Environment Manager

Name: env-manager
Rating: 88
Author: codeswiftr

When to Use

•Setting up new project environments.
•Managing secrets and API keys.
•Synchronizing configs across environments.
•Documenting required environment variables.

Environment Hierarchy

code

.env.example     # Template with all vars (committed)
.env.local       # Local overrides (gitignored)
.env.development # Development defaults (may be committed)
.env.staging     # Staging config (gitignored or secrets manager)
.env.production  # Production config (secrets manager only)

Workflow

1. Document Variables

Create .env.example with all required variables:

bash

# Application
APP_NAME=myapp
APP_ENV=development
DEBUG=false
LOG_LEVEL=info

# Server
HOST=0.0.0.0
PORT=8000

# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/dbname

# External Services
# Get from: https://api.example.com/dashboard
API_KEY=your-api-key-here
API_SECRET=your-api-secret-here

# Optional
CACHE_TTL=3600

2. Validate Environment

python

# Python with pydantic
from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings

class Settings(BaseSettings):
    app_name: str
    app_env: str = "development"
    debug: bool = False
    database_url: str
    api_key: str

    class Config:
        env_file = ".env"

settings = Settings()

typescript

// TypeScript with zod
import { z } from 'zod';

const envSchema = z.object({
  NODE_ENV: z.enum(['development', 'staging', 'production']),
  DATABASE_URL: z.string().url(),
  API_KEY: z.string().min(1),
});

export const env = envSchema.parse(process.env);

3. Secrets Management

Local Development

•Use .env.local for sensitive values.
•Never commit actual secrets.

CI/CD

•Use repository secrets (GitHub, GitLab).
•Inject at build/deploy time.

Production

Provider	Tool
AWS	Secrets Manager, Parameter Store
GCP	Secret Manager
Azure	Key Vault
Kubernetes	Secrets, External Secrets Operator
Self-hosted	HashiCorp Vault, Doppler

4. Sync Across Environments

bash

# Check for missing vars between environments
diff <(grep -v '^#' .env.example | cut -d= -f1 | sort) \
     <(grep -v '^#' .env.local | cut -d= -f1 | sort)

Security Rules

•Never commit secrets to version control.
•Use different values per environment.
•Rotate secrets regularly (90 days recommended).
•Audit access to production secrets.
•Use least privilege - only expose what's needed.

.gitignore Template

code

# Environment files
.env
.env.local
.env.*.local
.env.staging
.env.production

# Keep example
!.env.example

Output Checklist

• .env.example documents all variables.
• Validation schema implemented.
• Secrets stored securely (not in git).
• Different values per environment.
• .gitignore configured properly.
• Team has access to required secrets.