Support loading environment from .envrc with direnv

[ahgraber]

Environment data

• VS Code version: 1.67.0
• Jupyter Extension version (available under the Extensions sidebar): v2022.4.1011282140
• Python Extension version (available under the Extensions sidebar): v2022.6.0
• OS (Windows | Mac | Linux distro) and version: Mac 12.3.1 (MacbookPro 14, M1 Pro)
• Python and/or Anaconda version: conda 4.11.0, mamba 0.16.0, python 3.9./ /3.10.
• Type of virtual environment used (N/A | venv | virtualenv | conda | ...): conda
• Jupyter server running: Local

Expected behaviour

If I start an interactive session from a directory with a .envrc file that is loaded with direnv, the environmental variables that are loaded with direnv should be available via os.environ.

Actual behaviour

None of the variables that are present in my local environment via direnv are available.

Steps to reproduce:

1. assuming direnv is installed, create .envrc with variables to be loaded and run direnv allow .

# direnv .envrc file
export TEST="this_is_a_test"

2. in same directory, create a python file that we will run via the interpreter

#%%
import os

#%%
"TEST" in os.environ

3. Run the cells. The interpreter python environment will not find the env var "TEST", although the variables will be available if we run the same python commands in the terminal python environment

Additional references

There may be some overlap with the vscode-python extension, where they seem to have deemed this feature "not important" even though it is significantly workflow- and expectation- breaking.

Thanks for the suggestion! We talked about it with the team and we have unfortunately decided we will not be moving forward with this idea. We think there isn't an enough widespread need for this to warrant the maintenance cost for the feature.

Originally posted by @luabud in microsoft/vscode-python#14250 (comment)

Also requested as a feature in microsoft/vscode-python#18220 (comment), and .envrc/direnv proposed as a solution in microsoft/vscode-python#18250 (comment)

[rchiodo]

Thanks for the suggestion.

My guess is that since nobody else has asked for this in notebooks yet, the odds are we won't be pursuing this.

However everything here is open source and we gladly except PRs. The tricky part here is that we don't start our kernels using a terminal. So any terminal additions would be difficult to use.

.env file support is supported though. Could you use that instead?

[ahgraber]

Yeah, .env is certainly an option; however most of our workflows currently use .envrc, so I'll have to figure out a way to keep the two in sync.

Thanks for the quick response.

[NktBkzn]

@rchiodo
I would also love to have this feature. So I am the second one asking:)
I work with a repo which keeps the definition of env variables in .envrc file. I also run some experiments in jupyter lab.
It would be great to be able to use env variables defined in .envrc file inside notebooks

[ahgraber]

@NktBkzn - I've resolved by moving variables needed in the python environment to a .env file and then loading that .env file with direnv by adding the following line to the bottom of my .envrc.

dotenv_if_exists .env

It's hacky, but it works... and I think we're a small enough population that microsoft probably won't add this feature.

[introom]

@NktBkzn - I've resolved by moving variables needed in the python environment to a .env file and then loading that .env file with direnv by adding the following line to the bottom of my .envrc.

dotenv_if_exists .env

It's hacky, but it works... and I think we're a small enough population that microsoft probably won't add this feature.

@ahgraber Please use this extension: https://github.com/direnv/direnv-vscode

[emddarn]

Jupyter in vscode doesn't run bashrc or zshrc when it starts. Adding
"jupyter.runStartupCommands": [direnv allow .]
in settings seems to be working for me