diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 4ebf99e3..6b6c685b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -7,3 +7,5 @@ eval_results/
 eval_data/
 *.egg-info/
 .env
+*.log
+results/*
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cli/main.py b/cli/main.py
index 64616ee1..9ebcbaa8 100644
--- a/cli/main.py
+++ b/cli/main.py
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ from rich.tree import Tree
 from rich import box
 from rich.align import Align
 from rich.rule import Rule
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+
+# Load environment variables from .env file
+load_dotenv()
 
 from tradingagents.graph.trading_graph import TradingAgentsGraph
 from tradingagents.default_config import DEFAULT_CONFIG
diff --git a/cli/utils.py b/cli/utils.py
index 7b9682a6..17893a6f 100644
--- a/cli/utils.py
+++ b/cli/utils.py
@@ -241,13 +241,16 @@ def select_deep_thinking_agent(provider) -> str:
 
 def select_llm_provider() -> tuple[str, str]:
     """Select the OpenAI api url using interactive selection."""
+    import os
     # Define OpenAI api options with their corresponding endpoints
+    # Use custom URL from environment if available, otherwise use default
+    openai_url = os.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL", "https://api.openai.com/v1")
     BASE_URLS = [
-        ("OpenAI", "https://api.openai.com/v1"),
+        ("OpenAI", openai_url),
         ("Anthropic", "https://api.anthropic.com/"),
         ("Google", "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1"),
         ("Openrouter", "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"),
-        ("Ollama", "http://localhost:11434/v1"),        
+        ("Ollama", "http://localhost:11434/v1"),
     ]
     
     choice = questionary.select(
diff --git a/tradingagents/dataflows/interface.py b/tradingagents/dataflows/interface.py
index 7fffbb4f..dfb4b742 100644
--- a/tradingagents/dataflows/interface.py
+++ b/tradingagents/dataflows/interface.py
@@ -704,7 +704,7 @@ def get_YFin_data(
 
 def get_stock_news_openai(ticker, curr_date):
     config = get_config()
-    client = OpenAI(base_url=config["backend_url"])
+    client = OpenAI(base_url=config["backend_url"], api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"))
 
     response = client.responses.create(
         model=config["quick_think_llm"],
@@ -739,7 +739,7 @@ def get_stock_news_openai(ticker, curr_date):
 
 def get_global_news_openai(curr_date):
     config = get_config()
-    client = OpenAI(base_url=config["backend_url"])
+    client = OpenAI(base_url=config["backend_url"], api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"))
 
     response = client.responses.create(
         model=config["quick_think_llm"],
@@ -774,7 +774,7 @@ def get_global_news_openai(curr_date):
 
 def get_fundamentals_openai(ticker, curr_date):
     config = get_config()
-    client = OpenAI(base_url=config["backend_url"])
+    client = OpenAI(base_url=config["backend_url"], api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"))
 
     response = client.responses.create(
         model=config["quick_think_llm"],
diff --git a/tradingagents/default_config.py b/tradingagents/default_config.py
index 089e9c24..b72e82f0 100644
--- a/tradingagents/default_config.py
+++ b/tradingagents/default_config.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ DEFAULT_CONFIG = {
     "llm_provider": "openai",
     "deep_think_llm": "o4-mini",
     "quick_think_llm": "gpt-4o-mini",
-    "backend_url": "https://api.openai.com/v1",
+    "backend_url": os.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL", "https://api.openai.com/v1"),
     # Debate and discussion settings
     "max_debate_rounds": 1,
     "max_risk_discuss_rounds": 1,
diff --git a/tradingagents/graph/trading_graph.py b/tradingagents/graph/trading_graph.py
index eb06cf43..6b157b65 100644
--- a/tradingagents/graph/trading_graph.py
+++ b/tradingagents/graph/trading_graph.py
@@ -59,8 +59,8 @@ class TradingAgentsGraph:
 
         # Initialize LLMs
         if self.config["llm_provider"].lower() == "openai" or self.config["llm_provider"] == "ollama" or self.config["llm_provider"] == "openrouter":
-            self.deep_thinking_llm = ChatOpenAI(model=self.config["deep_think_llm"], base_url=self.config["backend_url"])
-            self.quick_thinking_llm = ChatOpenAI(model=self.config["quick_think_llm"], base_url=self.config["backend_url"])
+            self.deep_thinking_llm = ChatOpenAI(model=self.config["deep_think_llm"], openai_api_base=self.config["backend_url"])
+            self.quick_thinking_llm = ChatOpenAI(model=self.config["quick_think_llm"], openai_api_base=self.config["backend_url"])
         elif self.config["llm_provider"].lower() == "anthropic":
             self.deep_thinking_llm = ChatAnthropic(model=self.config["deep_think_llm"], base_url=self.config["backend_url"])
             self.quick_thinking_llm = ChatAnthropic(model=self.config["quick_think_llm"], base_url=self.config["backend_url"])