Configuration & Environment Variables

Relevant source files

The following files were used as context for generating this wiki page:

• backend/app.py
• DEPLOYMENT.md
• pythonanywhere_wsgi.py
• wsgi.py
• requirements.txt
• static/index.html

The Promethean Unified Platform utilizes a decentralized configuration strategy that relies heavily on environment variables to manage integrations between the Flask backend, Supabase database, and the DeepSeek LLM. This approach ensures that sensitive credentials, such as API keys and database URIs, remain isolated from the source code while providing flexibility across different deployment environments like local development and PythonAnywhere.

The configuration management system handles three primary domains: external service authentication (Supabase and DeepSeek), Flask server behavior (debug modes and port mapping), and security enforcement (HTTPS and CSP headers).
Sources: backend/app.py:11-20, DEPLOYMENT.md:46-59

Core Environment Variables

The system requires a .env file located in the project root to function correctly in production. These variables are loaded at runtime using the python-dotenv library.

Variable	Required	Description	Default/Example
SUPABASE_URL	Yes	The project URL for the Supabase instance.	https://[id].supabase.co
SUPABASE_ANON_KEY	Yes	The anonymous public key for database access.	your_anon_key
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY	Yes	API key for the DeepSeek LLM provider.	YOUR_API_KEY
FLASK_ENV	Yes	Defines the environment mode.	production
FLASK_DEBUG	Yes	Controls the visibility of error traces.	False
SERVER_PORT	No	Port for the Flask application to listen on.	5000
SERVER_HOST	No	Host address for the Flask application.	0.0.0.0

Sources: DEPLOYMENT.md:144-154, requirements.txt:3

Initialization & Loading Flow

The platform initializes configuration through multiple entry points depending on the deployment method. In a WSGI environment (like PythonAnywhere), the environment is bootstrapped before the Flask application instance is created.

The diagram shows the initialization sequence from entry point to backend configuration.
Sources: pythonanywhere_wsgi.py:6-18, wsgi.py:4-10, backend/app.py:11-30

Loading Mechanisms

1. Direct Loading: backend/app.py calls load_dotenv() immediately after imports to ensure all subsequent os.environ.get() calls are populated.
2. WSGI Injection: The pythonanywhere_wsgi.py script manually inserts the project folder into sys.path and loads the .env file before importing the application factory to prevent circular import issues or missing configuration during the handshake with the web server.

Sources: backend/app.py:11, pythonanywhere_wsgi.py:12-16

Integration Configurations

Supabase Backend

The connection to the Supabase PostgreSQL backend is established using the supabase-py client. This client requires the SUPABASE_URL and SUPABASE_ANON_KEY to interact with tables such as interactions and chat_messages.

url = os.environ.get("SUPABASE_URL")
key = os.environ.get("SUPABASE_ANON_KEY")
supabase = create_client(url, key)

Sources: backend/app.py:28-30, requirements.txt:4

DeepSeek LLM Integration

The DeepSeek API integration is conditional. The system checks for the presence of DEEPSEEK_API_KEY. if found, it directs chat queries to https://api.deepseek.com/v1/chat/completions. If the key is missing, the system falls back to a descriptive placeholder response.

Sources: backend/app.py:124-142, DEPLOYMENT.md:126-128

Security Configuration

Security is configured programmatically via the set_security_headers function, which applies specific HTTP headers to every response from the Flask application.

Header	Value	Purpose
Strict-Transport-Security	max-age=31536000	Enforces HTTPS for 1 year.
X-Frame-Options	DENY	Prevents Clickjacking by disallowing framing.
Content-Security-Policy	default-src 'self' ...	Restricts source of scripts and styles.
X-Content-Type-Options	nosniff	Prevents MIME type sniffing.

Sources: backend/app.py:17-26, DEPLOYMENT.md:109-114

Environment-Specific Logic

The application distinguishes between production and development through the FLASK_ENV variable. In the pythonanywhere_wsgi.py and wsgi.py files, this is explicitly set to production to ensure performance and security.

The sequence demonstrates how environment variables are accessed during a live API request.
Sources: backend/app.py:124-135, pythonanywhere_wsgi.py:12

Summary

The configuration of the Promethean Unified Platform is strictly environment-driven, utilizing .env files and WSGI script injections to maintain a separation between logic and credentials. By centralizing variables for Supabase and DeepSeek, the platform allows for rapid deployment and easy scaling while maintaining high security standards through forced HTTPS and strict CSP headers defined in the application core.