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Environment Variables

Environment variables let you manage different configurations for various deployment environments (development, staging, production) without changing your code.

Setting Your Environment​

  • Look at the top navigation bar
  • Find the environment selector located next to the recent project selector
  • Click on the environment dropdown to open the selection popup

Available Options​

  • None: No environment selected (uses only local variables)
  • Development: Development environment variables
  • Staging: Staging environment variables
  • Production: Production environment variables
  • Custom: Any custom environments you've created

How Variables are Resolved​

  • Local variables always override environment variables
  • Environment variables override default global variables
  • This ensures you can have environment-specific values while still allowing local overrides for testing

Creating Environment Files​

Environment files should always start with .env followed by the environment name. For example:

  • .env → Global defaults shared across all environments
  • .env.dev → Development environment
  • .env.staging → Staging environment
  • .env.prod → Production environment

The base .env file acts as the global configuration, and environment-specific files override or extend these values.

Default Environment (.env)

API_BASE_URL=https://api.example.com
API_VERSION=v1
DB_HOST=localhost
Value Preview & Copy

Every variable in the environment panel shows a preview of its resolved value. Hover over any variable to reveal a copy button — click it to copy the value directly to your clipboard.

Jump to Source

⌘ Cmd + Click on any environment variable to jump directly to its definition in the env file.

Benefits of Using Environment Variables​

AreaKey Benefits
Security• Keep sensitive data out of codebase
• Prevent accidental credential mixing
• No hardcoded secrets
Developer Experience• One-click environment switching
• Personal local overrides
• No manual configuration
Consistency• Same base config for all teams
• Identical structure across environments
• Reduce "works on my machine" issues
Rapid Switching• Test APIs in different environments
• Compare staging vs production instantly
• Validate environment features
Collaboration• Share base files via Git
• Keep overrides private
• Different local configs without conflicts
Organization• Clear environment separation
• Easy to track variable changes
• Simple to add new environments