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_async
from pyrit.setup.initializers import SimpleInitializer

await initialize_pyrit_async(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 .env files. The .env_example file shows the format and available options.

Environment Variable Precedence#

When initialize_pyrit_async runs, environment variables are loaded in a specific order. Later sources override earlier ones:

        flowchart LR
    A["1. System Environment"] --> B{"env_files provided?"}
    B -->|No| C["2. ~/.pyrit/.env"]
    C --> D["3. ~/.pyrit/.env.local"]
    B -->|Yes| E["2. Your specified files (in order)"]

Default behavior (no env_files argument):

Priority

Source

Description

Lowest

System environment variables

Always loaded as the baseline

Medium

~/.pyrit/.env

Default config file (loaded if it exists)

Highest

~/.pyrit/.env.local

Local overrides (loaded if it exists)

Custom behavior (with env_files argument): Only your specified files are loaded, in order. Default paths are completely ignored.

Creating Your .env File#

  1. Copy .env_example to .env in your home directory in ~/.pyrit/.env

  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 ~/.pyrit/.env.local to override values in ~/.pyrit/.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 in your ~/.pyrit/ directory and add any variables you want to override.

Custom Environment Files#

You can also specify exactly which .env files to load using the env_files parameter:

from pathlib import Path
from pyrit.setup import initialize_pyrit_async

await initialize_pyrit_async(
    memory_db_type="InMemory",
    env_files=[Path("./project-config.env"), Path("./local-overrides.env")]
)

When env_files is provided:

  • Only the specified files are loaded (default paths are skipped entirely)

  • Files are loaded in order—later files override earlier ones

  • A ValueError is raised if any specified file doesn’t exist

The CLI also supports custom environment files via the --env-files flag.

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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