How to Use Environment Variables with a dotenv(.env) File for Node.js | Node Config with dotenv

#### 1. **Install the dotenv Package**:
- First, open your terminal and navigate to your project directory.
- Run the following command to install dotenv:
```bash
npm install dotenv
```

#### 2. **Create a `.env` File**:
- In the root directory of your project, create a file named `.env`.
- This file will store your environment variables. For example:
```env
PORT=3000
DATABASE_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/mydb
API_KEY=your_api_key_here
```

- **Note**: Never commit your `.env` file to a public repository. Add `.env` to your `.gitignore` file to keep it private.

#### 3. **Configure dotenv in Your Project**:
```javascript
require('dotenv').config();
```

#### 4. **Access Environment Variables in Your Code**:
```javascript

```

#### 5. **Run Your Application**:
```bash
```
- Your environment variables should load automatically from the `.env` file.

### Why Use Environment Variables with DotEnv?

- **Security**: Sensitive data like API keys and passwords are stored outside your codebase.
- **Portability**: Environment variables can be easily changed per environment (development, testing, production) without modifying code.
- **Configurability**: Easily configure different values for different deployments, ensuring your application behaves as expected.

### Troubleshooting Tips:

- **Variables Not Loading**: Ensure the `.env` file is in the root directory and `.env` values don’t have spaces around the equal sign.

**Helpful Resources**:

#NodeJS #EnvironmentVariables #Dotenv #JavaScript #BackendDevelopment #WebDevelopment #API #tutorial
Can I use environment variables in .env file?,
How to use dotenv with nodejs?,
How to import dotenv in js file?,
What does dotenv config do?,
Does node use .env file?,
Does .env overwrite environment variables?,

[milindkhadse]

This is very helpful real project tutorial which i was looking for.. Very deep knowledge given thank you very much

[softmedun]

🔥Ma'am when we install the node js then provide this type error - 1909 could not create a shortcut node js command prompt.lnk verify that the destination folder exist and that you can access it