PHP dotenv

Loads environment variables from .env to getenv(), $_ENV and $_SERVER automagically.

This is a PHP version of the original Ruby dotenv.

Why .env?

NO editing virtual hosts in Apache or Nginx
NO adding php_value flags to .htaccess files
EASY portability and sharing of required ENV values
COMPATABILITY with PHP's built-in web server and CLI runner

Basically, a .env file is an easy way to load custom environment variables that your application needs without having to modify .htaccess files or Apache/nginx virtual hosts. This means you won't have to edit any files outside the project, and all the environment variables are always set no matter how you run your project - Apache, Nginx, CLI, and even PHP 5.4's built-in webserver. It's WAY easier than all the other ways you know of to set environment variables, and you're going to love it.

Installation with Composer

curl -s http://getcomposer.org/installer | php
php composer.phar require vlucas/phpdotenv

Usage

Add your application configuration to a .env file in the root of your project.

S3_BUCKET=dotenv
SECRET_KEY=souper_seekret_key

You can also create files per environment, such as .env.test:

S3_BUCKET=test
SECRET_KEY=test

You can then load .env in your application with a single line:

Dotenv::load(__DIR__);

Or you can load a specific file such as .env.test

Dotenv::load(__DIR__, '.env.test');

All of the defined variables are now accessible with the getenv method, and are available in the $_ENV and $_SERVER super-globals.

$s3_bucket = getenv('S3_BUCKET');
$s3_bucket = $_ENV['S3_BUCKET'];
$s3_bucket = $_SERVER['S3_BUCKET'];

You should also be able to access them using your framework's Request class (if you are using a framework).

$s3_bucket = $request->env('S3_BUCKET');
$s3_bucket = $request->getEnv('S3_BUCKET');
$s3_bucket = $request->server->get('S3_BUCKET');

Requiring Variables to be Set

Using Dotenv, you can require specific ENV vars to be defined, and throw an Exception if they are not. This is particularly useful to let people know any explicit required variables that your app will not work without.

You can use a single string:

Dotenv::required('DATABASE_DSN');

Or an array of strings:

Dotenv::required(array('DB_HOST', 'DB_NAME', 'DB_USER', 'DB_PASS'));

If any ENV vars are missing, Dotenv will throw a RuntimeException like this:

Required ENV vars missing: 'DB_USER', 'DB_PASS'

Advanced Usage

In more advanced setups, the .env file is generally kept out of version control since it can contain sensitive API keys and passwords. A separate .env.example file is created with all the required environment variables defined except for the sensitive ones, which are either user-supplied for their own development environments or are communicated elsewhere to project collaborators. The project collaborators then independently copy the .env.example file to a local .env and ensure all the settings are correct for their local environment, filling in the secret keys or providing their own values when necessary. In this usage, the .env file should be added to the project's .gitignore file so that it will never be committed by collaborators. This usage ensures that no sensitive passwords or API keys will ever be in the version control history so there is less risk of a security breach, and production values will never have to be shared with all project collaborators.

Contributing

Fork it
Create your feature branch (git checkout -b my-new-feature)
Make your changes
Run the tests, adding new ones for your own code if necessary (phpunit)
Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Added some feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin my-new-feature)
Create new Pull Request

bkmorse / phpdotenv