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TradingAgents/docs/agent/decisions/006-env-var-config-override...

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type status date agent_author tags related_files
decision active 2026-03-17 claude
config
env-vars
dotenv
tradingagents/default_config.py
.env.example
pyproject.toml

Context

DEFAULT_CONFIG hardcoded all values. Users had to edit default_config.py to change any setting. The load_dotenv() call in cli/main.py ran after DEFAULT_CONFIG was already evaluated at import time, so env vars had no effect.

The Decision

  1. Module-level .env loading: default_config.py calls load_dotenv() at the top of the module, before DEFAULT_CONFIG is evaluated.
  2. _env() / _env_int() helpers: Read TRADINGAGENTS_<KEY> from environment. Return the hardcoded default when the env var is unset or empty.
  3. Restored top-level keys: llm_provider (default: "openai") and backend_url (default: "https://api.openai.com/v1") restored as env-overridable keys.
  4. All config keys overridable: TRADINGAGENTS_ prefix + uppercase config key.
  5. Explicit dependency: Added python-dotenv>=1.0.0 to pyproject.toml.

Constraints

  • llm_provider and backend_url must always exist at top level — scanner_graph.py and trading_graph.py use them as fallbacks.
  • Empty or unset vars preserve the hardcoded default. None-default fields stay None when unset.

Actionable Rules

  • New config keys must follow the TRADINGAGENTS_<UPPERCASE_KEY> pattern.
  • load_dotenv() runs at module level in default_config.py — import-order-independent.
  • Always check actual env var values when debugging auth issues.