Environment variables keep deployment-specific settings outside source code. Common examples include database configuration, ports, API credentials, and environment names.
Security rule
Never commit real passwords, private keys, or API secrets into Git. Use your hosting platform's environment settings or a local environment file that is excluded from version control.
Deep dive
Configuration validation
Do not wait until a database query fails to discover that a required environment variable is missing. Validate required configuration during application startup and fail clearly when configuration is invalid.
.env and Git
If you use a local .env file, add it to .gitignore and provide a safe .env.example containing placeholder values only.
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