exec-with-env

A simple CLI tool to run commands with environment variables loaded from a file (like .env).

Features

• Loads environment variables from a specified file and merges them with the current environment.
• File-based variables take precedence over existing environment variables.
• Simple CLI interface, suitable for scripting and CI/CD.

Installation

You can use npx to run without installing:

npx exec-with-env -f <envfile> <command> [args...]

Or clone this repo and run locally:

git clone <this-repo-url>
cd exec-with-env
node index.js -f <envfile> <command> [args...]

Usage

npx exec-with-env -f <envfile> <command> [args...]

• -f <envfile>: (optional) Path to the environment file. Defaults to .env if not specified.
• -r: (optional) Replace variables like $VARNAME or ${VARNAME} in command arguments with their values from the environment.
• <command> [args...]: The command to run with the loaded environment variables.

Examples

Run a script with variables from .env:

npx exec-with-env -f .env node myscript.js

Run a command with a custom env file:

npx exec-with-env -f config.env echo $MY_VAR

Replace variables in arguments (e.g., $HELLO) with values from the env file:

npx exec-with-env -f .env -r echo $HELLO

If you have .env containing HELLO=world, this will output:

world

If -f is omitted, .env in the current directory is used:

npx exec-with-env node myscript.js

Error Handling

• If the env file is missing, an error is printed and the process exits with a non-zero code.
• If the command is missing, usage instructions are printed.

Testing

This project uses Node's built-in test runner. To run tests:

npm test

License

MIT