Environment variable composition and activation layer for tools and processes.
envstack is what
.envfiles wish they were when they grew up.
- Hierarchical environment composition
- Explicit precedence and overrides
- Late-bound environment activation
- Shared, policy-driven environments
- Inspectable and deterministic behavior
envstack environments are layered hierarchically, with later layers inheriting from and overriding earlier ones.
flowchart LR
default[default.env] --> prod[prod.env]
prod --> dev[dev.env]
prod --> test[test.env]
Later layers override earlier ones. Use envstack -t VAR to trace where a value comes from. envstack focuses on configuration and activation, not dependency resolution.
For the core concepts, see docs/index.md.
The easiest way to install:
pip install -U envstackStart by getting the latest default.env example file:
curl -o \
default.env \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rsgalloway/envstack/master/examples/default/default.envRunning envstack will launch a new shell session with the resolved environment:
$ envstack
🚀 Launching envstack shell... (CTRL+D or "exit" to quit)
(prod) ~$ echo $ENV
prodTo inspect the unresolved environment (before variable expansion):
$ envstack -u
DEPLOY_ROOT=${ROOT}/${ENV}
ENV=prod
ENVPATH=${DEPLOY_ROOT}/env:${ENVPATH}
LOG_LEVEL=${LOG_LEVEL:=INFO}
PATH=${DEPLOY_ROOT}/bin:${PATH}
PS1=\[\e[32m\](${ENV})\[\e[0m\] \w\$
PYTHONPATH=${DEPLOY_ROOT}/lib/python:${PYTHONPATH}
ROOT=/mnt/pipe
STACK=default$ envstack -r DEPLOY_ROOT
DEPLOY_ROOT=/mnt/pipe/prodenvstack discovers environment definitions via the ENVPATH environment variable.
ENVPATH is to envstack what PATH is to executables:
ENVPATH=/path/to/dev/env:/path/to/prod/envIn this case, environments in dev override or layer on top of environments in prod.
Convert existing .env files to envstack by piping them into envstack:
cat .env | envstack --set -o out.envTo run any command line executable inside of an environment stack, where
[COMMAND] is the command to run:
$ envstack [STACK] -- [COMMAND]For example:
$ envstack -- echo {ENV}
prodExample of injecting environment into a subprocess:
$ echo "console.log('Hello ' + process.env.ENV)" > index.js
$ node index.js
Hello undefined
$ envstack -- node index.js
Hello prodenvstack supports optional encryption of environment values when writing environment files, allowing sensitive configuration to be safely stored, committed, or distributed.
Encryption protects values at rest and integrates with environment stacks and includes. envstack does not attempt to be a full secret management system.
See docs/secrets.md for details.