cli.md

icon	lucide/square-terminal

Command-line Interface

python-dotenv includes a dotenv CLI for managing .env files from the terminal.

Installation

The CLI requires the click package. Install it with the cli extra:

=== "pip"

```shell
pip install "python-dotenv[cli]"
```

=== "uv"

```shell
uv add "python-dotenv[cli]"
```

Verify the installation by checking the version:

dotenv --version

!!! info

The CLI can also be invoked as a Python module: `python -m dotenv`

Set up your .env from the terminal

Use set, get, and unset to manage key-value pairs:

dotenv set USER foo
dotenv set EMAIL foo@example.org
dotenv get EMAIL
dotenv unset EMAIL

See CLI Reference for options such as --quote and --export.

Run a command with .env loaded

Load environment variables from .env and execute a command:

dotenv run -- python app.py

By default, .env values override existing environment variables. Use --no-override to keep existing values. See CLI Reference for details.

Export .env for shell use

List values in a format suitable for sourcing in a shell:

dotenv list --format=export

Other formats include simple, json, and shell. See CLI Reference for all options.

Use a non-default .env file

Use -f to target a specific file (default is .env in the current directory):

dotenv -f .env.production list
dotenv -f .env.production run -- python app.py

Full CLI reference

See CLI Reference for all commands, options, and exit codes.