In your PHP code, you can load the environment variables using a library like vlucas/phpdotenv :
In frontend applications, environment variables prefixed with certain patterns (like NEXT_PUBLIC_ in Next.js or VITE_ in Vite) get bundled into client-side JavaScript. Never put sensitive information in these variables—anyone who can view your application's source can extract these values.
API_KEY=your-api-key-here API_SECRET=change_this_in_production
While .env.dist acts as a global template for the entire project, is often used as a local distribution template . It serves as a blueprint for a developer’s specific local machine overrides. Why Use .env.dist.local ? 1. Standardization for Teams
You might wonder why .env.dist and .env.local aren't enough. In large organizations or specific frameworks (like Symfony), .env.dist.local solves three distinct architectural problems. 1. Standardization of Local Infrastructure
DOCKER_PHP_PORT=8000 DOCKER_DB_PORT=3306 DOCKER_REDIS_PORT=6379 DB_HOST=mysql REDIS_HOST=redis
APP_ENV=production DATABASE_URL= THIRD_PARTY_API_KEY= DEBUG=false Use code with caution. .env.dist.local (Committed to Git)
: An older convention (now often replaced by .env ) used as a template to show which variables need to be defined.
# If you have .env.dist.local, copy to .env.local cp .env.dist.local .env.local
(typically .env.dist or .env.example ) serve as version-controlled templates that define all the environment variables required by the application. These files contain variable names with either placeholder values or safe defaults, making them ideal for sharing across teams and through version control systems. They act as documentation and validation—any developer cloning the repository can immediately see what configuration values they need to provide.
Suppose you have a PHP project that uses a database. You can create a .env.dist.local file with default values:
If you want to introduce this file into your automated project setup (e.g., in a Node.js, Python, or PHP project), you can use a initialization script. Here is an example of a shell script ( setup.sh ) that leverages .env.dist.local :
Here is a practical look at how an application differentiates these files in practice: .env.dist (Committed to Git)
Like any .dist file, this is tracked by Git. It should only contain keys and "safe" default values (e.g., DB_USER=root ).
# Other settings SMTP_HOST=localhost SMTP_PORT=25 SMTP_USERNAME= SMTP_PASSWORD=
In your PHP code, you can load the environment variables using a library like vlucas/phpdotenv :
In frontend applications, environment variables prefixed with certain patterns (like NEXT_PUBLIC_ in Next.js or VITE_ in Vite) get bundled into client-side JavaScript. Never put sensitive information in these variables—anyone who can view your application's source can extract these values.
API_KEY=your-api-key-here API_SECRET=change_this_in_production
While .env.dist acts as a global template for the entire project, is often used as a local distribution template . It serves as a blueprint for a developer’s specific local machine overrides. Why Use .env.dist.local ? 1. Standardization for Teams .env.dist.local
You might wonder why .env.dist and .env.local aren't enough. In large organizations or specific frameworks (like Symfony), .env.dist.local solves three distinct architectural problems. 1. Standardization of Local Infrastructure
DOCKER_PHP_PORT=8000 DOCKER_DB_PORT=3306 DOCKER_REDIS_PORT=6379 DB_HOST=mysql REDIS_HOST=redis
APP_ENV=production DATABASE_URL= THIRD_PARTY_API_KEY= DEBUG=false Use code with caution. .env.dist.local (Committed to Git) In your PHP code, you can load the
: An older convention (now often replaced by .env ) used as a template to show which variables need to be defined.
# If you have .env.dist.local, copy to .env.local cp .env.dist.local .env.local
(typically .env.dist or .env.example ) serve as version-controlled templates that define all the environment variables required by the application. These files contain variable names with either placeholder values or safe defaults, making them ideal for sharing across teams and through version control systems. They act as documentation and validation—any developer cloning the repository can immediately see what configuration values they need to provide. It serves as a blueprint for a developer’s
Suppose you have a PHP project that uses a database. You can create a .env.dist.local file with default values:
If you want to introduce this file into your automated project setup (e.g., in a Node.js, Python, or PHP project), you can use a initialization script. Here is an example of a shell script ( setup.sh ) that leverages .env.dist.local :
Here is a practical look at how an application differentiates these files in practice: .env.dist (Committed to Git)
Like any .dist file, this is tracked by Git. It should only contain keys and "safe" default values (e.g., DB_USER=root ).
# Other settings SMTP_HOST=localhost SMTP_PORT=25 SMTP_USERNAME= SMTP_PASSWORD=