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Joseph Kariuki
Joseph Kariuki

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

#npm #programming #javascript #devops

# 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
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## 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
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The basic envforge scan works for any project.

Pre‑Commit Hook

Block commits that expose secrets or miss required variables:

envforge hook install
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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"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
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Then use it:

envforge add my-api
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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__/
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Contributing

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

License

MIT © Joseph Kariuki

Top comments (1)

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theoephraim profile image
Theo Ephraim •

Check out varlock.dev - it solves many problems of dealing with env files. We don't have a notion of providers, but we do have an upcoming notion of importing from public schemas, which would solve the same issue.

It's free and open source - active userbase. Drop in integrations and many plugins to pull secrets from most popular sources.