Skip to main content
Version: v2.0

Environment Variables

In a Godspeed project, the .env file is a standard way to define environment-specific variables. Using this file offers several advantages:

  • Security: Sensitive information (like API keys and secrets) is stored outside of the codebase, helping prevent accidental exposure.
  • Environment-Based Configuration: You can specify different values for variables based on your environment, allowing seamless transitions between development, testing, and production.
  • Easy Access Across the Project: The variables defined in .env can be accessed easily in Godspeed configurations, workflows, and scripts.

.env file is placed in the root directory of your project.

|
├── .env

Note: For sensitive information such as secrets or passwords, it is recommended to use environment variables in this way to avoid hardcoding values directly in your configuration files.

How to Set Up and Use the .env File​

Define Variables in the .env File: Add key-value pairs for each environment variable. Here’s an example of what you might define in a Godspeed project:

.env

    # API configurations

    API_URL=https://api.example.com
    API_KEY=your_api_key_here

    # Database configurations
    DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/mydatabase

    # JWT Authentication configurations
    JWT_SECRET=my_jwt_secret
    JWT_ISSUER=https://my-issuer.com
    JWT_AUDIENCE=https://my-audience.com

    # Third-party service credentials
    GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id
    GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_google_client_secret
    GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_callback_url

To access environment variables directly:​

You can access env variables directly using process.env in your code if:

  • Your application is small or you have simple configuration needs.
  • You want to keep things lightweight without adding external dependencies.
  • You’re deploying on a platform that easily handles environment variables, such as cloud services (AWS, Heroku) or Docker containers.
  • Your configuration is mostly static and doesn’t require complex overrides or defaults.

Syntax to refer to these variables in YAML 

 <% process.env.VARIABLE_NAME %>   //with scripting

Syntax to refer to these variables in typescript

process.env.VARIABLE_NAME         //without scripting