Environment Variables Template

Example .env file for configuring local development and production environments.

Keeping configuration out of your codebase makes it easier to manage different environments and avoid leaking secrets. A .env file contains key–value pairs that can be loaded into your application via tools like dotenv. Here’s a template showing common patterns: API keys, database URLs, and runtime settings. Adjust and rename variables for your project.

# API configuration
API_URL=https://api.example.com
API_TOKEN=your-secret-token
 
# Database configuration
DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/dbname
 
# Server settings
PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development
 
# Feature flags
ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_FEATURE=false

Store this file outside your version control or add .env to your .gitignore. For production, use your deployment platform’s secret management instead of committed .env files. Loading environment variables at runtime keeps your code flexible and secure.