Environment variables best practices
Clear naming, documented examples, strict gitignore rules, and per-environment isolation keep environment configuration maintainable as teams grow.
Use consistent, SCREAMING_SNAKE names
Prefer DATABASE_URL over databaseUrl in env. Consistency makes shell, Docker, and CI configuration predictable.
Commit .env.example, never real secrets
Document required keys with placeholder values. Real secrets belong in EANVI (or another vault), not in git.
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/app
API_KEY=your_api_key_here
NODE_ENV=developmentIsolate environments deliberately
Keep separate values for development, staging, and production. Copy structure, not live credentials, when bootstrapping a new environment.
Fail fast on missing required variables
Validate required env at startup. Silent undefined values cause confusing runtime failures later.
Related resources
Try EANVI
Create a workspace, import a .env, and pull secrets from the CLI.