The team keeps a .env.development file with:
Since the actual .env.development file is ignored by Git, how do new team members know what variables to set? The solution is to create a commit-safe template file, usually named .env.development.example . This file contains the keys but dummy or empty values. When a new developer clones the project, they copy the example file, rename it to .env.development , and fill in their actual credentials. .env.development
⚠️ Many frameworks require a specific prefix to expose variables to the browser. Required Prefix Vite VITE_ VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:3000 Next.js NEXT_PUBLIC_ NEXT_PUBLIC_ANALYTICS_ID=dev_123 React (CRA) REACT_APP_ REACT_APP_SECRET_KEY=dev_secret 3. Protect Your Data The team keeps a
: Many frameworks, such as React (Create React App) or Vite, automatically detect and load this file when you run a command like npm start or npm run dev . Common Example A typical .env.development file might look like this: When a new developer clones the project, they