I built a CLI that generates .env files so I never read docs again

Joseph Kariuki — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:49:54 +0000

# EnvForge BETA v1.1

⚡ Structured .env scaffolding for modern applications.

Generate, validate, and protect environment variables for 14+ services – without ever opening a docs page.

Github repo
[https://github.com/Jos3456/envforge]

NPM version
(https://img.shields.io/npm/v/envforge-dev)

MIT License
(https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)

## Installation

bash
npm install envforge-dev


**Requirements:** Node.js 18 or later.

---

**## Quick Start**

bash
# 1. Generate an .env file and choose your providers
envforge init

# 2. Fill in your actual credentials
envforge fill

# 3. Check everything is set correctly
envforge validate

## All Commands

### Scaffolding

Command	What it does
`envforge init`	Create a new `.env` by selecting providers interactively
`envforge add <provider>`	Add variables from a specific provider to your existing `.env`
`envforge preset`	Generate a `.env` from a popular stack preset
`envforge example`	Create a safe‑to‑commit `.env.example` file
`envforge fill`	Interactively enter values (secret keys are masked)
`envforge list`	Show all built‑in and custom providers

### Guardrails

Command	What it does
`envforge validate`	Check that all required variables are filled in
`envforge scan`	Detect secret keys accidentally exposed in frontend code
`envforge hook install`	Install a pre‑commit hook that runs `validate` + `scan`

### Customisation

Command	What it does
`envforge provider add`	Create a custom provider template
`envforge registry update`	Download the latest providers from the community registry

## Built‑in Providers

Category	Providers
Database	Supabase, Neon, MongoDB Atlas
Auth	Clerk, Auth0, Firebase
AI	OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude)
Payments	Stripe
Email	Resend, SendGrid
Storage	Cloudinary, AWS S3 / Cloudflare R2
Other	Vercel

Missing a provider? Add your own with envforge provider add or contribute one to the community.

## Framework‑Aware Scanning

Use --framework for smarter detection:

# Next.js specific rules (app/ vs pages/, "use client")
envforge scan --framework next

The basic envforge scan works for any project.

Pre‑Commit Hook

Block commits that expose secrets or miss required variables:

envforge hook install

Now every commit runs envforge validate --quiet and envforge scan --quiet.

Custom Providers

Store your custom templates in .envforge.json (project) or ~/.envforge.json (global):

{
  "providers": [
    {
      "name": "my-api",
      "displayName": "My Custom API",
      "category": "other",
      "variables": [
        {
          "key": "MY_API_KEY",
          "description": "API key for My Service",
          "required": true,
          "secret": true,
          "example": "mk-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Then use it:

envforge add my-api

Presets

Jump‑start common stacks:

Preset	Providers
`nextjs-supabase-stripe`	Supabase + Stripe
`ai-saas`	OpenAI + Resend + Stripe
`clerk-neon`	Clerk + Neon
`image-upload`	Cloudinary + Supabase
`fullstack-kit`	Clerk + Neon + Cloudinary + Stripe

Ignoring Files in Scans

Create a .envforgeignore file (same syntax as .gitignore) to exclude directories:

src/legacy
__tests__/

Contributing

New providers and features are welcome! Add a provider to src/core/templates/providers.ts or open an issue to request one.