`dotenv-vault` is a cli to *sync .env files across machines, environments, and team members*. [![NPM Version](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/dotenv-vault.svg?style=flat-square)](https://npmjs.org/package/dotenv-vault)   > [!NOTE] > dotenv-vault is a **paid only cloud service for syncing your .env files** (as of May 2025). > > *Looking for a free cloud-less alternative?* See my new product [dotenvx](https://github.com/dotenvx/dotenvx) – that lets you: > - encrypt your .env files > - commit them to code > - and securely sync them over git ## 🌱 Install It works with a single command. Run `npx dotenv-vault@latest push`. ```sh npx dotenv-vault@latest push ``` ``` remote: Securely pushing (.env)... done remote: Securely pushed development (.env) remote: Securely built vault (.env.vault) ``` That's it. You securely synced your `.env` file. Next, tell your teammate to run `npx dotenv-vault@latest pull` ```sh npx dotenv-vault@latest pull ``` Nice! See further [usage](#%EF%B8%8F-usage) and [commands](#-commands). ## 🏗️ Usage When you make a change to your `.env` file, push it up. ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest push ``` Commit your `.env.vault` file safely to code. ```bash $ git add .env.vault $ git commit -am "Add .env.vault" $ git push ``` Now your teammate can pull the latest `.env` changes. ```bash $ git pull $ npx dotenv-vault@latest pull ``` That's it! Learn more about usage ## 🚀 Deploying Stop scattering your production secrets across multiple third-parties and tools. Instead, use an encrypted `.env.vault` file. Generate your encrypted `.env.vault` file. ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest build ``` Fetch your production `DOTENV_KEY`. ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest keys production remote: Listing .env.vault decryption keys... done dotenv://:key_1234…@dotenv.org/vault/.env.vault?environment=production ``` Set `DOTENV_KEY` on your server. ```bash # heroku example heroku config:set DOTENV_KEY=dotenv://:key_1234…@dotenv.org/vault/.env.vault?environment=production ``` Commit your `.env.vault` file safely to code and deploy. ```bash $ git add .env.vault $ git commit -am "Update .env.vault" $ git push $ git push heroku main # heroku example ``` That's it! On deploy, your `.env.vault` file will be decrypted and its secrets injected as environment variables – just in time. Learn more about deploying ## 🌴 Manage Multiple Environments After you've pushed your `.env` file, dotenv-vault automatically sets up multiple environments. Manage multiple environments with the included UI. [learn more](/docs/tutorials/environments) ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest open production ``` That's it! Manage your ci, staging, and production secrets from there. Would you also like to pull your production `.env` to your machine? Run the command: ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest pull production ``` Learn more about environments ## 📚 Examples
Vercel Vercel Heroku Heroku GitHub GitHub Actions GitLab GitLab CI/CD
Netlify Netlify Docker Docker Docker Compose Docker Compose CircleCI CircleCI
Serverless Serverless Railway Railway Render Render Travis CI Travis CI
Google Cloud Google Cloud Fly.io Fly.io dotenv-vault + Slack Slack Buddy Buddy
Cloud66 Cloud66 Digital Ocean Digital Ocean Dagger Dagger Bitbucket Bitbucket
Node.js Node.js Express Express NextJS NextJS
Remix Remix Astro Astro Rails Rails Ruby Ruby
Sinatra Sinatra Flask Flask Python Python Supabase Supabase
Pulumi Pulumi Angular Angular Nuxt Nuxt Vite Vite
See more integration guides ## 📖 Commands ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest help ``` * [new](#new) * [login](#login) * [logout](#logout) * [push](#push) * [pull](#pull) * [open](#open) * [whoami](#whoami) * [build](#build) * [keys](#keys) * [rotatekey](#rotatekey) * [decrypt](#decrypt) * [versions](#versions) ### `new` Create your project at Dotenv Vault. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest new ``` ##### ARGUMENTS *[DOTENV_VAULT]* Set .env.vault identifier. Defaults to generated value. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest new vlt_6beaae5… local: Adding .env.vault (DOTENV_VAULT)... done local: Added to .env.vault (DOTENV_VAULT=vlt_6beaa...) ``` ##### FLAGS *-y, --yes* Automatic yes to prompts. Assume yes to all prompts and run non-interactively. --- ### `login` Log in to dotenv-vault. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest login ``` ##### ARGUMENTS *[DOTENV_ME]* Set .env.me identifier. Defaults to generated value. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest login me_00c7fa… ``` ##### FLAGS *-y, --yes* Automatic yes to prompts. Assume yes to all prompts and run non-interactively. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest login -y ``` --- ### `logout` Log out of dotenv-vault. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest logout ``` ##### FLAGS *-y, --yes* Automatic yes to prompts. Assume yes to all prompts and run non-interactively. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest logout -y ``` --- ### `push` Push `.env` securely. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest push ``` ##### ARGUMENTS *[ENVIRONMENT]* Set environment to push to. Defaults to development ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest push production ``` *[FILENAME]* Set input filename. Defaults to .env for development and .env.{environment} for other environments ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest push production .env.production ``` ##### FLAGS *-m, --dotenvMe* Pass .env.me (DOTENV_ME) credential directly (rather than reading from .env.me file) ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest push --dotenvMe=me_b1831e… ``` *-y, --yes* Automatic yes to prompts. Assume yes to all prompts and run non-interactively. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest push -y ``` --- ### `pull` Pull `.env` securely. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest pull ``` ##### ARGUMENTS *[ENVIRONMENT]* Set environment to pull from. Defaults to development ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest pull production ``` *[FILENAME]* Set output filename. Defaults to .env for development and .env.{environment} for other environments ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest pull production .env.production ``` ##### FLAGS *-m, --dotenvMe* Pass .env.me (DOTENV_ME) credential directly (rather than reading from .env.me file) ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest pull --dotenvMe=me_b1831e… ``` *-y, --yes* Automatic yes to prompts. Assume yes to all prompts and run non-interactively. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest pull -y ``` If you want to pull a specific version you can do so. For example, ``` npx dotenv-vault@latest pull development@v14 ``` --- ### `open` Open project page. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest open ``` ##### ARGUMENTS *[ENVIRONMENT]* Set environment to open to. Defaults to development. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest open production ``` ##### FLAGS *-y, --yes* Automatic yes to prompts. Assume yes to all prompts and run non-interactively. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest open -y ``` --- ### `whoami` Display the current logged in user. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest whoami ``` ##### FLAGS *-m, --dotenvMe* Pass .env.me (DOTENV_ME) credential directly (rather than reading from .env.me file) ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest whoami dotenvMe=me_b1831e… ``` --- ### `build` Build .env.vault file. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest build ``` ##### FLAGS *-m, --dotenvMe* Pass .env.me (DOTENV_ME) credential directly (rather than reading from .env.me file) ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest build dotenvMe=me_b1831e… ``` *-y, --yes* Automatic yes to prompts. Assume yes to all prompts and run non-interactively. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest build -y ``` --- ### `keys` List .env.vault decryption keys. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest keys ``` ##### ARGUMENTS *[ENVIRONMENT]* Set environment. Defaults to all. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest keys production… remote: Listing .env.vault decryption keys... done dotenv://:key_899..@dotenv.org/vault/.env.vault?environment=production ``` ##### FLAGS *-m, --dotenvMe* Pass .env.me (DOTENV_ME) credential directly (rather than reading from .env.me file) ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest keys dotenvMe=me_b1831e… ``` *-y, --yes* Automatic yes to prompts. Assume yes to all prompts and run non-interactively. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest keys -y ``` --- ### `rotatekey` Rotate DOTENV_KEY. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest rotatekey production ``` ##### FLAGS *-m, --dotenvMe* Pass .env.me (DOTENV_ME) credential directly (rather than reading from .env.me file) ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest rotatekey dotenvMe=me_b1831e… ``` *-y, --yes* Automatic yes to prompts. Assume yes to all prompts and run non-interactively. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest rotatekey -y ``` --- ### `decrypt` Decrypt .env.vault locally. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest decrypt dotenv://:key_1234@dotenv.org/vault/.env.vault?environment=development ``` ##### ARGUMENTS *[DOTENV_KEY]* Set `DOTENV_KEY` to decrypt .env.vault. Development key will decrypt development, production will decrypt production, and so on. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest decrypt dotenv://:key_1234@dotenv.org/vault/.env.vault?environment=development ``` --- ### `versions` List version history. Example: ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest versions ``` ##### ARGUMENTS *[ENVIRONMENT]* Set environment to check versions against. Defaults to development. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest versions production ``` ##### FLAGS *-m, --dotenvMe* Pass .env.me (DOTENV_ME) credential directly (rather than reading from .env.me file) ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest versions dotenvMe=me_b1831e… ``` *-y, --yes* Automatic yes to prompts. Assume yes to all prompts and run non-interactively. ``` $ npx dotenv-vault@latest versions -y ``` If you want to pull a specific version you can do so. For example, ``` npx dotenv-vault@latest pull development@v14 ``` ## ❓ FAQ ### Why is the `.env.vault` file not decrypting my environment variables successfully? First, make sure you are using `dotenv@16.1.0` or greater. (If you are using a different language make sure you have installed one of its [libraries](#what-languages-does-this-work-with).) Second, test decryption is working locally. ```bash $ npx dotenv-vault@latest decrypt dotenv://:key_1234..@dotenv.local/vault/.env.vault?environment=production # outputs environment variables ``` Third, test decryption on boot is working locally. ```bash $ DOTENV_KEY='dotenv://:key_1234..@dotenv.local/vault/.env.vault?environment=production' npm start # boots your app with production envs ``` ### Should I commit my `.env.vault` file? Yes. It is safe and recommended to do so. DO commit your `.env.vault` file to code. DO NOT commit your `.env` file. The `.env.vault` file contains ciphertext generated using AES-256. AES-256 is trusted by the US Government to transmit top-secret information and has a brute-force timescale of about a billion years. ### I accidentally leaked my `DOTENV_KEY`, what can I do? Does that attacker also have access to your `.env.vault` file? * No: good, the attacker cannot do any damage. They need both the `DOTENV_KEY` and `.env.vault` file to access your secrets. This extra layer of security sets the `.env.vault` file apart as a superior solution to other SecretOps solutions. * Yes: IMMEDIATELY start rotating your secrets at your third-party API providers. This scenario would be the same no matter what SecretOps solution you use. After completing the above, rotate your `DOTENV_KEY` using the [rotatekey](#rotatekey) command, rebuild your `.env.vault` file, and redeploy. ### Is it safe to store my secrets with dotenv-vault? It safer than scattering your secrets across multiple cloud providers. Those providers are focused on code deployment and server performance over secrets security.[1] Dotenv Vault's singular focus is secrets security, and as a result we go to great lengths to make sure your secrets are safe. Afterall, we keep our secrets here too.[2] * [[1] CircleCI Breach](https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/05/circleci-breach/) * [[2] Security at Dotenv Vault](https://www.dotenv.org/security) ### What languages does this work with? The `.env.vault` file and its encryption algorithm is language-agnostic so technically it works with any language. We've built convenience libraries for it in a handful of languages and are adding more quickly. * [Go](https://github.com/dotenv-org/godotenvvault) * [Kotlin](https://github.com/dotenv-org/dotenv-vault-kotlin) * [NodeJS](https://github.com/motdotla/dotenv) * [PHP](https://github.com/dotenv-org/phpdotenv-vault) * [Python](https://github.com/dotenv-org/python-dotenv-vault) * [Ruby](https://github.com/dotenv-org/dotenv-vault-ruby) ### Migrating to Dotenvx With dotenvx you put your development, staging, ci, and production secrets IN your code - as encrypted `.env.*` files. So for example, to do production you would 1. Create `.env.production` with `HELLO=production` (or in dotenv-vault's case `npx dotenv-vault@latest pull production`) 2. Run `dotenvx encrypt -f .env.production` to encrypt it 3. Commit that to code Then when deploying your codebase you put `dotenvx run --` out front of your run command. 1. Add `dotenvx run -- yourstartcommand` 2. Set `DOTENV_PRIVATE_KEY_PRODUCTION` on the server 3. On boot `dotenvx run` will read the private key and use it to decrypt and inject your secrets just in time as environment variables Here's a [quickstart guide](https://dotenvx.com/docs/quickstart#add-encryption) ## Contributing See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) ## Changelog See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) ## License MIT