API Key for your IDE
- Overview
- IntelliJ IDEA
- Visual Studio Code
- Eclipse IDE
To connect your Vaadin application with an AI provider such as OpenAI, you could access the environment variable or configure the API key specifically for a project in IntelliJ IDEA. The recommended approach is to use environment variables instead of hardcoding the key in your source code or IDE settings.
Warning
|
Never commit API keys to source control. Use environment variables or IDE run configurations instead. |
Using Environment Variables
You can directly reference environment variables in your application.properties
or application.yml
.
This allows you to reuse the same key across multiple projects and keeps your code clean.
Source code
properties
spring.ai.openai.api-key=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
Configuring the API key in IntelliJ IDEA
If you prefer to manage the key within IntelliJ IDEA, you have several options:
-
Run/Debug configuration - add the environment variable
OPENAI_API_KEY
in Run → Edit Configurations → Environment Variables. -
Maven runner settings - configure the key under Settings → Build, Execution, Deployment → Build Tools → Maven → Runner.
-
VM options - pass the key as a system property, for example:
-DOPENAI_API_KEY=your-key
.

With these approaches, your Vaadin application can access the OpenAI API key securely during development.