> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Shubhamsaboo/awesome-llm-apps/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Environment Setup

> Configure your development environment for LLM applications

# Environment Setup

Set up your development environment for building LLM applications.

## Python Environment

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="venv">
    ```bash theme={null}
    python3 -m venv venv
    source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
    pip install --upgrade pip
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="conda">
    ```bash theme={null}
    conda create -n llm-apps python=3.11
    conda activate llm-apps
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Environment Variables

Create a `.env` file in your project root:

```bash theme={null}
# OpenAI
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

# Anthropic
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

# Google
GOOGLE_API_KEY=AIza...

# Search APIs
SERPAPI_KEY=...
TAVILY_API_KEY=tvly-...

# Vector Databases
QDRANT_URL=http://localhost:6333
QDRANT_API_KEY=...
```

<Warning>
  Never commit `.env` files to version control. Add `.env` to your `.gitignore`.
</Warning>

## Load Environment Variables

```python theme={null}
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import os

load_dotenv()

openai_key = os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
```

## Docker Setup

For services like vector databases:

```bash theme={null}
# Qdrant
docker run -p 6333:6333 qdrant/qdrant

# ChromaDB
docker run -p 8000:8000 chromadb/chroma
```

## Related Resources

<Card title="Installation Guide" icon="download" href="/installation">
  Complete installation instructions
</Card>