCcbvta2dp4"
    title= "Version Control Workflow - Exercise Walkthrough" >}}


```{python}
#| echo: false
#| output: asis

video_markdown = """
{{< video "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCcbvta2dp4"
    title= "Version Control Workflow - Exercise Walkthrough" >}}
"""
print(video_markdown)
```


```{python}
#| echo: false
#| output: asis


VIDEO_URL = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCcbvta2dp4"
video_markdown = "{{< video " + f"'{VIDEO_URL}'" + " title= 'Version Control Workflow - Exercise Walkthrough' >}}"
print(video_markdown)
```

```{python}
#| echo: false
#| output: asis

import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

VIDEO_URL = os.getenv("EXERCISE_1_VIDEO_URL")
video_markdown = "{{< video " + f"'{VIDEO_URL}'" + " title= 'Version Control Workflow - Exercise Walkthrough' >}}"
print(video_markdown)
```

[s2t2]

Oh but actually it looks like when I stop the preview server (quarto preview), and change the values in the ".env" file, and start the preview server again, that it might be using the old / cached environment variable values.

[s2t2]

Looks like the build (quarto render) works though - it respects whatever environment variables are currently set at the time of building.