OpenAI API "AuthenticationError No API key provided" when switching to internalConsole in VS Code launch.json

Question

I'm using the OpenAI API in a Python script and have set the OPENAI_API_KEY as an environment variable in my system, which works fine when running the script in the integrated terminal. What I have used to set the key. https://help.openai.com/en/articles/5112595-best-practices-for-api-key-safety

However, when I change the debugging configuration in my launch.json file from "console": "integratedTerminal" to "console": "internalConsole", the API key is not recognized, and I get an AuthenticationError.

How can I properly set the API key when using the "internalConsole" configuration in VS Code so that the OpenAI API works correctly?

Answer 1

To use the OpenAI API key when using the "internalConsole" configuration in VS Code, you can create a separate secrets.json file containing your API key, and then load the key in your Python script directly to openai object.

1. Create a secrets.json file in your project folder with your API key:

    {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
    }

Replace "your-api-key-here" with your actual OpenAI API key.

2. Add the secrets.json file to your .gitignore file to prevent it from being accidentally committed to your Git repository:

    # .gitignore
    secrets.json

3. In your main Python script, create a function to load the API key from the secrets.json file and use it to set the api_key of the OpenAI library:

   import json
   import openai
   
   def load_api_key(secrets_file="secrets.json"):
       with open(secrets_file) as f:
           secrets = json.load(f)
       return secrets["OPENAI_API_KEY"]
   
   # Set secret API key
   # Typically, we'd use an environment variable (e.g., echo "export OPENAI_API_KEY='yourkey'" >> ~/.zshrc)
   # However, using "internalConsole" in launch.json requires setting it in the code for compatibility with Hebrew
   api_key = load_api_key()
   openai.api_key = api_key
   
   # Your script's content goes here
   

By following these steps, your API key will be properly set when using the "internalConsole" configuration in VS Code, and your OpenAI API calls should work as expected.