Installation

DotZen supports Python 3.8+ and can be installed via pip. Choose the installation method that best suits your needs.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Python 3.8 or higher
pip (Python package installer)

Operating Systems:

Linux
macOS
Windows

Basic Installation

Install the core DotZen library with zero dependencies:

pip install dotzen

This gives you access to:

Environment variable configuration
.env file support
JSON configuration files
Docker secrets
Type casting and validation
All core design patterns

Verify Installation

import dotzen
print(dotzen.__version__)

# make dotzen is installed
dotzen --version

Installation with Cloud Providers

If you need cloud secrets manager support, install the appropriate extras:

AWS Secrets Manager

pip install dotzen

Includes:

boto3 - AWS SDK for Python
botocore - Low-level AWS client library

Google Cloud Secret Manager

pip install dotzen

Includes:

google-cloud-secret-manager - GCP Secret Manager client

Azure Key Vault

pip install dotzen

Includes:

azure-keyvault-secrets - Azure Key Vault client
azure-identity - Azure authentication

HashiCorp Vault

pip install dotzen

Includes:

hvac - HashiCorp Vault client

All Cloud Providers

Install support for all cloud providers at once:

pip install dotzen

Installation with File Format Support

Extend DotZen with additional configuration file format support:

YAML Support

pip install dotzen

Includes:

PyYAML - YAML parser and emitter

TOML Support

pip install dotzen

Includes:

tomli - TOML parser (Python < 3.11)

JSON5 Support

pip install dotzen

Includes:

json5 - JSON5 parser

All Formats

Install support for all file formats:

pip install dotzen

Complete Installation

Install everything (all cloud providers and file formats):

pip install dotzen

This is the recommended installation for maximum flexibility.

Development Installation

For contributing to DotZen or running tests:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/carrington-dev/dotzen.git
cd dotzen

# Create a virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

# Install in editable mode with dev dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev,test,all]"

# Install pre-commit hooks
pre-commit install

Development Extras

Available development extras:

pip install dotzen     # Development tools
pip install dotzen    # Testing tools
pip install dotzen    # Documentation building

Docker Installation

Using DotZen in a Docker container:

FROM python:3.12-slim

# Install DotZen
RUN pip install dotzen

# Copy your application
COPY . /app
WORKDIR /app

CMD ["python", "main.py"]

With docker-compose:

version: '3.8'
services:
  app:
    build: .
    environment:
      - DEBUG=true
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@db:5432/dbname
    secrets:
      - db_password
      - api_key

secrets:
  db_password:
    file: ./secrets/db_password.txt
  api_key:
    file: ./secrets/api_key.txt

Virtual Environment Setup

Using venv

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv dotzen-env

# Activate (Linux/macOS)
source dotzen-env/bin/activate

# Activate (Windows)
dotzen-env\Scripts\activate

# Install DotZen
pip install dotzen

Using conda

# Create conda environment
conda create -n dotzen python=3.12

# Activate environment
conda activate dotzen

# Install DotZen
pip install dotzen

Using Poetry

# Initialize project
poetry init

# Add DotZen
poetry add dotzen

# Add with extras
poetry add dotzen

# Install dependencies
poetry install

Using Pipenv

# Create Pipfile
pipenv install dotzen

# Activate virtual environment
pipenv shell

Requirements File

For reproducible installations, create a requirements.txt:

# requirements.txt
dotzen==0.1.1

# Or specify exactly what you need
dotzen==0.1.1
boto3>=1.26.0          # For AWS
PyYAML>=6.0            # For YAML files

Install from requirements:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Upgrading

Upgrade to the latest version:

pip install --upgrade dotzen

# Or with extras
pip install --upgrade dotzen

Uninstallation

Remove DotZen:

pip uninstall dotzen

Troubleshooting

Common Installation Issues

Issue: pip not found

# Install pip
python -m ensurepip --upgrade

Issue: Permission denied

# Use --user flag
pip install --user dotzen

# Or use virtual environment (recommended)
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install dotzen

Issue: SSL Certificate errors

# Upgrade pip
pip install --upgrade pip

# Or use trusted host
pip install --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org dotzen

Issue: Dependency conflicts

# Create fresh virtual environment
python -m venv fresh-env
source fresh-env/bin/activate
pip install dotzen

Platform-Specific Notes

Linux

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install python3-pip python3-venv

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install python3-pip

# Install DotZen
pip3 install dotzen

macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install python3

# Install DotZen
pip3 install dotzen

Windows

# Download Python from python.org
# Then in PowerShell or CMD:

python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install dotzen

Verification

Verify your installation:

import dotzen
from dotzen import ConfigBuilder, ConfigFactory, config

# Check version
print(f"DotZen version: {dotzen.__version__}")

# Test basic functionality
import os
os.environ['TEST_VAR'] = 'Hello, DotZen!'

result = config('TEST_VAR')
print(f"Config test: {result}")

# Success!
print("✅ DotZen is installed and working!")

Run the verification script:

python -c "import dotzen; print(f'DotZen {dotzen.__version__} installed successfully!')"

Next Steps

Now that DotZen is installed, continue to:

Basic Usage - Get started with your first configuration
configuration_sources - Learn about different config sources
examples - See real-world usage examples

For more help, see: