Handling Environment Variables in TypeScript Applications

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Handling Environment Variables in TypeScript Applications

Introduction

Environment Variables in TypeScript

Environment variables allow you to define configuration settings dynamically based on the environment in which your application is running. These settings typically include sensitive information like API keys, database connection strings, and other configuration parameters. Managing environment variables correctly ensures that your application behaves consistently across different environments without hardcoding these settings into the source code.

Vite Environment Variables and TypeScript

Vite is a modern frontend build tool that leverages TypeScript out of the box. It provides a streamlined way to manage environment variables through the .env files.

Create .env files:

.env: Default.

Prefix the variables:

For Vite, all environment variables must start with VITE_ to be exposed to the client-side code. For example:

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Accessing the variables in TypeScript:

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Create .env files:

.env: Default.

Define variables without special prefixes:

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Accessing the variables in TypeScript:

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For exposing variables to the client, prefix them with NEXT_PUBLIC_:

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Access client-side variables:

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Expo Environment Variables and TypeScript

Expo is a platform for building universal React applications. While Expo does not have built-in support for .env files, you can use third-party libraries like react-native-dotenv.

Install react-native-dotenv:

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Create .env file:

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Accessing variables in TypeScript:

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Conclusion