bytedance/deer-flow · error · ValueError

mem0 API key missing: environment variable {self.api_key_env

Error message

mem0 API key missing: environment variable {self.api_key_env} is unset or empty

What it means

Error "mem0 API key missing: environment variable {self.api_key_env} is unset or empty" thrown in bytedance/deer-flow.

Source

Thrown at backend/packages/harness/deerflow/agents/memory/backends/mem0/config.py:123

            raise ValueError("mem0 score_threshold must be in [0, 1]")
        if config.max_injection_chars <= 0:
            raise ValueError("mem0 max_injection_chars must be positive")
        if config.timeout_seconds <= 0:
            raise ValueError("mem0 timeout_seconds must be positive")
        if not config.api_key_env.strip():
            raise ValueError("mem0 api_key_env must be a non-empty env var name")
        parsed_base_url = urlsplit(config.base_url)
        if parsed_base_url.scheme not in {"http", "https"} or not parsed_base_url.netloc:
            raise ValueError("mem0 base_url must be an absolute http:// or https:// URL")
        if parsed_base_url.scheme == "http" and not config.allow_insecure_http:
            raise ValueError("mem0 base_url must use https:// because it carries the API key; set allow_insecure_http: true only for trusted local development")
        return config

    def resolve_api_key(self) -> str:
        """Read the API key from the configured environment variable."""
        key = os.environ.get(self.api_key_env, "").strip()
        if not key:
            raise ValueError(f"mem0 API key missing: environment variable {self.api_key_env} is unset or empty")
        return key

View on GitHub (pinned to 1dd6ba1acb)

Solutions

1. Export the named environment variable with a valid mem0 API key before starting the Gateway.
2. Change api_key_env in backend_config to point at the variable that actually holds the key.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at backend/packages/harness/deerflow/agents/memory/backends/mem0/config.py:123 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of bytedance/deer-flow@1dd6ba1acb (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b3b9ef56f793b503. Report an issue: GitHub.