Dotenv¶
Dotenv CLI is a command-line tool for loading environment variables from .env files. It's essential for managing configuration and environment variables in development and deployment workflows.
Install dotenv-cli¶
The recommended way is to create a portable installation using a virtual environment:
Portable dotenv-cli install
cd ~/Tooling
# Create a dedicated directory for dotenv-cli
mkdir dotenv-cli
cd dotenv-cli
# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv
# Activate virtual environment and install dotenv-cli
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install dotenv-cli
deactivate
Add dotenv to ToolingBins¶
Create a symlink to make the dotenv command available across environments:
Symlink dotenv
cd ~/ToolingBins
ln -s ~/Tooling/dotenv-cli/.venv/bin/dotenv dotenv
Now your dotenv installation is ready and will be available across multiple environments without interfering with other dependencies.
Update dotenv-cli¶
To update dotenv-cli to the latest version:
Update dotenv-cli
cd ~/Tooling/dotenv-cli
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade dotenv-cli
deactivate
Usage¶
Once installed, you can use dotenv to load environment variables from .env files:
Basic dotenv usage
# Load .env file and run a command
dotenv run -- your-command
# Load specific .env file
dotenv -f path/to/your/.env run -- your-command
# List variables from .env file
dotenv list