env-config-manager

Environment Config Manager

Manage, validate, and synchronize environment configuration files across your project and deployment targets.

Workflow

1. Discover all environment files Search the project for every env-related file:

   find . -maxdepth 3 -name ".env*" -not -path "*/node_modules/*" -not -path "*/.git/*"
   

   Common files: .env, .env.local, .env.development, .env.staging, .env.production, .env.example

2. Parse and catalog all variables For each env file, extract every variable name and note:

   • Which file defines it
   • Whether it has a non-empty value
   • Whether the key looks like a secret (contains KEY, SECRET, TOKEN, PASSWORD, CREDENTIAL, PRIVATE)
   • Whether it has a comment/description

3. Validate required variables Check that the active .env contains every variable from the template:

   Missing in .env (defined in .env.example):
     - DATABASE_URL
     - STRIPE_SECRET_KEY
   Extra in .env (not in .env.example):
     - DEBUG_MODE
   

4. Detect variables referenced in code but missing from env files

   grep -rn "process\.env\." --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.js" src/ app/ | grep -oP 'process\.env\.\K[A-Z_][A-Z0-9_]*' | sort -u
   

   Compare against env files and report unreferenced variables.

5. Generate or update .env.example Create a sanitized template from the current .env:

   • Strip secret values, replace with descriptive placeholders
   • Preserve non-secret defaults (PORT=3000, NODE_ENV=development)
   • Group variables by prefix with section comments

6. Compare environments Produce a comparison matrix:

   Variable               .env    .env.staging  .env.production
   DATABASE_URL            ✓           ✓              ✓
   STRIPE_SECRET_KEY       ✓           ✓              ✗ ← MISSING
   DEBUG_MODE              ✓           ✗              ✗
   

7. Audit git safety

   grep -n "\.env" .gitignore 2>/dev/null
   git ls-files --cached | grep -i "\.env"
   

   Flag tracked .env files with secrets as critical.