slopenv-expand

Sensible environment variable loading for monorepos with variables expansion.

Overview

slopenv-expand is a CLI tool that combines the power of slopenv for intelligent environment variable loading in monorepos with dotenv-expand for variable expansion support.

It provides a simple way to load environment variables from multiple .env files following a sensible precedence order, expand variables within those files, and then execute any command with the loaded environment.

Features

• Monorepo-aware: Loads environment variables from multiple .env files following a sensible precedence order
• Variable expansion: Supports expanding variables within .env files (e.g., DATABASE_URL=postgres://${DB_USER}:${DB_PASSWORD}@localhost:5432/mydb)
• Simple CLI: Run any command with pre-loaded environment variables
• Zero configuration: Works out of the box with sensible defaults
• TypeScript: Written in TypeScript with full type safety

Installation

npm install -g slopenv-expand

Or use with npx:

npx slopenv-expand <command>

Usage

slopenv-expand <command> [args]

Examples

Run a Node.js script with environment variables loaded:

slopenv-expand node server.js

Run npm scripts with environment variables:

slopenv-expand npm run dev

Run any command with environment variables:

slopenv-expand python script.py
slopenv-expand go run main.go
slopenv-expand docker-compose up

How It Works

1. Loads environment variables using slopenv which follows this precedence order:

   • System environment variables (highest priority)
   • .env.local (for local overrides)
   • .env.development, .env.test, .env.production (based on NODE_ENV)
   • .env (base file)

2. Expands variables using dotenv-expand, allowing you to reference other variables:

   DB_USER=admin
   DB_PASSWORD=secret
   DATABASE_URL=postgres://${DB_USER}:${DB_PASSWORD}@localhost:5432/mydb

3. Executes your command with the loaded environment variables

Environment File Examples

Basic .env file

PORT=3000
DATABASE_URL=postgres://localhost:5432/mydb
API_KEY=your-api-key-here

With variable expansion

DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
DB_NAME=mydb
DATABASE_URL=postgres://${DB_HOST}:${DB_PORT}/${DB_NAME}

Environment-specific files

• .env.development - Development-specific variables
• .env.test - Test-specific variables
• .env.production - Production-specific variables
• .env.local - Local overrides (gitignored by default)

Comparison with Other Tools

| Feature | slopenv-expand | dotenv | dotenv-expand | slopenv | | -------------------------- | -------------- | ------ | ------------- | ------- | | Monorepo support | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | | Variable expansion | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | | Environment-specific files | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | | CLI interface | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | | Zero configuration | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 20
• npm

Setup

git clone https://github.com/shurizzle/slopenv-expand.git
cd slopenv-expand
npm install

Build

npm run build

Development mode

npm run dev

Code Quality

npm run check        # Run format, lint, and type checks
npm run format       # Format code
npm run lint         # Lint code
npm run typecheck    # Type check

License

MIT © 2026 shurizzle