Environment Variables & Config Management in Node.js

Introduction

Managing environment variables and configurations is essential for keeping sensitive data secure and making applications flexible across different environments (development, testing, production).

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Step 1: Using Environment Variables

Access environment variables in Node.js using process.env:

console.log(process.env.PORT); // Access the PORT variable

Create a .env file at the root of your project:

PORT=3000
DB_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/mydb
SECRET_KEY=mysecretkey

Install the dotenv package:

npm install dotenv

Load variables in your app:

require('dotenv').config();

const port = process.env.PORT || 3000;
console.log("Server running on port:", port);

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Step 2: Config Management

Centralize settings in a config file per environment:

// config.js
const config = {
  development: {
    port: process.env.PORT || 3000,
    dbUrl: process.env.DB_URL,
  },
  production: {
    port: process.env.PORT || 8000,
    dbUrl: process.env.DB_URL,
  },
};

module.exports = config[process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development'];

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Step 3: Using Config in Your App

const config = require('./config');
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.listen(config.port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${config.port}`);
});

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Step 4: Best Practices

• Never commit .env files to version control.
• Use .env.example to document required variables.
• Validate environment variables at startup.
• Keep secrets out of your codebase (API keys, passwords, etc.).

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Step 5: Advanced Tools

• dotenv-safe: Ensures all required env variables are defined.
• config package: Hierarchical config management per environment.
• Vault / AWS Secrets Manager: Secure secret management in production.

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Conclusion

Proper environment variable and configuration management makes Node.js applications secure, maintainable, and environment-flexible.

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