# Config : env
The format of `.env` files loaded by [python-dotenv](https://pypi.org/project/python-dotenv/). \[ [src](https://github.com/theskumar/python-dotenv/) | [docs](https://saurabh-kumar.com/python-dotenv/) ]
`key = value`
- whitespace before keys and around `=` is ignored
- quoting is optional
- single-quote escape sequences: `\\`, `\'`
- double-quote escape seqeunces: `\\`, `\'`, `\"`, `\a`, `\b`, `\f`, `\n`, `\r`, `\t`, `\v`
- quoted strings can span multiple lines
- keys without `=` return `None`
- keys with `=` but no value return empty string
- supports comments (`#`) anywhere on a line
- supports variable (`${KEY}`) interpolation
## Python
- walks PWD upward until first `.env` is found (unless you pass an explicit path)
- `load_dotenv()` will not overwrite existing env vars, but `load_dotenv( override=True )` and `dotenv_values()` will
```python
from dotenv import dotenv_values, load_dotenv
dotenv_values( path, interpolate=True, verbose=False ) # returns dict
load_dotenv( path, interpolate=True, override=False, verbose=False ) # returns True if any vars loaded
# path -> optional; absolute or relative
# interpolate -> controls whether variables in values are expanded
# override -> controls whether existing env vars will be overwritten
# verbose -> controls whether a warning is emitted when env file not found
```