This gem validates .env variables. You can configure validation rules by adding the appropriate comments to the .env.sample or .env.template file.

Add the gem to your Gemfile:

gem "dotenv_validator"

Call DotenvValidator.check! in an initializer:

echo "DotenvValidator.check!" > "config/initializers/1_dotenv_validator.rb"

Note the 1_ in the name so it's executed before any other initializer, since initializers are run in alphabetical order.

You can use DotenvValidator.check without the ! to show warnings instead of raising an exception.

Simply run:

bundle update dotenv_validator

In your .env.sample or .env.template file, you can add comments to tell DotenvValidator how to validate the variable:

MY_REQUIRED_VAR=value #required
THIS_IS_AN_OPTIONAL_INT=123 #format=int
THIS_IS_A_REQUIRED_EMAIL=123 #required,format=email

• int or integer or Integer
• float or Float (note that all integers are floats too)
• str or string or String (accepts anything)
• email (checks value against /[\w@]+@[\w@]+\.[\w@]+/)
• url (checks value against /https?:\/\/.+/)
• bool or boolean or Boolean (checks value against true or false, case sensitive)
• uuid or UUID (checks value against /\A[\da-f]{32}\z/i or /\A[\da-f]{8}-([\da-f]{4}-){3}[\da-f]{12}\z/i)
• any other value acts as a regexp!

If you have a complex format, you can use a regexp for validation:

MY_WEIRD_ENV_VAR=123_ABC #required,format=\d{3}_\w{3}

In the above example, \d{3}_\w{3} is converted to a regexp and the value is checked against it.

Docker Compose automatically reads .env files present in the project's root when running docker-compose up. What this means is that, if you use dotenv_validator in an app you run using Docker Compose, you might get exceptions or warnings about your variables being in the wrong format even though they're right. The reason is that, when running docker-compose up, docker-compose parses the .env file before the Rails application starts. It reads each line as is with a really simple parser (no quotes, comments and trailing spaces handling).

Then, since docker-compose already set the environment variables, the Dotenv gem won't override them. It parses the file as we'd expect, but it won't change env variables that are already set.

For more information check this page from their docs.

The workaround is to rename your .env file when using docker. Here you'll find all naming options acceptable for dotenv and that Docker will not automatically parse.

If renaming is not an option, then you need to remove any comments or trailing whitespaces from your .env file:

SMTP_PORT=25         #format=int

needs to become:

SMTP_PORT=25

Rename your .env file according to this table

or

Remove all comments and trailing whitespaces

Want to make your first contribution to this project? Get started with some of our good first issues!

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub at https://github.com/fastruby/dotenv_validator. This project is intended to be a safe, welcoming space for collaboration, and contributors are expected to adhere to the Contributor Covenant code of conduct.

When Submitting a Pull Request:

• If your PR closes any open GitHub issues, please include Closes #XXXX in your comment

• Please include a summary of the change and which issue is fixed or which feature is introduced.

• If changes to the behavior are made, clearly describe what changes.

• If changes to the UI are made, please include screenshots of the before and after.

dotenv_validator is maintained and funded by FastRuby.io. The names and logos for FastRuby.io are trademarks of The Lean Software Boutique LLC.