> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pandaprobe.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Environment Variables

> Complete reference for all PandaProbe SDK environment variables

All PandaProbe SDK behavior can be configured via environment variables. These are read at client initialization time.

| Variable                    | Type      | Default                      | Required | Description                                                                                                                                              |
| --------------------------- | --------- | ---------------------------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `PANDAPROBE_API_KEY`        | `string`  | —                            | Yes      | Your PandaProbe API key. Required when the SDK is enabled.                                                                                               |
| `PANDAPROBE_PROJECT_NAME`   | `string`  | —                            | Yes      | The project name to associate traces with. Required when the SDK is enabled.                                                                             |
| `PANDAPROBE_ENDPOINT`       | `string`  | `https://api.pandaprobe.com` | No       | The PandaProbe backend URL. Change this for self-hosted deployments.                                                                                     |
| `PANDAPROBE_ENVIRONMENT`    | `string`  | `None`                       | No       | Environment tag attached to all traces (for example, `production`, `staging`, `development`).                                                            |
| `PANDAPROBE_RELEASE`        | `string`  | `None`                       | No       | Release or version tag attached to all traces (for example, `v1.2.3`, a git SHA).                                                                        |
| `PANDAPROBE_ENABLED`        | `boolean` | `true`                       | No       | Set to `false` to completely disable the SDK. All operations become no-ops. Accepted values: `true`, `1`, `yes` (enabled) or any other value (disabled). |
| `PANDAPROBE_BATCH_SIZE`     | `integer` | `10`                         | No       | Number of items per flush batch sent to the backend.                                                                                                     |
| `PANDAPROBE_FLUSH_INTERVAL` | `float`   | `5.0`                        | No       | Seconds between automatic background flushes.                                                                                                            |
| `PANDAPROBE_MAX_QUEUE_SIZE` | `integer` | `1000`                       | No       | Maximum number of items in the send queue. When full, the oldest item is dropped with a warning log.                                                     |
| `PANDAPROBE_DEBUG`          | `boolean` | `false`                      | No       | Enable verbose debug logging. Sets the `pandaprobe` logger to DEBUG level. Useful for troubleshooting.                                                   |

### Setting environment variables

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash title="Bash" theme={null}
  export PANDAPROBE_API_KEY="pk_..."
  export PANDAPROBE_PROJECT_NAME="my-project"
  export PANDAPROBE_ENDPOINT="https://your-instance.com"
  export PANDAPROBE_ENVIRONMENT="production"
  ```

  ```text title=".env" theme={null}
  PANDAPROBE_API_KEY=pk_...
  PANDAPROBE_PROJECT_NAME=my-project
  PANDAPROBE_ENDPOINT=https://your-instance.com
  PANDAPROBE_ENVIRONMENT=production
  ```

  ```python title="Python" theme={null}
  from dotenv import load_dotenv
  load_dotenv()

  import pandaprobe
  # SDK auto-initializes from environment variables
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Note>
  The SDK reads environment variables via `os.environ.get()` at initialization time. Changes to environment variables after the client is created have no effect. Use `pandaprobe.init()` to reconfigure.
</Note>

### Boolean parsing

Boolean environment variables (`PANDAPROBE_ENABLED`, `PANDAPROBE_DEBUG`) accept `true`, `1`, or `yes` (case-insensitive) as truthy. All other values are treated as falsy.