Custom .env for tests

Author: dvdbsrw

.gitignore

@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ web-frontend/plugins/
 backend/plugins/
 web-frontend/reports/
 backend/reports/
+backend/.env.testing*
 
 .idea/
 *.iml

backend/src/baserow/config/settings/test.py

@@ -1,7 +1,28 @@
 # flake8: noqa: F405
+import os
 from copy import deepcopy
+from unittest.mock import patch
 
-from .base import *  # noqa: F403, F401
+from dotenv import dotenv_values
+
+# Create a .env.testing file in the backend directory to store different test settings and
+# override the default ones. For different test settings, provide the TEST_ENV_FILE
+# environment variable with the name of the file to use. Everything that starts with
+# .env.testing will be ignored by git.
+BASE_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
+TEST_ENV_FILE = os.getenv("TEST_ENV_FILE", ".env.testing")
+TEST_ENV_VARS = dotenv_values(os.path.join(BASE_DIR, f"../../../{TEST_ENV_FILE}"))
+
+
+def getenv_for_tests(key: str, default: str = "") -> str:
+    return TEST_ENV_VARS.get(key, default)
+
+
+with patch("os.getenv", getenv_for_tests) as load_dotenv:
+    # Avoid loading .env settings to prevent conflicts with the test settings,
+    # but allow custom settings to be loaded from the .env.test file in the
+    # backend root directory.
+    from .base import *  # noqa: F403, F401
 
 TESTS = True
 
@@ -67,20 +88,6 @@
 if "baserow.middleware.ConcurrentUserRequestsMiddleware" in MIDDLEWARE:
     MIDDLEWARE.remove("baserow.middleware.ConcurrentUserRequestsMiddleware")
 
-
-BASEROW_OPENAI_API_KEY = None
-BASEROW_OPENAI_ORGANIZATION = None
-BASEROW_OPENAI_MODELS = []
-BASEROW_OPENROUTER_API_KEY = None
-BASEROW_OPENROUTER_ORGANIZATION = None
-BASEROW_OPENROUTER_MODELS = []
-BASEROW_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = None
-BASEROW_ANTHROPIC_MODELS = []
-BASEROW_MISTRAL_API_KEY = None
-BASEROW_MISTRAL_MODELS = []
-BASEROW_OLLAMA_HOST = None
-BASEROW_OLLAMA_MODELS = []
-
 PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL = "http://localhost:8000"
 PUBLIC_WEB_FRONTEND_URL = "http://localhost:3000"
 BASEROW_EMBEDDED_SHARE_URL = "http://localhost:3000"

config/vscode/.vscode/env

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
-DATABASE_HOST=localhost
+TEST_ENV_FILE=.env.testing-local
 PYTHONPATH=backend/src:premium/backend/src:enterprise/backend/src:backend/flake8_plugins:$PYTHONPATH
 DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=baserow.config.settings.test

docs/development/running-tests.md

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# Running Tests
+
+## Backend
+
+To run backend tests, start and attach to the backend container as described in 
+[running-the-dev-environment.md](running-the-dev-environment.md). Once inside 
+the container, execute `make test` or `make test-parallel` to run the tests.
+
+The tests use the `config.settings.tests` configuration, which sets base 
+variables and ignores environment variables in the `.env` file. The `.env` file 
+is intended for production or development mode.
+
+### Customize Test Settings
+
+You can customize test settings by creating a `.env.testing` file in the 
+backend directory. For example:
+
+```env
+# backend/.env.testing
+BASEROW_MAX_FIELD_LIMIT=1
+```
+
+### Running Tests Outside the Backend Container
+
+To run tests outside the backend container, follow these steps:
+
+1. Create a Python virtual environment. See [supported](../installation/supported.md) 
+   to determine the supported version of Python.
+2. From the backend directory, install the required packages with 
+   `pip install requirements/base.txt` and `pip install requirements/dev.txt`.
+3. Set environment variables to connect to the database. Create a 
+    `.env.testing-local` file in the backend directory. At a minimum, set 
+    `DATABASE_HOST` to `localhost` since the default value of `db` is only valid 
+    inside the docker network.
+
+```env
+# backend/.env.testing-local
+DATABASE_HOST=localhost
+```
+
+4. Export the `TEST_ENV_FILE` variable to specify the environment file:
+
+```sh
+export TEST_ENV_FILE='.env.testing-local'
+```
+
+5. Run `make test` or `make test-parallel` from your shell outside the 
+    containers in the backend directory.

docs/index.md

@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ Everything related to contributing and developing for Baserow.
   and when to add your own.
 * [Metrics and Logs](./development/metrics-and-logs.md): How to work with metrics and logs
   to aid with monitoring Baserow as a developer.
+* [Backend Tests](development/running-tests.md): A guide on how to run python tests for the backend.
 
 ## Plugins