FAQ

Find quick answers to the most common Envist questions.

Does Envist work with plain .env files?

Yes. If you omit type annotations, Envist behaves like a standard dotenv parser. Introduce types when you are ready.

How do I handle secrets securely?

Keep secrets out of version control. Store them in runtime environment variables or secret managers, then reference them with ${SECRET_NAME} placeholders inside your typed .env file when necessary.

What happens when a cast fails?

Envist raises EnvistCastError with details about the value and target type. Wrap Envist() creation in a try block or rely on pytest to catch misconfigurations during CI.

Can I override values at runtime?

Yes. Use env.set("KEY", value) to update the in-memory map and os.environ. Call env.save() if you want to persist changes back to the file.

How do I toggle features per environment?

Create one file per environment (e.g., config/staging.env, config/production.env) and load the right file using the path parameter. For additional overrides, merge dictionaries from multiple Envist instances.

Is there a CLI?

Envist focuses on the Python API. Build lightweight tooling using Envist and libraries like click or typer to match your workflow.

Can I extend the caster with custom types?

You can supply a callable to env.get(key, cast=my_converter). For reusable annotations, wrap the callable and reference it from your application code.

How do I report issues or request features?

Open an issue on GitHub. Include your .env snippet, stack trace, and environment details to help us reproduce the problem quickly.