# Environment Variables

The Roboflow CLI and Python SDK read a small set of environment variables. Setting them in your shell or CI environment removes the need to pass credentials and configuration on every command.

## `ROBOFLOW_API_KEY`

Your Roboflow API key. Used by:

* **CLI** — every command falls back to this when `--api-key` / `-k` isn't passed.
* **Python SDK** — `roboflow.Roboflow()` (with no arguments) and most adapter functions read this when no explicit key is provided.

```bash
export ROBOFLOW_API_KEY=rf_xxxxx
```

```python
import roboflow

rf = roboflow.Roboflow()  # picks up ROBOFLOW_API_KEY automatically
```

Find your key in the [Roboflow web app under Settings → API Key](https://app.roboflow.com/settings/api).

## `ROBOFLOW_CONFIG_DIR`

Override the location where the CLI stores authentication credentials and the configured default workspace. Defaults to `~/.config/roboflow/`.

```bash
export ROBOFLOW_CONFIG_DIR=/etc/roboflow
roboflow login
# credentials saved to /etc/roboflow/config.json
```

Useful in CI, container builds, or when running multiple Roboflow accounts side by side on the same machine.

## `API_URL`

Override the base URL the SDK and CLI send REST API requests to. Defaults to `https://api.roboflow.com`.

You should not need to set this. It exists for Roboflow-internal testing against pre-production environments.

## `DEDICATED_DEPLOYMENT_URL`

Override the base URL for the dedicated-deployments service. Defaults to `https://roboflow.cloud`.

You should not need to set this. It exists for Roboflow-internal testing against pre-production environments.

## Precedence

When the same value can be supplied multiple ways, this is the order of precedence (highest first):

1. **Explicit flag** — e.g. `--api-key` on a CLI command, or the `api_key` argument to a Python function.
2. **Environment variable** — e.g. `ROBOFLOW_API_KEY`.
3. **On-disk config** — e.g. `~/.config/roboflow/config.json` for the CLI's saved credentials.
4. **Built-in default** — only for non-secret values like `API_URL`.

## CI / Agent recommendation

In CI or AI-agent contexts, prefer `ROBOFLOW_API_KEY` over `roboflow login`. The env var path requires no interactive prompts, no on-disk state, and rotates cleanly when you rotate the key in your secrets store.

```yaml
# Example GitHub Actions
env:
  ROBOFLOW_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ROBOFLOW_API_KEY }}
```


---

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