The Problem

Every project starts the same way:

ERROR: Missing required environment variable DATABASE_URL

Then you spend 20 minutes hunting for the right value, copy-pasting from Slack, and hoping nobody committed secrets to git. nevr-env fixes all of that.

The Solution

// src/env.ts — this is your entire env setup
import { createEnv } from "nevr-env";
import { postgres } from "nevr-env/plugins/postgres";
import { stripe } from "nevr-env/plugins/stripe";
import { z } from "zod";

export const env = createEnv({
  plugins: [
    postgres({ pool: true }),       // DATABASE_URL, POOL_SIZE — auto-typed
    stripe({ webhook: true }),      // STRIPE_SECRET_KEY, WEBHOOK_SECRET — auto-typed
  ],
  server: {
    NODE_ENV: z.enum(["development", "production", "test"]),
    API_SECRET: z.string().min(32),
  },
  client: {
    NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL: z.string().url(),
  },
  clientPrefix: "NEXT_PUBLIC_",
  runtimeEnv: process.env,
});

That's it. Full TypeScript inference. Runtime validation. No boilerplate.

env.DATABASE_URL    // string — from postgres() plugin
env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY  // string — from stripe() plugin
env.API_SECRET      // string — from your server schema
env.NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL  // string — safe for client bundles
env.SECRET_THING    // TypeScript error — doesn't exist

Install

npm install nevr-env zod
# or
pnpm add nevr-env zod
# or
yarn add nevr-env zod

Note: zod is optional — nevr-env supports any Standard Schema library (Zod, Valibot, ArkType).

Features at a Glance

Plugins — One Line, Full Type Safety

built-in plugins that handle schema, validation, auto-discovery, and CLI integration:

postgres()                          // DATABASE_URL
postgres({ pool: true })            // DATABASE_URL + DATABASE_POOL_SIZE + DATABASE_POOL_TIMEOUT
stripe({ webhook: true })           // STRIPE_SECRET_KEY + STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY + STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET
openai({ azure: true })             // AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT + AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY (either pattern)
aws({ s3: true, ses: true })        // AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID + S3_BUCKET + SES_FROM_EMAIL + ...
betterAuth({ providers: ["google", "github"] })  // BETTER_AUTH_SECRET + GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID + ...

CLI — Interactive, Not Just Errors

npx nevr-env init          # Setup wizard — detects framework, picks plugins
npx nevr-env check         # Validate .env against schema (CI-friendly, exit code 0/1)
npx nevr-env fix           # Missing vars? Interactive wizard with auto-discovery
npx nevr-env generate      # Generate .env.example from your schema
npx nevr-env types         # Generate env.d.ts with ProcessEnv augmentation
npx nevr-env scan          # Find accidentally committed secrets
npx nevr-env rotate        # Track stale secrets by age
npx nevr-env diff          # Compare schemas between config files
npx nevr-env watch         # Live validation on .env file changes
npx nevr-env dev           # Validate env then run your dev server
npx nevr-env ci github     # Generate CI/CD config for your platform

Auto-discovery: The fix command detects running Docker/Podman containers and offers to use them:

Missing: DATABASE_URL

? How would you like to configure DATABASE_URL?
> Use Docker container (postgres:16 on port 5432)
  Enter value manually
  Skip for now

Vault — Encrypted Secrets in Git

AES-256-GCM encryption with HMAC-SHA256 integrity verification. No more sharing secrets over Slack.

npx nevr-env vault keygen     # Generate encryption key
npx nevr-env vault push       # Encrypt .env -> .nevr-env.vault
git add .nevr-env.vault        # Safe to commit — it's encrypted

# New team member:
npx nevr-env vault pull        # Decrypt vault -> .env

• Automatic key discovery from .env, .env.local, or NEVR_ENV_KEY env var

Extends — Compose Environments

Build on shared base configurations:

// lib/env-base.ts
export const baseEnv = createEnv({
  plugins: [postgres()],
  server: { NODE_ENV: z.enum(["development", "production", "test"]) },
  runtimeEnv: process.env,
});

// src/env.ts
export const env = createEnv({
  extends: [baseEnv],              // Inherit all base schemas + validated values
  plugins: [stripe({ webhook: true })],
  server: { API_SECRET: z.string() },
  runtimeEnv: process.env,
});

env.DATABASE_URL   // from baseEnv (inherited)
env.API_SECRET     // from this config

Tree-Shaking — Import Only What You Need

Every plugin has a standalone deep import path. Your bundle only includes the plugins you actually use:

// Pulls in ONLY postgres — not stripe, not openai, not anything else
import { postgres } from "nevr-env/plugins/postgres";

The umbrella package is marked sideEffects: false for aggressive dead-code elimination.

Why Not t3-env?

We love t3-env. We built on its ideas. But we needed more.

| | t3-env | nevr-env | |---|--------|------------| | Missing keys | Crash with error log | Interactive wizard + Docker auto-discovery | | Schema boilerplate | DATABASE_URL: z.string() every project | postgres() — one function call | | Docker/Podman | Manual | Auto-detects running containers | | .env.example | Manual | npx nevr-env generate | | Team secrets | Copy-paste in Slack | Encrypted vault in git | | Secret scanning | External tool | npx nevr-env scan | | Rotation tracking | Nothing | npx nevr-env rotate | | CI integration | Manual | npx nevr-env ci github | | Schema validation | Zod only | Any Standard Schema (Zod, Valibot, ArkType) | | Plugin system | None | 13 built-in + custom plugins |

Deployment Presets

Pre-built presets for common platforms:

import { vercel } from "nevr-env/presets/vercel";
import { netlify } from "nevr-env/presets/netlify";
import { railway } from "nevr-env/presets/railway";

CI/CD

All commands work in non-interactive environments. Key CI commands:

npx nevr-env check              # Exit code 0/1
npx nevr-env generate --force   # No prompts
npx nevr-env types --force      # No prompts
npx nevr-env scan --format json # Machine-readable output

Documentation

Read full documentation at 👉🏻 https://nevr-ts.github.io/nevr-env/

• Getting Started
• CLI Reference
• Plugin Guide
• Vault & Security
• Creating Custom Plugins

Ecosystem

| Package | Description | |---------|-------------| | @nevr-env/core | Core engine — createEnv, createPlugin, Proxy, Standard Schema validation | | @nevr-env/cli | Interactive CLI — fix wizard, scanner, vault, schema diff, and 12 more commands |

License

MIT — Built with obsession by the nevr-env contributors.