env-schema

What is env-schema?

The env-schema npm package is used to validate environment variables against a schema. It ensures that the environment variables are present and conform to the expected types and constraints, providing a robust way to manage configuration in Node.js applications.

What are env-schema's main functionalities?

Schema Validation

This feature allows you to define a schema for your environment variables and validate them. The code sample demonstrates how to define a schema with required properties and default values, and then validate the environment variables against this schema.

const envSchema = require('env-schema');
const schema = {
  type: 'object',
  required: ['PORT', 'HOST'],
  properties: {
    PORT: {
      type: 'number',
      default: 3000
    },
    HOST: {
      type: 'string',
      default: 'localhost'
    }
  }
};
const config = envSchema({ schema: schema });
console.log(config);

Default Values

This feature allows you to specify default values for environment variables. If the environment variable is not set, the default value will be used. The code sample shows how to set default values for the PORT and HOST environment variables.

const envSchema = require('env-schema');
const schema = {
  type: 'object',
  properties: {
    PORT: {
      type: 'number',
      default: 3000
    },
    HOST: {
      type: 'string',
      default: 'localhost'
    }
  }
};
const config = envSchema({ schema: schema });
console.log(config);

Type Coercion

This feature allows you to coerce environment variables to the specified types. The code sample demonstrates how to coerce the PORT environment variable to a number and the DEBUG environment variable to a boolean.

const envSchema = require('env-schema');
const schema = {
  type: 'object',
  properties: {
    PORT: {
      type: 'number'
    },
    DEBUG: {
      type: 'boolean'
    }
  }
};
process.env.PORT = '3000';
process.env.DEBUG = 'true';
const config = envSchema({ schema: schema });
console.log(config);

Other packages similar to env-schema

joi

Joi is a powerful schema description language and data validator for JavaScript. It can be used to validate environment variables, but it is more general-purpose and can validate any JavaScript object. Compared to env-schema, Joi offers more flexibility and a richer set of validation features, but it requires more setup for environment variable validation.

dotenv

Dotenv is a zero-dependency module that loads environment variables from a .env file into process.env. While it does not provide schema validation, it is often used in conjunction with validation libraries like Joi or env-schema to manage environment variables in Node.js applications.

convict

Convict is a configuration management tool for Node.js that allows you to define a schema for your configuration, including environment variables. It provides validation, default values, and type coercion similar to env-schema, but it also includes features for managing configuration files and command-line arguments.

README

env-schema

Utility to check environment variables using JSON schema, Ajv and dotenv.

Install

npm install --save env-schema

Usage

const envSchema = require('env-schema')

const schema = {
  type: 'object',
  required: [ 'PORT' ],
  properties: {
    PORT: {
      type: 'string',
      default: 3000
    }
  }
}

const config = envSchema({
  schema: schema,
  data: data // optional, default: process.env
  dotenv: true // load .env if it's there, default: false
})

console.log(config)
// output: { PORT: 3000 }

It is possible to also use fluent-schema:

const envSchema = require('env-schema')
const S = require('fluent-schema')

const config = envSchema({
  schema: S.object().prop('port', S.string().default('3000').required()),
  data: data // optional, default: process.env
  dotenv: true // load .env if it's there, default: false
})

console.log(config)
// output: { PORT: 3000 }

NB: internally this plugin force to not have additional properties, so the additionalProperties flag is forced to be false

Acknowledgements

Kindly sponsored by Mia Platform and NearForm.

License

MIT