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[WIP] Ensure backend uses .env for environment variables #5

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[WIP] Ensure backend uses .env for environment variables #5

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Copilot AI commented Oct 13, 2025 •
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Plan to fix .env environment variable handling

Analysis:

  • Backend correctly loads .env using dotenv.config() in server.js
  • .env is properly in .gitignore
  • Issue: The code doesn't validate that OPENAI_API_KEY is not a placeholder value
  • When .env contains OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here, the warning doesn't show because it's a truthy string

Tasks:

  • Analyze current code and identify the issue
  • Update aiService.js to detect and reject placeholder API key values
  • Improve warning message to be more specific
  • Enhance README documentation to clarify .env.example is a template
  • Test the changes to ensure warnings appear correctly
  • Clean up test files before final commit
Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Ensure backend uses .env for environment variables and not .env.example</issue_title>
<issue_description>## Problem
Currently, the backend displays a warning that the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable is not set, even after adding the API key to the .env file. This may be because the backend is not loading the actual .env file and may be referencing .env.example instead, resulting in AI features not working.

Solution

  • Ensure the backend uses the dotenv package to load environment variables from the .env file only (not .env.example).
  • At the very top of the main entry file (e.g., src/server.js), add require('dotenv').config(); so the .env file is loaded.
  • Reference process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY in code, never hardcode or use .env.example for loading values.
  • Document in the README that .env.example is only a template and .env should be created/copied from it for local development and production.
  • Make sure .env is included in .gitignore.
  • Add a check and warning if OPENAI_API_KEY is missing, as currently done.

Acceptance Criteria

  • Backend loads environment variables from .env file.
  • Warning about missing OPENAI_API_KEY does not show if key is present in .env.
  • .env.example is used only as a template, not loaded by code.
  • Clear developer instructions in README for environment variable setup.

Labels

  • enhancement
  • bug
  • backend

</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

Fixes #4

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Copilot AI requested a review from erzer12 October 13, 2025 13:33
@erzer12 erzer12 requested review from Copilot and removed request for erzer12 October 13, 2025 13:35
Copilot AI reviewed Oct 13, 2025
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@erzer12 erzer12 closed this Oct 13, 2025
@erzer12 erzer12 deleted the copilot/ensure-backend-uses-env-file branch October 13, 2025 13:35
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Ensure backend uses .env for environment variables and not .env.example

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