django-environ
A package that allows you to utilize 12factor inspired environment variables to configure your Django application.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. django-environ is production-stable, actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, minimal install friction, and solves a standard Django configuration problem. It is widely adopted (top 5000 PyPI packages) and supports current Django and Python versions. Install it if you use Django and want environment-based configuration following industry best practices.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.9 or later; Django 2.2+ for full compatibility.
- Low friction installation with a single runtime dependency (typing_extensions).
- Active maintenance with a recent release 57 days ago and consistent commit activity; classifiers indicate production-stable status and support across Django 2.2 through 6.0.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; suitable for most projects without licensing concerns.
last release 2026-06-18 (57 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-12 · 3,164 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 8,557,519 downloads/mo, #1,606 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install django-environ
import environ
import os
env = environ.Env(DEBUG=(bool, False))
environ.Env.read_env('.env')
DEBUG = env('DEBUG')
DATABASES = {'default': env.db()}- Performance characteristics when handling large numbers of environment variables or complex .env files
- Specific behavior differences between Env and FileAwareEnv for Docker-style file-based secrets
What it is and what it does
django-environ bridges environment variables and Django settings by reading .env files and parsing their contents into typed Python objects. It implements the Twelve-Factor methodology, which treats configuration as environment-provided data rather than code, eliminating the need for multiple settings files per deployment environment.
The package handles three main tasks: loading variables from .env files into os.environ, casting string values to Python types (bool, int, list, etc.), and parsing connection URL strings (database, cache, email) into Django-compatible configuration dictionaries. It raises Django's ImproperlyConfigured exception when required variables are missing, catching configuration errors early. The single runtime dependency is typing_extensions, and it supports Python 3.9 through 3.14 across Django versions 2.2 to 6.0.
Use it for
- Store database credentials and URLs in .env files without committing them to version control
- Switch between development, staging, and production configurations by changing environment variables
- Parse Redis and cache URLs into Django CACHES configuration dictionaries
- Enable Docker deployments using file-based secrets mounted as environment variables
- Centralize Django settings configuration in a single file instead of maintaining multiple settings_*.py variants
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
django-environ is production-stable, actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, minimal install friction, and solves a standard Django configuration problem. It is widely adopted (top 5000 PyPI packages) and supports current Django and Python versions. Install it if you use Django and want environment-based configuration following industry best practices.
Install
django-environ on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction installation with a single runtime dependency (typing_extensions). Active maintenance with a recent release 57 days ago and consistent commit activity; classifiers indicate production-stable status and support across Django 2.2 through 6.0.
Requires Python 3.9 or later; Django 2.2+ for full compatibility.
License in practice
MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; suitable for most projects without licensing concerns.
Quickstart
pip install django-environ
import environ
import os
env = environ.Env(DEBUG=(bool, False))
environ.Env.read_env('.env')
DEBUG = env('DEBUG')
DATABASES = {'default': env.db()}Verify before relying
- Performance characteristics when handling large numbers of environment variables or complex .env files
- Specific behavior differences between Env and FileAwareEnv for Docker-style file-based secrets
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release <4,>=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagetyping_extensions |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 57 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 8,557,519 / month, #1,606 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableFramework :: DjangoFramework :: Django :: 2.2Framework :: Django :: 3.0Framework :: Django :: 3.1Framework :: Django :: 3.2Framework :: Django :: 4.0Framework :: Django :: 4.1Framework :: Django :: 4.2Framework :: Django :: 5.0Framework :: Django :: 5.1Framework :: Django :: 5.2Framework :: Django :: 6.0Intended Audience :: DevelopersNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python ModulesTopic :: Utilities |
Evidence: django_environ-0.14.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also django-cache-url · django-constance · django-split-settings · python-decouple · envparse · dj-email-url · python-dotenv · dj-database-url · tempenv · django-decorator-include