=== FAQ

#. Can django-environ determine the location of .env file automatically?

django-environ will try to get and read .env file from the project root if you haven't specified the path for it when you call :meth:.environ.Env.read_env. However, this is not the recommended way. When it is possible always specify the path to the .env file. Alternatively, you can use a trick with an environment variable pointing to the actual location of .env file. For details see ":ref:multiple-env-files-label".

#. What (where) is the root part of the project, is it the directory that contains settings.py file?

Where your manage.py file is (that is your project root directory).

#. What kind of file should .env be?

.env is a plain text file.

#. Should name of the file be simply .env (or something.env)?

Just .env. However, this is not a strict rule, but just a common practice. Formally, you can use any filename.

#. Is .env file going to be imported in settings file?

No need to import, django-environ automatically picks variables from there.

#. Should I commit my .env file?

Credentials should only be accessible on the machines that need access to them. Never commit sensitive information to a repository that is not needed by every development machine and server.

#. Why is it not overriding existing environment variables?

By default, django-environ won't overwrite existing environment variables as it assumes the deployment environment has more knowledge about configuration than the application does. To overwrite existing environment variables you can pass overwrite=True to :meth:.environ.Env.read_env. For more see ":ref:overwriting-existing-env"