dotenv-extended-prepare

Protects developers from manually doing boring stuff — isn't that what we're here for?

Just run it on a cloned repo, and .env preset will be sitting in the top-level directory for you to fill it.

.env is created based on .env.defaults and .env.schema

Preview

NODE_ENV=
# PORT=
# npm_package_name=
TOKEN=

Variables from .env.defaults are taken as optional — commented out with # on line start.

The .env.schema variables definitely want you to fill them in.

Quick start

For personal usage

Simply run it after cloning another genius repo telling you to scrap around the files looking for variable names

npx dotenv-extended-prepare

For automatically respecting the time of other developers

Install dotenv-extended-prepare as a development dependency:

npm i -D dotenv-extended-prepare

Specify a postinstall script in your package file — it will run on npm i

e.g. "scripts": { "postinstall": "dotenv-extended-prepare" } in package.json

npm set-script postinstall "dotenv-extended-prepare"

TODO

If you need to specify a custom path or name to schemas/defaults, or you don't use dotenv-extended at all, or you prefer using regular OG dotenv like our grandpas did and your env sample is named .env.example — just wait a couple of days. I'm planning to add more names for auto-search and some configuration.

Experimental

Auto-generate .env.schema if a repo doesn't specify one

In the future, we could make it also generate .env.defaults

npx dotenv-extended-prepare generate

Why?

I like high development convenience. Almost every new project has its .env schemas/examples/samples or defaults. Usually, after cloning a new repository, the developer has to not just enter environment variables, but also search for their names, check which ones are already set by default and create an .env file.

This package is actively maintained. Give it a star, and maybe share some thoughts by opening an issue.

Caught a Bug?

Fork this repository to your own GitHub account and then clone it to your local device
Link the package to the global module directory: npm link
Within the Node app you want to test your local development instance of dotenv-extended-prepare, just link it to the dependencies: npm link dotenv-extended-prepare (Skip this step if you're using it via npx only). Instead of the default one from npm, Node.js will now use your clone of the tool!