CQr-env

Secured Multiple Env Files

Have multiple env files that can be encrypted and included in version control (e.g. git)

Motivation

This is yet another package for loading env files. After researching for npm packages, I've found several solutions but none to my avail. They all lack some handy features (at the same time or altogether):

• have multiple env files
  • for staging purposes (production, development, testing, local, etc)
  • for modularization - a root env, a component env, some common env (motif), "external" env (for database A, for service B, for API C)
  • to segregate sensible information from non-sensible information (like credentials)
• multiple formats (raw/shell-like, json, js), including javascript (dynamic, interpreted at runtime). JSON supported by JSON5 (comments, single-quotes, line breaks, trailing commas and more)
• special cases for raw files: multiline strings, ignore blank lines, parse as js types (numbers as numbers, objects, etc.), don't parse comments (//, #, <!-- -->, /**/) - either //x=1 or x=1 //2
• encrypt sensible information
  • allowing to include in version control (otherwise when sharing projects, one should send private env files separately)
  • possibility to use encrypted env file without decrypting it (decrypt on the fly)
  • if decrypted, change extension so to not commit it by mistake

Some packages researched: dotenv, dotenvjs, @alucarpd86/dotenv-json, @eddiewen/dotenvjson, envdot, envdotjs, envdotjson, envdotenv, dotenv-expand, dotenv-packed, dotenv-extended, expand-dotenv, dotenv-defaults, dotenv-flow, encrypt-env, environment-crypt, secure-env, encrypted-env

Usage

Loading multiple env files (.js, .json, raw)

📂 Project
├ 📂 modules
│ ├ 📂 x
│ │ └ 📄 x.env.js  // { mode: 'on' }
│ ├ 📂 y
│ │ └ 📄 y.env.json  // [1, 2, 3]
│ └ 📂 z
│   └ 📄 z.env  // url=example.com
└ 📄 index.js

/* index.js */
const env = require('cqr-env')(['**/*.env.js', '**/*.env.json', '**/*.env'])
// { x: { mode: 'on' }, y: [1, 2, 3], url: 'example.com' }

Don't use filename as key / specify key name

Obs: If a single file is loaded, name by default is false

📂 Project
├ 📄 development.env.js  // { host: 'localhost' }
├ 📄 production.env.js   // { host: 'example.com' }
└ 📄 index.js

/* index.js */
console.log(process.env.NODE_ENV) // 'production'

const env = require('cqr-env')(`${process.env.NODE_ENV}.js`) // implies { name: false }
// { host: 'example.com' }, not { production: { host: 'example.com' }}

const env = require('cqr-env')(`${process.env.NODE_ENV}.js`, { name: 'node_env' })
// { node_env: { host: 'example.com' }}

Set defaults

📂 Project
├ 📄 default.env.js      // { host: 'localhost', port: 1234 }
├ 📄 development.env.js  // { host: 'localhost' }
├ 📄 production.env.js   // { host: 'example.com' }
└ 📄 index.js

/* index.js */

// default file
process.env.NODE_ENV = ''
const env = require('cqr-env')(`${process.env.NODE_ENV || 'default'}.env.js`)
// { host: 'localhost', port: 1234 })

// using destructuring
process.env.NODE_ENV = 'production'
const secureEnv = require('cqr-env')
const Default = secureEnv('default.env.js')
const env2 = { ...Default, ...secureEnv(`${process.env.NODE_ENV}.env.js`) }
// { host: 'example.com', port: 1234})

Encrypt env files

1. Add *.exposed to .gitignore to prevent any decrypted/unsafe files to be committed.
2. Create a file with desired name and extension + .exposed. Fill sensible information.
3. Set password key in environment variable. E.g.: setx proj_key 1234 or export proj_key=1234. You can use multiple password keys as you like - just create one env var for each.
4. Encrypt file(s) using cqr-env -e "gloob" -v "key_name"

Execute cqr-env via npx, npm exec or npm x, or simply via npm scripts (e.g. npm run command with command in package.json scripts)

Decrypt env files (for editing)

1. Decrypt file(s) using cqr-env -d "gloob" -v "key_name" (files must end with .encrypted)

Decrypt and load env files on-the-fly

📂 Project
├ 📄 production.env.js.encrypted   // 790ffd1b2e51f77aa5621331dfd4dbec586d4276076c2129562cd2baef4fbb937574ab2b9416b9e06b5bf9d273f7a5f8P7PhoZco+zGRQJnddS7VwmTxZr6gd+4jwCsp1yLG0ck+RzoRXgExT/3tvMgwGp0AVJ8MFtcsybRNbuv6dq0RM4HmAIwQCDi5con96O8YjyAmKlsBj2G1nDb1GZ7iBD2EWX8w9GlRop6b12H5FyxxLB9BUGYcdg83vTW5s3+PgNZ9Mlx2LFLZiApn4DR91GOsB13wgCoy/7CZa+6wOiguIOtw+H1pGWunmJmi8NR3HGhbJp7Gmj4b6URAFuUgg0FGKUY2JCLQfLM4ogSE3QbSZwlzQZ5mawRrNm8PhPrG0+RXozyClYo3e0SsZeqdVimL
└ 📄 index.js

/* index.js */
console.log(process.env.NODE_ENV) // 'production'

const env = require('cqr-env')(`${process.env.NODE_ENV}.env.js.encrypted`, 'key_name')
// { host: 'example.com', pw: 'abcde' }

Storing keys in files instead of environment variables

While this is discouraged, sometimes the environment variables aren't acessible and thus this provides an alternative method.

1. Create a file with password key inside
2. Add to .gitignore to prevent to be committed.
3. Encrypt file(s) using cqr-env -e "gloob" -f path/to/file
4. Decrypt file(s) using cqr-env -d "gloob" -f path/to/file (for editing)
5. To decrypt and load env files on-the-fly, do:

/* index.js */
console.log(process.env.NODE_ENV) // 'production'

const env = require('cqr-env')(`${process.env.NODE_ENV}.env.js.encrypted`, { pwfile: 'path/to/file' })
// { host: 'example.com', pw: 'abcde' }

Options

envvar (string): name of the environment variable that contains the password/key to decrypt a protected file. If options is a string, it will be considered to be the envvar.

name (bool/string): use filename as key. false destruct keys into parent and string give it a name. If not set, default is false for single file and true for multiple files. If options is boolean, it will be considered to be name.

pwfile (string): path of the file that contains the password/key to decrypt a protected file.