Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility

#1

Post by gyf304 » Sun, Apr 28, 2024, 8:25 PM UTC

I like the idea of using dotenv files, but I dislike having to use different language-specific libraries to read them.

To solve this, I created a small utility that lets you prefix any command with "dotenv" to load the ".env" file.

This is how I imagine dotenv would work if it had started as a UNIX utility rather than a Node.js library.

Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility
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Re: Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility

#2

Post by petepete » Sun, Apr 28, 2024, 9:24 PM UTC

I think direnv already does a good job in this space, and it's already available in your package manager.

https://direnv.net/

Re: Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility

#3

Post by tester457 » Sun, Apr 28, 2024, 9:26 PM UTC

dotenv started as a ruby library actually. The first implementation inspired the others such as the golang version of the library.

Re: Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility

#4

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Apr 28, 2024, 9:26 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility

#5

Post by miohtama » Sun, Apr 28, 2024, 9:40 PM UTC

There is also shdotenv that allows you to load different .env file formats and convert between them, e.g. for UNIX shell.

https://github.com/ko1nksm/shdotenv

Re: Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility

#6

Post by mongol » Sun, Apr 28, 2024, 9:53 PM UTC

Would not

sh -c '. .env; echo $MY_VAR'

do the same thing? (I am not in front of a shell at the moment.)

Re: Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility

#7

Post by kelnos » Sun, Apr 28, 2024, 9:53 PM UTC

petepete wrote: post #2

I think direnv already does a good job in this space, and it's already available in your package manager. https://direnv.net/

I've used direnv, but I think a nice property of OP's dotenv is that it's explicit: if I want to pass env vars, I run my program under it. If I don't, then I don't. There's no "hidden behavior" for me to forget about and then get surprised by.

Re: Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility

#8

Post by mixmastamyk » Sun, Apr 28, 2024, 9:56 PM UTC

mongol wrote: post #6

Would not sh -c '. .env; echo $MY_VAR' do the same thing? (I am not in front of a shell at the moment.)

Seems to work.

Re: Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility

#9

Post by kelnos » Sun, Apr 28, 2024, 9:59 PM UTC

mongol wrote: post #6

Would not sh -c '. .env; echo $MY_VAR' do the same thing? (I am not in front of a shell at the moment.)

That would, but unless each line in your .env file is prefixed with "export", those env vars won't get passed into any subprocesses you run.

Re: Show HN: Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility

#10

Post by iokanuon » Sun, Apr 28, 2024, 9:59 PM UTC

mongol wrote: post #6

Would not sh -c '. .env; echo $MY_VAR' do the same thing? (I am not in front of a shell at the moment.)

You'd need to `set -a` or pass the `-a` as a flag to have them auto-exported though, so:

    sh -ac '. ./.env; ./prog'

Also if you use the `.` builtin it's a good idea to specify the path with a slash in it, so that `.` doesn't search $PATH first.