Skip to main content

Environment Variables

Environment variables allow you to configure your application without changing code. Deployxa provides secure, encrypted environment variable management for all your projects.

Overview​

Environment variables are used to:

  • Store API keys and secrets
  • Configure database connections
  • Set application settings
  • Manage feature flags
  • Configure third-party services

Features:

  • Encrypted storage
  • Multiple scopes (Production, Preview, Development)
  • Bulk import/export
  • Version history
  • Access control

Adding Environment Variables​

From Dashboard​

  1. Go to Project → Environment
  2. Click "Add Variable"
  3. Enter variable details:
    • Name: Variable name (e.g., DATABASE_URL)
    • Value: Variable value
    • Scope: Production, Preview, Development, or All
    • Encrypted: Toggle encryption (recommended for secrets)
  4. Click "Save"

From CLI​

deployxa env add DATABASE_URL postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db --project my-app
deployxa env add API_KEY sk_test_123 --project my-app --encrypted

From API​

POST /api/projects/{projectId}/env
{
  "key": "DATABASE_URL",
  "value": "postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db",
  "encrypted": true,
  "environment": "production"
}

Variable Naming​

Naming Rules​

  • Use uppercase letters
  • Use underscores to separate words
  • Start with a letter
  • No spaces or special characters (except underscores)
  • Maximum 255 characters

Valid Examples​

DATABASE_URL
API_KEY
SECRET_KEY
NODE_ENV
APP_NAME
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY

Invalid Examples​

database-url      # ❌ Use underscores
api key           # ❌ No spaces
123_API_KEY       # ❌ Cannot start with number
API-KEY           # ❌ Use underscores, not hyphens

Variable Scopes​

Production​

Variables available in production deployments:

  • Live applications
  • Custom domains
  • Production environment
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://prod-host:5432/db
API_KEY=prod_api_key_123

Preview​

Variables available in preview deployments:

  • Pull request deployments
  • Preview URLs
  • Testing environment
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://preview-host:5432/db
API_KEY=preview_api_key_123

Development​

Variables available in development:

  • Local development
  • Development environment
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost:5432/db
API_KEY=dev_api_key_123

All Environments​

Variables available in all environments:

APP_NAME=MyApp
NODE_ENV=production

Encryption​

Encrypted Variables​

Encrypted variables are:

  • Encrypted at rest using AES-256
  • Never logged or displayed in plain text
  • Only accessible to your application
  • Masked in the dashboard

When to encrypt:

  • API keys
  • Secret keys
  • Database passwords
  • Private keys
  • OAuth secrets

Unencrypted Variables​

Unencrypted variables are:

  • Stored in plain text
  • Visible in the dashboard
  • Logged in build logs

When not to encrypt:

  • Public configuration
  • Feature flags
  • Non-sensitive settings
  • Public URLs

Toggling Encryption​

  1. Go to Project → Environment
  2. Find the variable
  3. Click the lock icon
  4. Toggle encryption
  5. Click "Save"

Note: Changing encryption requires redeployment.

Using Environment Variables​

Node.js / JavaScript​

// Access environment variable
const apiUrl = process.env.API_URL;
const dbUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL;

// With default value
const port = process.env.PORT || 3000;

// Check if variable exists
if (process.env.API_KEY) {
  // Use API key
}

Python​

import os

# Access environment variable
api_url = os.environ.get('API_URL')
db_url = os.getenv('DATABASE_URL')

# With default value
port = int(os.environ.get('PORT', 8000))

# Check if variable exists
if 'API_KEY' in os.environ:
    # Use API key
    pass

PHP​

// Access environment variable
$apiUrl = getenv('API_URL');
$dbUrl = $_ENV['DATABASE_URL'];

// With default value
$port = getenv('PORT') ?: 8000;

// Check if variable exists
if (getenv('API_KEY')) {
    // Use API key
}

Ruby​

# Access environment variable
api_url = ENV['API_URL']
db_url = ENV['DATABASE_URL']

# With default value
port = ENV.fetch('PORT', 8000)

# Check if variable exists
if ENV['API_KEY']
  # Use API key
end

Java​

// Access environment variable
String apiUrl = System.getenv("API_URL");
String dbUrl = System.getenv("DATABASE_URL");

// With default value
String port = System.getenv().getOrDefault("PORT", "8080");

// Check if variable exists
if (System.getenv("API_KEY") != null) {
    // Use API key
}

Go​

import "os"

// Access environment variable
apiUrl := os.Getenv("API_URL")
dbUrl := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL")

// With default value
port := os.Getenv("PORT")
if port == "" {
    port = "8080"
}

// Check if variable exists
if _, exists := os.LookupEnv("API_KEY"); exists {
    // Use API key
}

Rust​

use std::env;

// Access environment variable
let api_url = env::var("API_URL").unwrap_or_default();
let db_url = env::var("DATABASE_URL").unwrap_or_default();

// With default value
let port = env::var("PORT").unwrap_or_else(|_| "8080".to_string());

// Check if variable exists
if env::var("API_KEY").is_ok() {
    // Use API key
}

Common Environment Variables​

Node.js​

NODE_ENV=production
PORT=3000
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db
REDIS_URL=redis://user:pass@host:6379
API_KEY=your-api-key
JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret

Python​

PYTHON_ENV=production
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
DEBUG=False
ALLOWED_HOSTS=example.com

PHP / Laravel​

APP_ENV=production
APP_KEY=base64:your-app-key
APP_DEBUG=false
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=host
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=dbname
DB_USERNAME=user
DB_PASSWORD=pass

Ruby / Rails​

RAILS_ENV=production
SECRET_KEY_BASE=your-secret-key
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db
RAILS_LOG_TO_STDOUT=true
RAILS_SERVE_STATIC_FILES=true

Java / Spring Boot​

SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=production
SERVER_PORT=8080
SPRING_DATASOURCE_URL=jdbc:postgresql://host:5432/db
SPRING_DATASOURCE_USERNAME=user
SPRING_DATASOURCE_PASSWORD=pass

Bulk Operations​

Import Variables​

Import from .env file:

  1. Go to Project → Environment
  2. Click "Import"
  3. Select your .env file
  4. Review variables
  5. Click "Import"

Example .env file:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db
API_KEY=your-api-key
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
NODE_ENV=production

Export Variables​

Export to .env file:

  1. Go to Project → Environment
  2. Click "Export"
  3. Select format (env, json, yaml)
  4. Select scope
  5. Click "Export"

Delete Multiple Variables​

  1. Go to Project → Environment
  2. Select variables (checkbox)
  3. Click "Delete Selected"
  4. Confirm deletion

Variable History​

Viewing History​

  1. Go to Project → Environment
  2. Click on a variable
  3. Click "History"
  4. View change history

History Includes​

  • Previous values
  • Change date
  • Changed by
  • Change reason (if provided)

Restoring Previous Values​

  1. Go to Project → Environment
  2. Click on a variable
  3. Click "History"
  4. Find the version to restore
  5. Click "Restore"
  6. Confirm restoration

Access Control​

Who Can View Variables​

  • Owners: Full access to all variables
  • Admins: Full access to all variables
  • Developers: View and edit variables for assigned projects

Who Can Edit Variables​

  • Owners: Can edit all variables
  • Admins: Can edit all variables
  • Developers: Can edit variables for assigned projects

Audit Logs​

All variable changes are logged:

  • Who made the change
  • When the change was made
  • What was changed
  • Previous value (encrypted)

Security Best Practices​

Do's​

✅ Use encryption for sensitive data ✅ Rotate secrets regularly ✅ Use different values per environment ✅ Document required variables ✅ Use descriptive variable names ✅ Review access permissions regularly

Don'ts​

❌ Never commit .env files to Git ❌ Never share secrets in plain text ❌ Never use the same secret across environments ❌ Never log sensitive variables ❌ Never hardcode secrets in code ❌ Never use weak or predictable secrets

Secret Rotation​

Rotate secrets regularly:

  1. Generate new secret
  2. Add new variable with new value
  3. Deploy application
  4. Verify application works
  5. Remove old variable
  6. Deploy again

Environment Separation​

Use different values per environment:

# Production
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://prod-host:5432/db
API_KEY=prod_key_123

# Preview
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://preview-host:5432/db
API_KEY=preview_key_123

# Development
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost:5432/db
API_KEY=dev_key_123

Troubleshooting​

Variable Not Available​

Problem: Environment variable is undefined

Solution:

  1. Check variable name is correct
  2. Verify variable is set in correct scope
  3. Redeploy application
  4. Check application code
  5. Verify variable is not misspelled

Encrypted Variable Not Decrypting​

Problem: Encrypted variable shows as encrypted string

Solution:

  1. Verify encryption is enabled
  2. Check application has access
  3. Redeploy application
  4. Check encryption key is valid
  5. Contact support if issue persists

Variable Not Updating​

Problem: Variable changes not reflected

Solution:

  1. Redeploy application
  2. Clear application cache
  3. Check variable scope
  4. Verify variable name
  5. Check for caching in application

Import Failed​

Problem: Cannot import .env file

Solution:

  1. Check file format is correct
  2. Verify file encoding (UTF-8)
  3. Check for syntax errors
  4. Verify file permissions
  5. Try manual import

Advanced Features​

Variable References​

Reference other variables:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://${DB_USER}:${DB_PASSWORD}@${DB_HOST}:5432/${DB_NAME}

Variable Validation​

Validate variables before deployment:

# Required variables
DATABASE_URL
API_KEY
SECRET_KEY

# Optional variables
DEBUG=false
LOG_LEVEL=info

Variable Groups​

Organize variables into groups:

# Database
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
DB_NAME=mydb
DB_USER=user
DB_PASSWORD=pass

# API
API_URL=https://api.example.com
API_KEY=your-api-key
API_SECRET=your-api-secret

Dynamic Variables​

Generate variables dynamically:

# Timestamp
DEPLOY_TIME=2024-01-15T12:00:00Z

# Commit hash
COMMIT_HASH=abc123def456

# Build number
BUILD_NUMBER=42

Resources​

Need Help? Contact support@deployxa.com or join our community Discord.