agileconfig-python

Python client for AgileConfig. The client loads configuration over HTTP, listens for reload notifications over WebSocket, and falls back to os.environ when the server is unavailable.

Installation

python -m pip install agileconfig-python

Usage

from agileconfig_python import AgileConfigLoader

loader = AgileConfigLoader(
	url="wss://config.example.com/ws",
	app_id="my-app",
	secret="your-secret",
	env="DEV",
)

database_host = str(loader.get_var("host", prefix="database"))
loader.stop()

The initial HTTP request populates the cache. When AgileConfig publishes a reload event, the cache is refreshed. If the server cannot be reached within the configured timeout, get_var_value reads the variable name from the process environment and ignores its prefix.

Singleton behavior and safety notes

AgileConfigLoader is a process-wide singleton. Creating it multiple times in the same Python process returns the same instance and does not reinitialize it.

Important implications:

• Do not assume a second AgileConfigLoader(...) call with different credentials or URL will switch connections. The first initialization wins for the process lifetime.
• Avoid creating loaders in many modules with different parameters. Prefer one startup location and reuse that instance.
• Calling loader.stop() stops the shared background listener for the singleton. Other parts of your app using the same loader will stop receiving updates.
• In tests, call stop() during teardown to avoid background-thread leakage across test cases.
• If your process forks workers, create the loader inside each worker process after fork, not in the parent before fork.

API

• AgileConfigLoader(url, app_id, secret, env) creates the singleton loader and starts its listener.
• loader.get_var_value(var_name, prefix="") returns the current value, or an environment fallback.
• loader.get_var(var_name, prefix="") returns a lazy string-like proxy that reads the latest value when converted with str().
• loader.stop() closes the WebSocket and stops the listener thread.

Development

python -m pip install --upgrade pip build
python -m pip install -e .
python -m unittest discover -s unit_tests -v
python -m build

The live integration tests embedded in the source require an AgileConfig server and are not run by the offline unit-test command.

Release checklist

1. Update version in pyproject.toml.
2. Run the unit tests and python -m build.
3. Inspect both artifacts with python -m twine check dist/*.
4. Upload to TestPyPI and install the uploaded version in a clean environment.
5. Create a Git tag matching the version, for example v0.1.0.
6. Publish to PyPI with a trusted publisher or twine upload dist/*.