Not working with dotenv

[hyperh]

I can't seem to get debug working with dotenv. It works fine when I set the env var from outside of .env like so:

package.json

"dev": "NODE_ENV=development DEBUG=*,apicache nodemon",

npm run dev

server.js

import 'babel-polyfill';
import makeDebug from 'debug';
import dotenv from 'dotenv';

const env = dotenv.config();
console.log(process.env.DEBUG); // outputs *,apicache correctly
const debug = makeDebug('brainfm:server/index');
debug('.env', env); // Doesn't show anything

.env

DEBUG =*,apicache

[danielkcz]

Isn't this more likely an issue of timing when env is initialized by dotenv and read by debug? In your example you are importing debug and then later configuring dotenv. I am not sure where this is actually handled on debug side, I don't actually see it in a source code.

I recommend adding npm script like "start": "node -r dotenv/config -r babel-polyfill server.js". It is a generally better approach like instead of hardwiring these things into code.

[thebigredgeek]

@FredyC @hyperh We get the environment variable within the load function in node.js and browser.js, example. We immediately call enable, passing the result of load() here... so all of the environment variables are uptaken when debug is first imported. You should be able to call debug.enable and pass whatever pattern you want at runtime if you are dynamically intaking environment variables as shown here, but make sure to do this before any debug instances are created as it won't work for instances that are created after you call enable.

[thebigredgeek]

fixed with 2.6.5

[iwaduarte]

@thebigredgeek It took me a few years to find this comment. Most people just ignore it and replace it eventually if they use the dotenv approach. I guess this should be added to the documentation. From your tip @thebigredgeek a working example should be:

  [esm]
import  dotenv from "dotenv";
dotenv.config();

import debugFactory from 'debug';
const { DEBUG } = process.env;
debugFactory.enable(DEBUG)

const debug = debugFactory('whatever');
debug("Hello dotenv");

Also, note that the env should have an extra space at the end. (bug?)

//ENV file
DEBUG= "variable:* "

Otherwise, it won't work.

[Qix-]

Also, note that the env should have an extra space at the end. (bug?)

We have nothing to do with the dotenv package. It's a hack that is not recommended to be used at all. The dotenv repo has had lots of issues with debug and yet we do nothing strange or out of the ordinary. Your environment should be established before the process is executed. If this means using a wrapper process to read a .env file and then execute a process with those variables, great - that would fix literally 100% of your environment-variable-related problems, 100% of the time, because there's no race condition in Node.

Further, if you're importing dotenv directly, you are almost definitely writing brittle, magic code.

Please just heed this advice. Establish your environment variables before node ever executes, however that might look. You'll be much happier in the long run.