Python script with password security?

Sorry for the late reply.  These both look like good potential solutions for me.  Here's some extra context as well, I'm developing this Python script on a Windows machine but it will run on a Linux machine.  The main purpose of this script is to pull CSV files into a local directory then load them into the postgresql database.  

With the environment variable method, will the os module work seamlessly between Windows vs Linux?  For instance, if I create the following environment variables on both Windows 10 and Linux:

UserName = Joe
Password = JoePassword
TempDir = C:\Temp (Linux would be something like '/usr/tmp/processing')

Would the os module refer to them in exactly the same way using the os.environ function call?  I.e. os.environ['TempDir'] would output C:\Temp when run on Windows and /usr/tmp/processing when run on Linux?

Thanks,
Glen

Looking at the os reference, it looks like maybe the getenv function would do this...

import os
print os.getenv('TempDir')

That gives me C:\Temp on Windows 10.  I'm guessing it will work in Linux since the reference says it works on most flavors of unix.  One follow up question though, setting an environment variable in Linux is typically temporary for the session.  Where would I set this to make it system-wide and permanent?  

Thanks,
Glen

here's another way:

if you wanted to keep those variables in their own file, you could make a .passwords file, with the export lines, then in your .bash_profile:

source path/to/.passwords

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remember that every time you add an environment variable to a file, you have to either start a new shell, or source the file in which the variables are defined.

I'll be looking to set this environment variable permanently for all users.  It'll be a common variable utilized by all Python scripts being dropped onto the server and executed via cron or some other job scheduler.

The I would put it in a .passwords file that will be dropped on whatever server you need in some predetermined directory.


in .passwords

export NAME="name"
export PWD="password"
export DIR=/your/temp/dir/

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In your script which gets triggered by cron, add the source line:

source /path/to/.passwords

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and in your python script:

import os
password = os.getenv('PWD')
username = os.getenv('NAME')
tempdir = os.getenv('DIR')

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That would work if I developed on a linux machine, unfortunately my workstation is Windows while the environment I deploy my code to is linux.  It sounds like simply adding the export statements to the .bashrc file would suffice and would eliminate any need to that source line in my python script, is that correct?

i assumed your cron would run a bash shell script. you would put the source line in the shell script.

if you put the variables in .bashrc, you will need to do that for every server you deploy on.

you could still automate it with a script that appends to .bashrc.

it's a half a dozen, or six thing. (i can never remember that expression right :)

many ways to skin a cat...

Very true.  Thankfully we're only dealing with 1 or 2 linux servers for the long term so we're good there.  I just tried to put in the export statements, I restarted bash and did a "printenv" to verify that they got set (which they did).  But after I closed my putty session and started a new one, the exports disappeared.  Somehow they became session-specific and not permanent.  I performed the following steps:

1.  vi ~/.bashrc

2.  Added line: export temp_dir="/home/ubuntu/tmp/"

3. exec bash -l

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Is there something I'm missing?

Searching around google, I see a file called "/etc/profile" being mentioned.  When I look at the file on my linux box I see that it's executing ". /etc/bash.bashrc" as well as "/etc/profile.d".  Should I be putting these export statements in "/etc/profile" instead?

Nevermind, "/etc/profile" is apparently a root directory and I don't have permissions to modify that :/

Looks like it's the .profile file in the home directory that keeps the settings permanent.  I set up the temp_dir export statement in there and closed out my session window then logged back in and the printenv command still shows the variable.  Hopefully that's it.

glad you got it working.

typically the file is in the home directory, called .bash_profile

cheers.