Heroku: Run a Python App Locally

Author: Jacek Trociński, Last Revision: 2021.03.11, Topic area: Heroku

The Heroku command-line makes it possible to run a Python app locally using Heroku Config Vars defined for your app.

Start by exporting your app's Config Vars to a .env file and then edit the values in the file to meet the needs of your local environment. On Windows use Git Bash to do this so that the file has the right encoding.

$ heroku config -s -a <app_name> > .env

Remember to exclude the .env file from you Git repository by placing it in a .gitignore file.

Lastly, make sure you have a Procfile defined so that you can run your app locally using the command:

$ heroku local

Alternatively, if you have a separate Proc file defined for Windows then use the command:

$ heroku local -f Procfile.windows