diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 910a718..50c86d2 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ MINT_PRIVATE_KEY=supersecretprivatekey
 # Supported: LNbitsWallet, FakeWallet
 MINT_LIGHTNING_BACKEND=LNbitsWallet
 
-MINT_SERVER_HOST=127.0.0.1
-MINT_SERVER_PORT=3338
+MINT_LISTEN_HOST=127.0.0.1
+MINT_LISTEN_PORT=3338
 
 LIGHTNING=TRUE
 # fee to reserve in percent of the amount
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 6cd1c63..2ea696c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ jobs:
         env:
           LIGHTNING: False
           MINT_PRIVATE_KEY: "testingkey"
-          MINT_SERVER_HOST: 0.0.0.0
-          MINT_SERVER_PORT: 3337
+          MINT_LISTEN_HOST: 0.0.0.0
+          MINT_LISTEN_PORT: 3337
         run: |
           nohup poetry run mint &
       - name: Run tests
diff --git a/cashu/core/crypto.py b/cashu/core/crypto.py
index a3e0500..e19f58a 100644
--- a/cashu/core/crypto.py
+++ b/cashu/core/crypto.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import hashlib
 from typing import Dict, List
 
 from cashu.core.secp import PrivateKey, PublicKey
-from cashu.core.settings import MAX_ORDER
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 
 # entropy = bytes([random.getrandbits(8) for i in range(16)])
 # mnemonic = bip39.mnemonic_from_bytes(entropy)
@@ -27,12 +27,14 @@ def derive_keys(master_key: str, derivation_path: str = ""):
             .encode("utf-8")[:32],
             raw=True,
         )
-        for i in range(MAX_ORDER)
+        for i in range(settings.max_order)
     }
 
 
 def derive_pubkeys(keys: Dict[int, PrivateKey]):
-    return {amt: keys[amt].pubkey for amt in [2**i for i in range(MAX_ORDER)]}
+    return {
+        amt: keys[amt].pubkey for amt in [2**i for i in range(settings.max_order)]
+    }
 
 
 def derive_keyset_id(keys: Dict[int, PublicKey]):
diff --git a/cashu/core/helpers.py b/cashu/core/helpers.py
index 9b38c71..d8079cf 100644
--- a/cashu/core/helpers.py
+++ b/cashu/core/helpers.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ from functools import partial, wraps
 from typing import List
 
 from cashu.core.base import Proof
-from cashu.core.settings import LIGHTNING_FEE_PERCENT, LIGHTNING_RESERVE_FEE_MIN
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 
 
 def sum_proofs(proofs: List[Proof]):
@@ -39,5 +39,6 @@ def fee_reserve(amount_msat: int, internal=False) -> int:
     if internal:
         return 0
     return max(
-        int(LIGHTNING_RESERVE_FEE_MIN), int(amount_msat * LIGHTNING_FEE_PERCENT / 100.0)
+        int(settings.lightning_reserve_fee_min),
+        int(amount_msat * settings.lightning_fee_percent / 100.0),
     )
diff --git a/cashu/core/settings.py b/cashu/core/settings.py
index 523fa87..5b6a73a 100644
--- a/cashu/core/settings.py
+++ b/cashu/core/settings.py
@@ -1,72 +1,112 @@
 import os
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Union
+from typing import List, Union
 
 from environs import Env  # type: ignore
+from pydantic import BaseSettings, Extra, Field, validator
 
 env = Env()
 
-# env file: default to current dir, else home dir
-ENV_FILE = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), ".env")
-if not os.path.isfile(ENV_FILE):
-    ENV_FILE = os.path.join(str(Path.home()), ".cashu", ".env")
-if os.path.isfile(ENV_FILE):
-    env.read_env(ENV_FILE)
-else:
-    ENV_FILE = ""
-    env.read_env(recurse=False)
-
-DEBUG = env.bool("DEBUG", default=False)
-if not DEBUG:
-    sys.tracebacklimit = 0
-
-CASHU_DIR = env.str("CASHU_DIR", default=os.path.join(str(Path.home()), ".cashu"))
-CASHU_DIR = CASHU_DIR.replace("~", str(Path.home()))
-assert len(CASHU_DIR), "CASHU_DIR not defined"
-
-TOR = env.bool("TOR", default=True)
-
-SOCKS_HOST = env.str("SOCKS_HOST", default=None)
-SOCKS_PORT = env.int("SOCKS_PORT", default=9050)
-
-LIGHTNING = env.bool("LIGHTNING", default=True)
-LIGHTNING_FEE_PERCENT = env.float("LIGHTNING_FEE_PERCENT", default=1.0)
-assert LIGHTNING_FEE_PERCENT >= 0, "LIGHTNING_FEE_PERCENT must be at least 0"
-LIGHTNING_RESERVE_FEE_MIN = env.float("LIGHTNING_RESERVE_FEE_MIN", default=2000)
-
-MINT_PRIVATE_KEY = env.str("MINT_PRIVATE_KEY", default=None)
-
-MINT_SERVER_HOST = env.str("MINT_SERVER_HOST", default="127.0.0.1")
-MINT_SERVER_PORT = env.int("MINT_SERVER_PORT", default=3338)
-
-MINT_URL = env.str("MINT_URL", default=None)
-MINT_HOST = env.str("MINT_HOST", default="8333.space")
-MINT_PORT = env.int("MINT_PORT", default=3338)
-
-MINT_LIGHTNING_BACKEND = env.str("MINT_LIGHTNING_BACKEND", default="FakeWallet")
-MINT_DATABASE = env.str("MINT_DATABASE", default="data/mint")
-
-if not MINT_URL:
-    if MINT_HOST in ["localhost", "127.0.0.1"]:
-        MINT_URL = f"http://{MINT_HOST}:{MINT_PORT}"
-    else:
-        MINT_URL = f"https://{MINT_HOST}:{MINT_PORT}"
-
-LNBITS_ENDPOINT = env.str("LNBITS_ENDPOINT", default=None)
-LNBITS_KEY = env.str("LNBITS_KEY", default=None)
-
-NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY = env.str("NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY", default=None)
-NOSTR_RELAYS = env.list(
-    "NOSTR_RELAYS",
-    default=[
-        "wss://nostr-pub.wellorder.net",
-        "wss://relay.damus.io",
-        "wss://nostr.zebedee.cloud",
-        "wss://relay.snort.social",
-        "wss://nostr.fmt.wiz.biz",
-    ],
-)
-
-MAX_ORDER = 64
 VERSION = "0.9.4"
+
+
+def find_env_file():
+    # env file: default to current dir, else home dir
+    ENV_FILE = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), ".env")
+    if not os.path.isfile(ENV_FILE):
+        ENV_FILE = os.path.join(str(Path.home()), ".cashu", ".env")
+    if os.path.isfile(ENV_FILE):
+        env.read_env(ENV_FILE)
+    else:
+        ENV_FILE = ""
+    return ENV_FILE
+
+
+class CashuSettings(BaseSettings):
+    env_file: str = Field(default=None)
+    lightning: bool = Field(default=True)
+    lightning_fee_percent: float = Field(default=1.0)
+    lightning_reserve_fee_min: int = Field(default=2000)
+    max_order: int = Field(default=64)
+
+    class Config:
+        env_file = find_env_file()
+        env_file_encoding = "utf-8"
+        case_sensitive = False
+        extra = Extra.ignore
+
+        # def __init__(self, env_file=None):
+        #     self.env_file = env_file or self.env_file
+
+
+class EnvSettings(CashuSettings):
+    debug: bool = Field(default=False)
+    host: str = Field(default="127.0.0.1")
+    port: int = Field(default=5000)
+    cashu_dir: str = Field(default=os.path.join(str(Path.home()), ".cashu"))
+
+
+class MintSettings(CashuSettings):
+    mint_private_key: str = Field(default=None)
+    mint_listen_host: str = Field(default="127.0.0.1")
+    mint_listen_port: int = Field(default=3338)
+    mint_lightning_backend: str = Field(default="LNbitsWallet")
+    mint_database: str = Field(default="data/mint")
+
+    mint_lnbits_endpoint: str = Field(default=None)
+    mint_lnbits_key: str = Field(default=None)
+
+
+class WalletSettings(CashuSettings):
+    lightning: bool = Field(default=True)
+    tor: bool = Field(default=True)
+    socks_host: str = Field(default=None)
+    socks_port: int = Field(default=9050)
+    mint_url: str = Field(default=None)
+    mint_host: str = Field(default="8333.space")
+    mint_port: int = Field(default=3338)
+
+    nostr_private_key: str = Field(default=None)
+    nostr_relays: List[str] = Field(
+        default=[
+            "wss://nostr-pub.wellorder.net",
+            "wss://relay.damus.io",
+            "wss://nostr.zebedee.cloud",
+            "wss://relay.snort.social",
+            "wss://nostr.fmt.wiz.biz",
+        ]
+    )
+
+
+class Settings(EnvSettings, MintSettings, WalletSettings, CashuSettings):
+    version: str = Field(default=VERSION)
+
+    # def __init__(self, env_file=None):
+    #     super().Config(env_file=env_file)
+
+
+settings = Settings()
+
+
+def startup_settings_tasks():
+    # set env_file (this does not affect the settings module, it's just for reading)
+    settings.env_file = find_env_file()
+
+    if not settings.debug:
+        # set traceback limit
+        sys.tracebacklimit = 0
+
+    # replace ~ with home directory in cashu_dir
+    settings.cashu_dir = settings.cashu_dir.replace("~", str(Path.home()))
+
+    # set mint_url if only mint_host is set
+    if not settings.mint_url:
+        if settings.mint_host in ["localhost", "127.0.0.1"] and settings.mint_port:
+            # localhost without https
+            settings.mint_url = f"http://{settings.mint_host}:{settings.mint_port}"
+        else:
+            settings.mint_url = f"https://{settings.mint_host}:{settings.mint_port}"
+
+
+startup_settings_tasks()
diff --git a/cashu/lightning/lnbits.py b/cashu/lightning/lnbits.py
index f7e2db3..a3125b6 100644
--- a/cashu/lightning/lnbits.py
+++ b/cashu/lightning/lnbits.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ from typing import Dict, Optional
 
 import requests
 
-from cashu.core.settings import DEBUG, LNBITS_ENDPOINT, LNBITS_KEY
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 
 from .base import (
     InvoiceResponse,
@@ -18,14 +18,14 @@ class LNbitsWallet(Wallet):
     """https://github.com/lnbits/lnbits"""
 
     def __init__(self):
-        self.endpoint = LNBITS_ENDPOINT
+        self.endpoint = settings.mint_lnbits_endpoint
 
-        key = LNBITS_KEY
+        key = settings.mint_lnbits_key
         self.key = {"X-Api-Key": key}
         self.s = requests.Session()
         self.s.auth = ("user", "pass")
         self.s.headers.update({"X-Api-Key": key})
-        self.s.verify = not DEBUG
+        self.s.verify = not settings.debug
 
     async def status(self) -> StatusResponse:
         try:
diff --git a/cashu/mint/app.py b/cashu/mint/app.py
index d4594cc..8cf1a3c 100644
--- a/cashu/mint/app.py
+++ b/cashu/mint/app.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ from starlette.middleware import Middleware
 from starlette.middleware.base import BaseHTTPMiddleware
 from starlette.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 
-from cashu.core.settings import DEBUG, VERSION
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 
 from .router import router
 from .startup import start_mint_init
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ def create_app(config_object="core.settings") -> FastAPI:
             def __init__(self):
                 self.padding = 0
                 self.minimal_fmt: str = "<green>{time:YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss.SS}</green> | <level>{level}</level> | <level>{message}</level>\n"
-                if DEBUG:
+                if settings.debug:
                     self.fmt: str = "<green>{time:YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss.SS}</green> | <level>{level: <4}</level> | <cyan>{name}</cyan>:<cyan>{function}</cyan>:<cyan>{line}</cyan> | <level>{message}</level>\n"
                 else:
                     self.fmt: str = self.minimal_fmt
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ def create_app(config_object="core.settings") -> FastAPI:
                 logger.log(level, record.getMessage())
 
         logger.remove()
-        log_level: str = "DEBUG" if DEBUG else "INFO"
+        log_level: str = "DEBUG" if settings.debug else "INFO"
         formatter = Formatter()
         logger.add(sys.stderr, level=log_level, format=formatter.format)
 
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ def create_app(config_object="core.settings") -> FastAPI:
     app = FastAPI(
         title="Cashu Python Mint",
         description="Ecash wallet and mint for Bitcoin",
-        version=VERSION,
+        version=settings.version,
         license_info={
             "name": "MIT License",
             "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cashubtc/cashu/main/LICENSE",
diff --git a/cashu/mint/ledger.py b/cashu/mint/ledger.py
index 5d3d4cd..a170543 100644
--- a/cashu/mint/ledger.py
+++ b/cashu/mint/ledger.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ from cashu.core.db import Database
 from cashu.core.helpers import fee_reserve, sum_proofs
 from cashu.core.script import verify_script
 from cashu.core.secp import PublicKey
-from cashu.core.settings import LIGHTNING, MAX_ORDER, VERSION
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 from cashu.core.split import amount_split
 from cashu.lightning.base import Wallet
 from cashu.mint.crud import LedgerCrud
@@ -51,7 +51,9 @@ class Ledger:
     async def load_keyset(self, derivation_path, autosave=True):
         """Load current keyset keyset or generate new one."""
         keyset = MintKeyset(
-            seed=self.master_key, derivation_path=derivation_path, version=VERSION
+            seed=self.master_key,
+            derivation_path=derivation_path,
+            version=settings.version,
         )
         # check if current keyset is stored in db and store if not
         logger.trace(f"Loading keyset {keyset.id} from db.")
@@ -192,7 +194,9 @@ class Ledger:
 
     def _verify_amount(self, amount: int):
         """Any amount used should be a positive integer not larger than 2^MAX_ORDER."""
-        valid = isinstance(amount, int) and amount > 0 and amount < 2**MAX_ORDER
+        valid = (
+            isinstance(amount, int) and amount > 0 and amount < 2**settings.max_order
+        )
         if not valid:
             raise Exception("invalid amount: " + str(amount))
         return amount
@@ -359,7 +363,7 @@ class Ledger:
         amounts = [b.amount for b in B_s]
         amount = sum(amounts)
         # check if lightning invoice was paid
-        if LIGHTNING:
+        if settings.lightning:
             if not payment_hash:
                 raise Exception("no payment_hash provided.")
             try:
@@ -368,8 +372,10 @@ class Ledger:
                 raise e
 
         for amount in amounts:
-            if amount not in [2**i for i in range(MAX_ORDER)]:
-                raise Exception(f"Can only mint amounts with 2^n up to {2**MAX_ORDER}.")
+            if amount not in [2**i for i in range(settings.max_order)]:
+                raise Exception(
+                    f"Can only mint amounts with 2^n up to {2**settings.max_order}."
+                )
 
         promises = await self._generate_promises(B_s, keyset)
         return promises
@@ -391,7 +397,7 @@ class Ledger:
                 "provided proofs not enough for Lightning payment."
             )
 
-            if LIGHTNING:
+            if settings.lightning:
                 status, preimage = await self._pay_lightning_invoice(invoice, fees_msat)
             else:
                 status, preimage = True, "preimage"
@@ -413,7 +419,7 @@ class Ledger:
         """Returns the fees (in msat) required to pay this pr."""
         # hack: check if it's internal, if it exists, it will return paid = False,
         # if id does not exist (not internal), it returns paid = None
-        if LIGHTNING:
+        if settings.lightning:
             decoded_invoice = bolt11.decode(pr)
             amount = math.ceil(decoded_invoice.amount_msat / 1000)
             paid = await self.lightning.get_invoice_status(decoded_invoice.payment_hash)
diff --git a/cashu/mint/main.py b/cashu/mint/main.py
index 47c86ae..bb04e5d 100644
--- a/cashu/mint/main.py
+++ b/cashu/mint/main.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import click
 import uvicorn
 from click import Context
 
-from cashu.core.settings import MINT_SERVER_HOST, MINT_SERVER_PORT
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 
 
 @click.command(
@@ -13,15 +13,15 @@ from cashu.core.settings import MINT_SERVER_HOST, MINT_SERVER_PORT
         allow_extra_args=True,
     )
 )
-@click.option("--port", default=MINT_SERVER_PORT, help="Port to listen on")
-@click.option("--host", default=MINT_SERVER_HOST, help="Host to run mint on")
+@click.option("--port", default=settings.mint_listen_port, help="Port to listen on")
+@click.option("--host", default=settings.mint_listen_host, help="Host to run mint on")
 @click.option("--ssl-keyfile", default=None, help="Path to SSL keyfile")
 @click.option("--ssl-certfile", default=None, help="Path to SSL certificate")
 @click.pass_context
 def main(
     ctx: Context,
-    port: int = MINT_SERVER_PORT,
-    host: str = MINT_SERVER_HOST,
+    port: int = settings.mint_listen_port,
+    host: str = settings.mint_listen_host,
     ssl_keyfile: Optional[str] = None,
     ssl_certfile: Optional[str] = None,
 ):
diff --git a/cashu/mint/startup.py b/cashu/mint/startup.py
index 53f1ca7..632a305 100644
--- a/cashu/mint/startup.py
+++ b/cashu/mint/startup.py
@@ -7,26 +7,24 @@ from loguru import logger
 
 from cashu.core.db import Database
 from cashu.core.migrations import migrate_databases
-from cashu.core.settings import (
-    CASHU_DIR,
-    LIGHTNING,
-    MINT_DATABASE,
-    MINT_LIGHTNING_BACKEND,
-    MINT_PRIVATE_KEY,
-)
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 from cashu.lightning.fake import FakeWallet  # type: ignore
 from cashu.lightning.lnbits import LNbitsWallet  # type: ignore
 from cashu.mint import migrations
 from cashu.mint.ledger import Ledger
 
+logger.debug("Enviroment Settings:")
+for key, value in settings.dict().items():
+    logger.debug(f"{key}: {value}")
+
 wallets_module = importlib.import_module("cashu.lightning")
-LIGHTNING_BACKEND = getattr(wallets_module, MINT_LIGHTNING_BACKEND)()
+lightning_backend = getattr(wallets_module, settings.mint_lightning_backend)()
 
 ledger = Ledger(
-    db=Database("mint", MINT_DATABASE),
-    seed=MINT_PRIVATE_KEY,
+    db=Database("mint", settings.mint_database),
+    seed=settings.mint_private_key,
     derivation_path="0/0/0/0",
-    lightning=LIGHTNING_BACKEND,
+    lightning=lightning_backend,
 )
 
 
@@ -36,8 +34,8 @@ async def start_mint_init():
     await ledger.load_used_proofs()
     await ledger.init_keysets()
 
-    if LIGHTNING:
-        logger.info(f"Using backend: {MINT_LIGHTNING_BACKEND}")
+    if settings.lightning:
+        logger.info(f"Using backend: {settings.mint_lightning_backend}")
         error_message, balance = await ledger.lightning.status()
         if error_message:
             logger.warning(
@@ -46,5 +44,5 @@ async def start_mint_init():
             )
         logger.info(f"Lightning balance: {balance} msat")
 
-    logger.info(f"Data dir: {CASHU_DIR}")
+    logger.info(f"Data dir: {settings.cashu_dir}")
     logger.info("Mint started.")
diff --git a/cashu/wallet/__init__.py b/cashu/wallet/__init__.py
index 3a33a17..df2a29f 100644
--- a/cashu/wallet/__init__.py
+++ b/cashu/wallet/__init__.py
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ sys.tracebacklimit = None  # type: ignore
 
 from loguru import logger
 
-from cashu.core.settings import DEBUG
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 
 # configure logger
 logger.remove()
-logger.add(sys.stderr, level="DEBUG" if DEBUG else "INFO")
+logger.add(sys.stderr, level="DEBUG" if settings.debug else "INFO")
diff --git a/cashu/wallet/cli/cli.py b/cashu/wallet/cli/cli.py
index 07b4b6e..fb493da 100644
--- a/cashu/wallet/cli/cli.py
+++ b/cashu/wallet/cli/cli.py
@@ -21,19 +21,7 @@ from loguru import logger
 from cashu.core.base import Proof, TokenV2
 from cashu.core.helpers import sum_proofs
 from cashu.core.migrations import migrate_databases
-from cashu.core.settings import (
-    CASHU_DIR,
-    DEBUG,
-    ENV_FILE,
-    LIGHTNING,
-    MINT_URL,
-    NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY,
-    NOSTR_RELAYS,
-    SOCKS_HOST,
-    SOCKS_PORT,
-    TOR,
-    VERSION,
-)
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 from cashu.nostr.nostr.client.client import NostrClient
 from cashu.tor.tor import TorProxy
 from cashu.wallet import migrations
@@ -69,7 +57,12 @@ class NaturalOrderGroup(click.Group):
 
 
 @click.group(cls=NaturalOrderGroup)
-@click.option("--host", "-h", default=MINT_URL, help=f"Mint URL (default: {MINT_URL}).")
+@click.option(
+    "--host",
+    "-h",
+    default=settings.mint_url,
+    help=f"Mint URL (default: {settings.mint_url}).",
+)
 @click.option(
     "--wallet",
     "-w",
@@ -79,24 +72,22 @@ class NaturalOrderGroup(click.Group):
 )
 @click.pass_context
 def cli(ctx: Context, host: str, walletname: str):
-    if TOR and not TorProxy().check_platform():
+    if settings.tor and not TorProxy().check_platform():
         error_str = "Your settings say TOR=true but the built-in Tor bundle is not supported on your system. You have two options: Either install Tor manually and set TOR=FALSE and SOCKS_HOST=localhost and SOCKS_PORT=9050 in your Cashu config (recommended). Or turn off Tor by setting TOR=false (not recommended). Cashu will not work until you edit your config file accordingly."
         error_str += "\n\n"
-        if ENV_FILE:
-            error_str += f"Edit your Cashu config file here: {ENV_FILE}"
-            env_path = ENV_FILE
+        if settings.env_file:
+            error_str += f"Edit your Cashu config file here: {settings.env_file}"
+            env_path = settings.env_file
         else:
-            error_str += (
-                f"Ceate a new Cashu config file here: {os.path.join(CASHU_DIR, '.env')}"
-            )
-            env_path = os.path.join(CASHU_DIR, ".env")
+            error_str += f"Ceate a new Cashu config file here: {os.path.join(settings.cashu_dir, '.env')}"
+            env_path = os.path.join(settings.cashu_dir, ".env")
         error_str += f'\n\nYou can turn off Tor with this command: echo "TOR=FALSE" >> {env_path}'
         raise Exception(error_str)
 
     ctx.ensure_object(dict)
     ctx.obj["HOST"] = host
     ctx.obj["WALLET_NAME"] = walletname
-    wallet = Wallet(ctx.obj["HOST"], os.path.join(CASHU_DIR, walletname))
+    wallet = Wallet(ctx.obj["HOST"], os.path.join(settings.cashu_dir, walletname))
     ctx.obj["WALLET"] = wallet
     asyncio.run(init_wallet(wallet))
     pass
@@ -149,7 +140,7 @@ async def invoice(ctx: Context, amount: int, hash: str):
     wallet: Wallet = ctx.obj["WALLET"]
     await wallet.load_mint()
     wallet.status()
-    if not LIGHTNING:
+    if not settings.lightning:
         r = await wallet.mint(amount)
     elif amount and not hash:
         invoice = await wallet.request_mint(amount)
@@ -601,13 +592,15 @@ async def invoices(ctx):
 @coro
 async def wallets(ctx):
     # list all directories
-    wallets = [d for d in listdir(CASHU_DIR) if isdir(join(CASHU_DIR, d))]
+    wallets = [
+        d for d in listdir(settings.cashu_dir) if isdir(join(settings.cashu_dir, d))
+    ]
     try:
         wallets.remove("mint")
     except ValueError:
         pass
     for w in wallets:
-        wallet = Wallet(ctx.obj["HOST"], os.path.join(CASHU_DIR, w))
+        wallet = Wallet(ctx.obj["HOST"], os.path.join(settings.cashu_dir, w))
         try:
             await init_wallet(wallet)
             if wallet.proofs and len(wallet.proofs):
@@ -625,20 +618,20 @@ async def wallets(ctx):
 @click.pass_context
 @coro
 async def info(ctx: Context):
-    print(f"Version: {VERSION}")
+    print(f"Version: {settings.version}")
     print(f"Wallet: {ctx.obj['WALLET_NAME']}")
-    if DEBUG:
-        print(f"Debug: {DEBUG}")
-    print(f"Cashu dir: {CASHU_DIR}")
-    if ENV_FILE:
-        print(f"Settings: {ENV_FILE}")
-    if TOR:
-        print(f"Tor enabled: {TOR}")
-    if NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY:
-        client = NostrClient(private_key=NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY, connect=False)
+    if settings.debug:
+        print(f"Debug: {settings.debug}")
+    print(f"Cashu dir: {settings.cashu_dir}")
+    if settings.env_file:
+        print(f"Settings: {settings.env_file}")
+    if settings.tor:
+        print(f"Tor enabled: {settings.tor}")
+    if settings.nostr_private_key:
+        client = NostrClient(private_key=settings.nostr_private_key, connect=False)
         print(f"Nostr public key: {client.public_key.bech32()}")
-        print(f"Nostr relays: {NOSTR_RELAYS}")
-    if SOCKS_HOST:
-        print(f"Socks proxy: {SOCKS_HOST}:{SOCKS_PORT}")
+        print(f"Nostr relays: {settings.nostr_relays}")
+    if settings.socks_host:
+        print(f"Socks proxy: {settings.socks_host}:{settings.socks_port}")
     print(f"Mint URL: {ctx.obj['HOST']}")
     return
diff --git a/cashu/wallet/cli/cli_helpers.py b/cashu/wallet/cli/cli_helpers.py
index 3f53c23..2d884b3 100644
--- a/cashu/wallet/cli/cli_helpers.py
+++ b/cashu/wallet/cli/cli_helpers.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ from loguru import logger
 
 from cashu.core.base import Proof, TokenV2, TokenV2Mint, WalletKeyset
 from cashu.core.helpers import sum_proofs
-from cashu.core.settings import CASHU_DIR, MINT_URL, NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY, NOSTR_RELAYS
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 from cashu.wallet.crud import get_keyset
 from cashu.wallet.wallet import Wallet as Wallet
 
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ async def verify_mints(ctx: Context, token: TokenV2):
         for keyset in set([id for id in mint.ids if id in proofs_keysets]):
             # init a temporary wallet object
             keyset_wallet = Wallet(
-                mint.url, os.path.join(CASHU_DIR, ctx.obj["WALLET_NAME"])
+                mint.url, os.path.join(settings.cashu_dir, ctx.obj["WALLET_NAME"])
             )
             # make sure that this mint supports this keyset
             mint_keysets = await keyset_wallet._get_keyset_ids(mint.url)
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ async def redeem_multimint(ctx: Context, token: TokenV2, script, signature):
             logger.debug(f"Redeeming tokens from keyset {keyset}")
             # init a temporary wallet object
             keyset_wallet = Wallet(
-                mint.url, os.path.join(CASHU_DIR, ctx.obj["WALLET_NAME"])
+                mint.url, os.path.join(settings.cashu_dir, ctx.obj["WALLET_NAME"])
             )
 
             # load the keys
@@ -147,7 +147,9 @@ async def get_mint_wallet(ctx: Context):
     mint_url = list(mint_balances.keys())[mint_nr - 1]
 
     # load this mint_url into a wallet
-    mint_wallet = Wallet(mint_url, os.path.join(CASHU_DIR, ctx.obj["WALLET_NAME"]))
+    mint_wallet = Wallet(
+        mint_url, os.path.join(settings.cashu_dir, ctx.obj["WALLET_NAME"])
+    )
     mint_keysets: WalletKeyset = await get_keyset(mint_url=mint_url, db=mint_wallet.db)  # type: ignore
 
     # load the keys
@@ -196,7 +198,8 @@ async def proofs_to_serialized_tokenv2(wallet, proofs: List[Proof], url: str):
         url = ks.mint_url if ks and ks.mint_url else ""
 
     url = url or (
-        input(f"Enter mint URL (press enter for default {MINT_URL}): ") or MINT_URL
+        input(f"Enter mint URL (press enter for default {settings.mint_url}): ")
+        or settings.mint_url
     )
 
     token.mints.append(TokenV2Mint(url=url, ids=keysets))
diff --git a/cashu/wallet/cli/nostr.py b/cashu/wallet/cli/nostr.py
index 95916cf..f4d449e 100644
--- a/cashu/wallet/cli/nostr.py
+++ b/cashu/wallet/cli/nostr.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import click
 from click import Context
 from requests.exceptions import ConnectionError
 
-from cashu.core.settings import NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY, NOSTR_RELAYS
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 from cashu.nostr.nostr.client.client import NostrClient
 from cashu.nostr.nostr.event import Event
 from cashu.nostr.nostr.key import PublicKey
@@ -79,8 +79,10 @@ async def send_nostr(ctx: Context, amount: int, pubkey: str, verbose: bool, yes:
             default=True,
         )
 
-    client = NostrClient(private_key=NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY or "", relays=NOSTR_RELAYS)
-    if verbose and not NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY:
+    client = NostrClient(
+        private_key=settings.nostr_private_key or "", relays=settings.nostr_relays
+    )
+    if verbose and not settings.nostr_private_key:
         # we generated a random key if none was present
         print(f"Your nostr private key: {client.private_key.bech32()}")
 
@@ -91,12 +93,14 @@ async def send_nostr(ctx: Context, amount: int, pubkey: str, verbose: bool, yes:
 
 
 async def receive_nostr(ctx: Context, verbose: bool):
-    if NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY is None:
+    if settings.nostr_private_key is None:
         print(
             "Warning: No nostr private key set! You don't have NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY set in your .env file. I will create a random private key for this session but I will not remember it."
         )
         print("")
-    client = NostrClient(private_key=NOSTR_PRIVATE_KEY, relays=NOSTR_RELAYS)
+    client = NostrClient(
+        private_key=settings.nostr_private_key, relays=settings.nostr_relays
+    )
     print(f"Your nostr public key: {client.public_key.bech32()}")
     if verbose:
         print(f"Your nostr private key (do not share!): {client.private_key.bech32()}")
diff --git a/cashu/wallet/wallet.py b/cashu/wallet/wallet.py
index bedb19d..4ed201c 100644
--- a/cashu/wallet/wallet.py
+++ b/cashu/wallet/wallet.py
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ from cashu.core.script import (
     step2_carol_sign_tx,
 )
 from cashu.core.secp import PublicKey
-from cashu.core.settings import DEBUG, MAX_ORDER, SOCKS_HOST, SOCKS_PORT, TOR, VERSION
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 from cashu.core.split import amount_split
 from cashu.tor.tor import TorProxy
 from cashu.wallet.crud import (
@@ -67,16 +67,16 @@ def async_set_requests(func):
     """
 
     async def wrapper(self, *args, **kwargs):
-        self.s.headers.update({"Client-version": VERSION})
-        if DEBUG:
+        self.s.headers.update({"Client-version": settings.version})
+        if settings.debug:
             self.s.verify = False
         socks_host, socks_port = None, None
-        if TOR and TorProxy().check_platform():
+        if settings.tor and TorProxy().check_platform():
             self.tor = TorProxy(timeout=True)
             self.tor.run_daemon(verbose=True)
             socks_host, socks_port = "localhost", 9050
         else:
-            socks_host, socks_port = SOCKS_HOST, SOCKS_PORT
+            socks_host, socks_port = settings.socks_host, settings.socks_port
 
         if socks_host and socks_port:
             proxies = {
@@ -515,8 +515,10 @@ class Wallet(LedgerAPI):
             List[Proof]: Newly minted proofs.
         """
         for amount in amounts:
-            if amount not in [2**i for i in range(MAX_ORDER)]:
-                raise Exception(f"Can only mint amounts with 2^n up to {2**MAX_ORDER}.")
+            if amount not in [2**i for i in range(settings.max_order)]:
+                raise Exception(
+                    f"Can only mint amounts with 2^n up to {2**settings.max_order}."
+                )
         proofs = await super().mint(amounts, payment_hash)
         if proofs == []:
             raise Exception("received no proofs.")
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index 79eb5d8..7c1b63f 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import pytest
 from click.testing import CliRunner
 
 from cashu.core.migrations import migrate_databases
-from cashu.core.settings import VERSION
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 from cashu.wallet import migrations
 from cashu.wallet.cli.cli import cli
 from cashu.wallet.wallet import Wallet
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ def test_info():
     )
     print("INFO")
     print(result.output)
-    result.output.startswith(f"Version: {VERSION}")
+    result.output.startswith(f"Version: {settings.version}")
     assert result.exit_code == 0
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_mint.py b/tests/test_mint.py
index f175ce6..e50e6be 100644
--- a/tests/test_mint.py
+++ b/tests/test_mint.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ SERVER_ENDPOINT = "http://localhost:3338"
 import os
 
 from cashu.core.db import Database
-from cashu.core.settings import MAX_ORDER
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 from cashu.mint import migrations
 from cashu.mint.ledger import Ledger
 
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ async def test_keysets(ledger: Ledger):
 async def test_get_keyset(ledger: Ledger):
     keyset = ledger.get_keyset()
     assert type(keyset) == dict
-    assert len(keyset) == MAX_ORDER
+    assert len(keyset) == settings.max_order
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/tests/test_wallet.py b/tests/test_wallet.py
index ea25596..b9e6d6b 100644
--- a/tests/test_wallet.py
+++ b/tests/test_wallet.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import pytest_asyncio
 from cashu.core.base import Proof
 from cashu.core.helpers import async_unwrap, sum_proofs
 from cashu.core.migrations import migrate_databases
-from cashu.core.settings import MAX_ORDER
+from cashu.core.settings import settings
 from cashu.wallet import migrations
 from cashu.wallet.wallet import Wallet
 from cashu.wallet.wallet import Wallet as Wallet1
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ async def wallet2(mint):
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_get_keys(wallet1: Wallet):
     assert wallet1.keys.public_keys
-    assert len(wallet1.keys.public_keys) == MAX_ORDER
+    assert len(wallet1.keys.public_keys) == settings.max_order
     keyset = await wallet1._get_keys(wallet1.url)
     assert keyset.id is not None
     assert type(keyset.id) == str
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ async def test_get_keys(wallet1: Wallet):
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_get_keyset(wallet1: Wallet):
     assert wallet1.keys.public_keys
-    assert len(wallet1.keys.public_keys) == MAX_ORDER
+    assert len(wallet1.keys.public_keys) == settings.max_order
     # let's get the keys first so we can get a keyset ID that we use later
     keys1 = await wallet1._get_keys(wallet1.url)
     # gets the keys of a specific keyset
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ async def test_mint_amounts_wrong_order(wallet1: Wallet):
     """Mint amount that is not part in 2^n"""
     await assert_err(
         wallet1.mint_amounts([1, 2, 3]),
-        f"Can only mint amounts with 2^n up to {2**MAX_ORDER}.",
+        f"Can only mint amounts with 2^n up to {2**settings.max_order}.",
     )