How to load .env file from nodejs

• 0018 Javascript ☕️

AI Response

To load a .env file in a Node.js application, you can use the dotenv package. Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Install the dotenv package using npm or yarn:

   npm install dotenv
   

   or

   yarn add dotenv
   

2. Create a .env file in the root directory of your project and define your environment variables:

   DB_HOST=localhost
   DB_USER=myuser
   DB_PASSWORD=mypassword
   

3. In your Node.js application entry point (typically index.js or app.js), require and configure dotenv at the very beginning:

   require('dotenv').config();
   

4. Now, you can access your environment variables using process.env:

   const dbHost = process.env.DB_HOST;
   const dbUser = process.env.DB_USER;
   const dbPassword = process.env.DB_PASSWORD;
   
   console.log(`Database Host: ${dbHost}`);
   console.log(`Database User: ${dbUser}`);
   console.log(`Database Password: ${dbPassword}`);
   

Ensure that you do not commit your .env file to version control systems, as it often contains sensitive information.

By following these steps, your Node.js application will load the environment variables from the .env file during runtime.