diff --git a/lightrag/api/config.py b/lightrag/api/config.py
index 696c1d48..006ab452 100644
--- a/lightrag/api/config.py
+++ b/lightrag/api/config.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import os
 import argparse
 import logging
 from dotenv import load_dotenv
+from lightrag.utils import get_env_value
 
 from lightrag.constants import (
     DEFAULT_WOKERS,
@@ -50,37 +51,6 @@ def get_default_host(binding_type: str) -> str:
     )  # fallback to ollama if unknown
 
 
-def get_env_value(
-    env_key: str, default: any, value_type: type = str, special_none: bool = False
-) -> any:
-    """
-    Get value from environment variable with type conversion
-
-    Args:
-        env_key (str): Environment variable key
-        default (any): Default value if env variable is not set
-        value_type (type): Type to convert the value to
-        special_none (bool): If True, return None when value is "None"
-
-    Returns:
-        any: Converted value from environment or default
-    """
-    value = os.getenv(env_key)
-    if value is None:
-        return default
-
-    # Handle special case for "None" string
-    if special_none and value == "None":
-        return None
-
-    if value_type is bool:
-        return value.lower() in ("true", "1", "yes", "t", "on")
-    try:
-        return value_type(value)
-    except (ValueError, TypeError):
-        return default
-
-
 def parse_args() -> argparse.Namespace:
     """
     Parse command line arguments with environment variable fallback
diff --git a/lightrag/api/gunicorn_config.py b/lightrag/api/gunicorn_config.py
index 25c9e48f..7b25b5b9 100644
--- a/lightrag/api/gunicorn_config.py
+++ b/lightrag/api/gunicorn_config.py
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
 import os
 import logging
 from lightrag.kg.shared_storage import finalize_share_data
-from lightrag.utils import setup_logger
-from lightrag.api.config import get_env_value
+from lightrag.utils import setup_logger, get_env_value
 from lightrag.constants import (
     DEFAULT_LOG_MAX_BYTES,
     DEFAULT_LOG_BACKUP_COUNT,
diff --git a/lightrag/api/lightrag_server.py b/lightrag/api/lightrag_server.py
index 6c90d35f..f159bfc4 100644
--- a/lightrag/api/lightrag_server.py
+++ b/lightrag/api/lightrag_server.py
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ from .config import (
     global_args,
     update_uvicorn_mode_config,
     get_default_host,
-    get_env_value,
 )
+from lightrag.utils import get_env_value
 import sys
 from lightrag import LightRAG, __version__ as core_version
 from lightrag.api import __api_version__
diff --git a/lightrag/api/run_with_gunicorn.py b/lightrag/api/run_with_gunicorn.py
index 11df0801..8c8a029d 100644
--- a/lightrag/api/run_with_gunicorn.py
+++ b/lightrag/api/run_with_gunicorn.py
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ import sys
 import signal
 import pipmaster as pm
 from lightrag.api.utils_api import display_splash_screen, check_env_file
-from lightrag.api.config import global_args, get_env_value
+from lightrag.api.config import global_args
+from lightrag.utils import get_env_value
 from lightrag.kg.shared_storage import initialize_share_data, finalize_share_data
 
 from lightrag.constants import (
diff --git a/lightrag/lightrag.py b/lightrag/lightrag.py
index 25368a78..2c51fdd0 100644
--- a/lightrag/lightrag.py
+++ b/lightrag/lightrag.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ from lightrag.constants import (
     DEFAULT_MAX_TOKEN_SUMMARY,
     DEFAULT_FORCE_LLM_SUMMARY_ON_MERGE,
 )
-from lightrag.api.config import get_env_value
+from lightrag.utils import get_env_value
 
 from lightrag.kg import (
     STORAGES,
diff --git a/lightrag/utils.py b/lightrag/utils.py
index 5e252de1..93253be6 100644
--- a/lightrag/utils.py
+++ b/lightrag/utils.py
@@ -22,7 +22,38 @@ from lightrag.constants import (
     DEFAULT_LOG_BACKUP_COUNT,
     DEFAULT_LOG_FILENAME,
 )
-from lightrag.api.config import get_env_value
+
+
+def get_env_value(
+    env_key: str, default: any, value_type: type = str, special_none: bool = False
+) -> any:
+    """
+    Get value from environment variable with type conversion
+
+    Args:
+        env_key (str): Environment variable key
+        default (any): Default value if env variable is not set
+        value_type (type): Type to convert the value to
+        special_none (bool): If True, return None when value is "None"
+
+    Returns:
+        any: Converted value from environment or default
+    """
+    value = os.getenv(env_key)
+    if value is None:
+        return default
+
+    # Handle special case for "None" string
+    if special_none and value == "None":
+        return None
+
+    if value_type is bool:
+        return value.lower() in ("true", "1", "yes", "t", "on")
+    try:
+        return value_type(value)
+    except (ValueError, TypeError):
+        return default
+
 
 # Use TYPE_CHECKING to avoid circular imports
 if TYPE_CHECKING: