node dotenv files not loading for test env

Question

I have two dotenv files, one for development and another for test.

const dotenv = require('dotenv');

if (process.env && process.env.NODE_ENV) {
  dotenv.config({path: '.env.' + process.env.NODE_ENV});
} else {
  dotenv.config({path: '.env.development'});
}

const http = require('http');
const app = require('../src/app');

const port = parseInt(process.env.PORT, 10) || 8000;
app.set('port', port);

const server = http.createServer(app);
server.listen(port);

Here are my questions:

When does server load dotenv files in my case? If I run in test env, why do I get undefined for those process.env variables? It seems to me this file only runs once, when I change NODE_ENV, it does not change which file to load.

So in short:

My development dotenv is working, but just having trouble when changing it to test dotenv

That should work. Perhaps it's how you run your setup. Perhaps ensure you are getting the correct path for console.log('.env.' + process.env.NODE_ENV) when running in test mode? — cyberwombat

Dan K.K. Dan K.K. · Accepted Answer · 2018-05-18T21:44:51

Please take a look at the dotenv-flow package.

This module extends dotenv adding the ability to have multiple .env* files like .env.development, .env.test, .env.production, etc., also allowing defined variables to be overwritten individually in the appropriate .env*.local file that is untracked by VCS.

Regarding to the recommendation against having multiple env files, dotenv-flow has a slightly different approach to manage .env* files under version control. Please refer the Files under version control section to understand the motivation of this approach.

node dotenv files not loading for test env

3 Answers