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Configuring Local Deep Research with Environment Variables

Note: For most users, the Web UI Settings is the recommended way to configure Local Deep Research. Environment variables are primarily useful for Docker deployments, CI/CD pipelines, and server configurations where the web UI is not accessible during startup.

You can override any configuration setting in Local Deep Research using environment variables. This is useful for:

  • Setting up multiple environments (development, production)
  • Changing settings without modifying configuration files
  • Providing sensitive information like API keys securely
  • Setting server ports for Docker or cloud deployments

Environment Variable Format

Local Deep Research uses Dynaconf to manage configuration. The format for environment variables is:

LDR_SECTION__SETTING=value

Note the double underscore (__) between the section and setting name.

Using .env Files in the Config Directory

The easiest way to configure settings is to create a .env file in your config directory:

Config Directory Locations:

  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\Documents\LearningCircuit\local-deep-research\config\.env
  • Linux/Mac: ~/.config/local_deep_research/config/.env

Simply create a text file named .env in this directory and add your settings:

# Example .env file contents
LDR_WEB__PORT=8080
LDR_SEARCH__TOOL=wikipedia
LDR_GENERAL__ENABLE_FACT_CHECKING=true

# API keys (see important note below)
OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key-here
LDR_OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key-here

This file is automatically loaded when Local Deep Research starts, and any settings specified here will override those in the main configuration files.

Important Note About API Keys

Known Bug: Currently, API keys must be set both with and without the LDR_ prefix for search engines to work properly:

# You need BOTH of these for each API key
export OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key-here
export LDR_OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key-here

This applies to all search-related API keys including:

  • OPENAI_API_KEY
  • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
  • SERP_API_KEY
  • BRAVE_API_KEY
  • GOOGLE_PSE_API_KEY
  • GOOGLE_PSE_ENGINE_ID
  • GUARDIAN_API_KEY

This issue will be fixed in a future update.

Examples

Config in settings.toml Environment Variable Example
[web] port = 5000 LDR_WEB__PORT LDR_WEB__PORT=8080
[search] tool = "auto" LDR_SEARCH__TOOL LDR_SEARCH__TOOL=wikipedia
[general] enable_fact_checking = false LDR_GENERAL__ENABLE_FACT_CHECKING LDR_GENERAL__ENABLE_FACT_CHECKING=true

API Keys

API keys are best set using environment variables for security (remember the current requirement for both prefixed and non-prefixed versions):

# Set both versions for each API key
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
LDR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-key-here
LDR_OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-key-here

SERP_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
LDR_SERP_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

LLM Provider Configuration

OpenRouter

OpenRouter provides access to 100+ models through an OpenAI-compatible API. To use OpenRouter:

  1. Get an API key from openrouter.ai
  2. Configure using one of these methods:

Method 1: Via Web UI (Recommended)

  • Navigate to Settings → LLM Provider
  • Select "Custom OpenAI Endpoint"
  • Set Endpoint URL to: https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
  • Enter your OpenRouter API key
  • Select your desired model

Method 2: Via Environment Variables

# Required environment variables for OpenRouter
export LDR_LLM_PROVIDER=openai_endpoint
export LDR_LLM_OPENAI_ENDPOINT_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
export LDR_LLM_OPENAI_ENDPOINT_API_KEY="<your-api-key>"
export LDR_LLM_MODEL=anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet  # or any OpenRouter model

Method 3: Docker Compose

Add to your docker-compose.yml environment section:

services:
  local-deep-research:
    environment:
      - LDR_LLM_PROVIDER=openai_endpoint
      - LDR_LLM_OPENAI_ENDPOINT_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
      - LDR_LLM_OPENAI_ENDPOINT_API_KEY=<your-api-key>
      - LDR_LLM_MODEL=anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet

Available Models: Browse models at openrouter.ai/models

Note: OpenRouter uses the OpenAI-compatible API, so you select "Custom OpenAI Endpoint" as the provider and change the endpoint URL to OpenRouter's API.

Other OpenAI-Compatible Providers

The same configuration pattern works for any OpenAI-compatible API service:

# Generic pattern for OpenAI-compatible APIs
export LDR_LLM_PROVIDER=openai_endpoint
export LDR_LLM_OPENAI_ENDPOINT_URL=https://your-provider.com/v1
export LDR_LLM_OPENAI_ENDPOINT_API_KEY="<your-api-key>"
export LDR_LLM_MODEL="<your-model-name>"

Docker Usage

For Docker deployments, you can pass environment variables when starting containers:

docker run -p 8080:8080 \
  -e LDR_WEB__PORT=8080 \
  -e LDR_SEARCH__TOOL=wikipedia \
  -e OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key-here \
  -e LDR_OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key-here \
  local-deep-research

Common Operations

Changing the Web Port

export LDR_WEB__PORT=8080  # Linux/Mac
set LDR_WEB__PORT=8080     # Windows

Setting API Keys (with current dual requirement)

# Linux/Mac
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key-here
export LDR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key-here

# Windows
set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key-here
set LDR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key-here

Changing Search Engine

export LDR_SEARCH__TOOL=wikipedia  # Linux/Mac
set LDR_SEARCH__TOOL=wikipedia     # Windows

Data Directory Location

By default, Local Deep Research stores all data (database, research outputs, cache, logs) in platform-specific user directories. You can override this location using the LDR_DATA_DIR environment variable:

# Linux/Mac
export LDR_DATA_DIR=/path/to/your/data/directory

# Windows
set LDR_DATA_DIR=C:\path\to\your\data\directory

All application data will be organized under this directory:

  • $LDR_DATA_DIR/ldr.db - Application database
  • $LDR_DATA_DIR/research_outputs/ - Research reports
  • $LDR_DATA_DIR/cache/ - Cached data
  • $LDR_DATA_DIR/logs/ - Application logs