Setting Environment Variables for Node.js

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Why Use Environment Variables?

Environment variables are used to configure applications in a way that separates code from configuration. This practice offers several benefits:

Security: Sensitive information is not stored directly in the source code.

Flexibility: Configurations can be easily changed without modifying the code.

Portability: Applications can be easily deployed to different environments (development, testing, production) with varying configurations.

Setting Environment Variables

On Windows

Using Command Line:

Temporarily set an environment variable:

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Permanently set an environment variable:

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Using PowerShell:

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On macOS and Linux

Using Command Line:

Temporarily set an environment variable:

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Permanently set an environment variable by adding it to your shell profile (.bashrc, .bash_profile, or .zshrc):

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Using .env File

Creating a .env file in your project's root directory is a common approach for managing environment variables. This file contains key-value pairs of environment variables:

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To load these variables into your application, you can use the dotenv package:

Install dotenv:

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You can also set default values if an environment variable is not defined:

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Best Practices

Never Hardcode Sensitive Information: Always use environment variables to manage sensitive data.

Use a .env File for Local Development: This keeps your configuration centralized and manageable.

Validate Environment Variables: Ensure that necessary environment variables are defined using validation libraries like joi or custom validation logic.

Keep .env Files Out of Version Control: Add .env to your .gitignore file to prevent it from being committed to your source repository.

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Conclusion