Populating Secrets - Quick Start Guide

Populating Secrets - Quick Start Guide#

Before running PyRIT, you need to configure access to AI targets. This guide will help you get started quickly.

Fastest Way to Get Started#

The simplest way to configure PyRIT requires just two environment variables and three lines of code:

from pyrit.setup import initialize_pyrit
from pyrit.setup.initializers import SimpleInitializer

initialize_pyrit(memory_db_type="InMemory", initializers=[SimpleInitializer()])

This sets up PyRIT with sensible defaults using in-memory storage. You just need to set two environment variables:

  • OPENAI_CHAT_ENDPOINT - Your AI endpoint URL

  • OPENAI_CHAT_KEY - Your API key

With this setup, you can run most PyRIT notebooks and examples!

Setting Up Environment Variables#

PyRIT loads secrets and endpoints from environment variables or a .env file in your repo root. The .env_example file shows the format and available options.

Creating Your .env File#

  1. Copy .env_example to .env in your repository root

  2. Add your API credentials. For example, for Azure OpenAI:

OPENAI_CHAT_ENDPOINT="https://your-resource.openai.azure.com/openai/deployments/your-deployment/chat/completions"
OPENAI_CHAT_KEY="your-api-key-here"

To find these values in Azure Portal: Azure Portal > Azure AI Services > Azure OpenAI > Your OpenAI Resource > Resource Management > Keys and Endpoint

Using .env.local for Overrides#

You can use .env.local to override values in .env without modifying the base file. This is useful for:

  • Testing different targets

  • Using personal credentials instead of shared ones

  • Switching between configurations quickly

Simply create .env.local and add any variables you want to override. PyRIT will prioritize .env.local over .env.

Authentication Options#

API Keys (Default)#

The simplest approach is using API keys as shown above. Most targets support this method.

Azure Entra Authentication (Optional)#

For Azure resources, you can use Entra auth instead of API keys. This requires:

  1. Install Azure CLI for your OS:

  2. Log in to Azure:

    az login

When using Entra auth, you don’t need to set API keys for Azure resources.

Next Steps#

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