Configuration overview

Every tdfs4ds setting can be supplied through four channels, evaluated in this priority order:

1. Programmatic           (tdfs4ds.X = value)
2. OS environment variable (TDFS4DS_X=...)
3. .env file              (./.env  or  ~/.tdfs4ds/.env)
4. JSON config file       (./tdfs4ds.json  or  ~/.tdfs4ds/config.json)
5. teradataml auto-detect (SCHEMA only)
6. built-in defaults

A lower-priority source never overrides a higher-priority one. Reload at any time with:

tdfs4ds.load_config()
tdfs4ds.load_config(path='/configs/feature_store.json', dotenv_path='/etc/.env.prod')

Channels in depth

• Programmatic globals
• .env file (local secrets)
• JSON config file
• Environment variables
• LLM & embedding models

Sensitive values

API keys are accepted only through .env files or OS environment variables — never from the JSON file. tdfs4ds.config.load_config rejects the instruct_model_api_key key in JSON to prevent accidental commits.