RAID LogoResponsible AI Development

Setting up API Keys for Local Environment

2 min read

If you’re running the course environment locally (either via Dev Container or manual setup), you’ll use a .env file to store your API keys securely.

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Copy the Template

The repository includes a .env.template file with all the environment variables you need. Copy it to create your .env file:

# In the raid-codespace directory
cp .env.template .env

2. Edit Your .env File

Open the .env file in your editor. It will look like this:

# Local Model Configuration
OLLAMA_MODEL=qwen2.5:3b
 
# Cloud API Keys (add your keys below)
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_gemini_api_key_here
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_api_key_here

3. Add Your API Keys

Replace the placeholder values with your actual API keys:

For Gemini (Required for this course):

  1. Get your key from Google AI Studio
  2. Replace your_gemini_api_key_here with your actual key

For OpenAI (Optional):

  1. Get your key from OpenAI Platform
  2. Replace your_openai_api_key_here with your actual key

For Anthropic (Optional):

  1. Get your key from Anthropic Console
  2. Replace your_anthropic_api_key_here with your actual key

Example of a filled-in .env file:

OLLAMA_MODEL=qwen2.5:3b
GEMINI_API_KEY=AIzaSyABC123_your_actual_key_here
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-proj-abc123_your_actual_key_here
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-abc123_your_actual_key_here

4. Verify It Works

The .env file is automatically loaded when you run the notebooks. Test it by running the first cell in Lesson 1/lesson1-litellm.ipynb:

from dotenv import load_dotenv
import os
 
load_dotenv()
print("Ollama model:", os.environ.get("OLLAMA_MODEL"))
print("Gemini key loaded:", "Yes" if os.environ.get("GEMINI_API_KEY") else "No")

Important Security Notes

⚠️ Never commit your .env file to Git!

The .env file is already in .gitignore, but always double-check before committing:

  • ✅ Commit .env.template (the template with placeholders)
  • ❌ Never commit .env (your file with real keys)

⚠️ Keep your API keys private:

  • Don’t share them in screenshots, Discord, or forums
  • Don’t paste them in chat or on websites
  • Rotate keys immediately if you think they’ve been exposed

Troubleshooting

“Module not found: dotenv”:

  • Install it: pip install python-dotenv

“GEMINI_API_KEY not found”:

  • Ensure your .env file is in the project root directory
  • Check there are no quotes around the values
  • Make sure you’ve run load_dotenv() in your code

API calls still fail:

  • Verify your key is valid by checking the provider’s dashboard
  • Ensure there are no extra spaces or newlines in the .env file
  • Try restarting your Python kernel/Jupyter notebook

Return to: Lesson 1.0 - Introduction to LiteLLM

Graph View