fastapi/full-stack-fastapi-template · error · ValueError

The value of {var_name} is "changethis", for security, pleas

Error message

The value of {var_name} is "changethis", for security, please change it, at least for deployments.

What it means

Error "The value of {var_name} is "changethis", for security, please change it, at least for deployments." thrown in fastapi/full-stack-fastapi-template.

Source

Thrown at backend/app/core/config.py:77

    @computed_field  # type: ignore[prop-decorator]
    @property
    def emails_enabled(self) -> bool:
        return bool(self.SMTP_HOST and self.EMAILS_FROM_EMAIL)

    EMAIL_TEST_USER: EmailStr = "test@example.com"
    FIRST_SUPERUSER: EmailStr
    FIRST_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD: str

    def _check_default_secret(self, var_name: str, value: str | None) -> None:
        if value == "changethis":
            message = (
                f'The value of {var_name} is "changethis", '
                "for security, please change it, at least for deployments."
            )
            if self.FASTAPI_ENV == "development":
                warnings.warn(message, stacklevel=1)
            else:
                raise ValueError(message)

    @model_validator(mode="after")
    def _enforce_non_default_secrets(self) -> Self:
        self._check_default_secret("SECRET_KEY", self.SECRET_KEY)
        for host in self.DATABASE_URL.hosts():
            self._check_default_secret("DATABASE_URL password", host["password"])
        self._check_default_secret(
            "FIRST_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD", self.FIRST_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD
        )

        return self


settings = Settings()  # type: ignore

View on GitHub (pinned to 8063fe54f1)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at backend/app/core/config.py:77 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of fastapi/full-stack-fastapi-template@8063fe54f1 (2026-08-26). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b863118d56a0954b. Report an issue: GitHub.