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Environment Configuration Guide

.env.local Setup

The LegalMind project uses .env.local for local secret management. This file is NOT committed to version control.

Creating .env.local

A .env.local file has been created in the backend/ directory with your API key. This file:

  1. Contains sensitive credentials (API keys, project IDs)
  2. Is ignored by git (see .gitignore)
  3. Is loaded automatically when running python main_new.py

File Locations

  • Backend: backend/.env.local - Contains Gemini API key and Google Cloud credentials
  • Reference: backend/.env.example - Template showing all available configuration options

How It Works

  1. When you run python main_new.py, it automatically loads:

    • .env.local first (highest priority - your local secrets)
    • .env second (if .env.local doesn't exist)

  2. Environment variables are read by Pydantic BaseSettings in backend/config/settings.py

  3. Settings are accessed throughout the application via:

    from config.settings import get_settings
settings = get_settings()

Updating Configuration

To change any configuration:

  1. Edit backend/.env.local with your values
  2. Restart the backend server (python main_new.py)
  3. Changes take effect immediately

Running the Project

# Terminal 1: Backend
cd backend
python main_new.py

# Terminal 2: Frontend
cd frontend
npm run dev

No API keys needed on the command line - they're read from .env.local

Project Access

Important Security Notes

⚠️ DO NOT:

  • Commit .env.local to git
  • Share your API keys in chat, emails, or pull requests
  • Use the same API key across different environments

✅ DO:

  • Keep .env.local in your local .gitignore
  • Rotate API keys regularly
  • Use project-specific credentials