Environment Variables

Overview

Each project has its own set of environment variables, stored both in the SQLite database and as a .env file in the project workspace directory.

Adding Variables

On the project details page:

1. Scroll to the Environment Variables section
2. Enter a key and value
3. Click Add

Variables are available to your build commands as standard environment variables.

How It Works

When you add an env var through the UI:

1. It’s saved to the project_env table in the database
2. It’s written to <working-dir>/<project-id>/.env
3. Before each deployment, the .env file is loaded into the process environment

Editing and Deleting

• Edit: Click on an existing variable to modify its value
• Delete: Remove a variable from both the database and the .env file

Common Use Cases

NODE_ENV=production
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/mydb
API_KEY=your-api-key
PORT=8080

Security Notes

• Env vars are stored in plain text in the database
• The .env file is readable by the user running the service
• Never store secrets that require encryption — use a dedicated secrets manager for those
• The .env file is never committed to your repository (it lives in the workspace, not the cloned repo)