Importing openai throws an error in debug mode

[preeti.virkar]

I am using PyCharm editor.
Below is the sample code:

import openai

print("hello")

If I run it directly, it works fine. But if I debug the code, it throws an error at the import statement - “OpenAIError(openai.OpenAIError: The api_key client option must be set either by …”

The error persists even when I use load_dotenv().

Am I missing something? I need to debug the code. Is there a way to resolve this issue so that I can debug code successfully?

Thank you!

[lucid.dev]

So did you try setting an API key like this within your environment config file?

(within .env file)
OPENAI_API_KEY=my_api_key

[hugebelts]

Are you on windows, linux or mac? AFAIK I’ll provide some pieces for all. BUT, for now I can only test on windows. So errors may apply.

The error you’re encountering when importing the openai module in debug mode within PyCharm is likely due to the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable not being recognized during the debugging session. Maybe that’s what’s happening in your case as well.

PyCharm’s debugger possibly may not automatically inherit environment variables set in your system or project configuration.

How you may Resolve this:

1. Set the OPENAI_API_KEY in PyCharm’s Debug Configuration:

Depending on the version you use for sure:

• Open your project in PyCharm.
• Navigate to Run > Edit Configurations.
• Select your script or create a new Python configuration.
• In the Environment variables section, click on the … button.
• Add a new variable:
  • Name: OPENAI_API_KEY
  • Value: your_api_key_here
• Click OK to save the configuration.

2. Then: Verify Environment Variable Recognition:

   • To ensure that the environment variable is correctly set during debugging, you can add the following lines at the beginning of your script:

     import os
     print(os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"))
     

   • Run the script in debug mode and check the console output to confirm that your API key is being recognized.

3. Alternatively: Set the Environment Variable Globally:

   • If you prefer to set the OPENAI_API_KEY globally:
     • On Windows:
       • Open Command Prompt and run:

         setx OPENAI_API_KEY "your_api_key_here"
         

     • On macOS/Linux:
       • Open Terminal and add the following line to your shell configuration file (e.g., .bashrc or .zshrc):

         export OPENAI_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
         

       • Reload the shell configuration by running:

         source ~/.bashrc  # or source ~/.zshrc
         

   • Restart PyCharm to ensure it picks up the new environment variable.

Additional Considerations:

• Use an .env File:

Are you using an .env file?

• If you’re using a .env file to manage environment variables, ensure that it’s being loaded correctly in your script. You can use the python-dotenv package to load variables from a .env file:

  from dotenv import load_dotenv
  import os
  
  load_dotenv()
  openai_api_key = os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
  

• Ensure that the .env file is located in your project’s root directory and contains the line:

  OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
  

• Please note that PyCharm’s debugger may not automatically load the .env file. To address this, you can set the environment variables directly in the run/debug configurations as described above.

• Ensure Correct Import Statements:

  • You may also additionally verify that your script does not have a filename that conflicts with module names (e.g., avoid naming your script openai.py). Those conflicts may cause import errors. Had this happen several times.

By configuring the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable within PyCharm’s debug configurations, you should be hopefully able to resolve the import error and debug your code successfully.

Let me see if this helps or you need any further assistance.

[preeti.virkar]

Perfect! I added the configuration file and specified the .env file there. Now I am able to debug the code.
Thank you so much for the solution and the prompt response!