Environment Variables
X-Ray: .ENV
Environment Variables File
# Server Configuration
PORT=3000
API_KEY="sk_test_51Mz..."
DEBUG=true
# Database
DB_URL="postgresql://user:pw@host"
Variable (Key)
Parameter name in the environment.
Value / Secret
Sensitive data or configuration.
Comment Field
Notes ignored by the system.
Origin
Popularized by the 12-Factor App methodology (2011) to decouple configuration from source code.
Why use it?
Allows the same code to run in Local, Staging or Production by simply changing the values in the file.
Security
Avoid uploading sensitive credentials to Git.
Invisible
The initial "." hides it on Unix/Linux systems.
Universal
Supported in Node, Python, Docker, Flutter, etc.
Simplicity
Key-value pairs without complex syntax.
xeland314 .ENV configures • Git ignores.