Dotenv (.env)

Create .env and .env.sample files pre-populated with Nova-related environment variables.

Why Use This Command?

• Generates .env and .env.sample for every workspace that declares environment.workspaces values, so each workspace in a monorepo gets its own files (including the repo root ./ when it is declared).
• Pre-populates Nova CLI logger settings and Node.js defaults so contributors know which variables are available.
• Keeps sensitive values out of version control while documenting the expected shape.
• Reads each workspace's environment values from nova.config.json so the same keys and defaults apply on every run.
• Preserves the values already filled into an existing .env, so regenerating never overwrites a real secret.

Requirements

• Node.js runtime — Use any Node.js LTS release.
• Project root — Run the command from the directory containing the top-level package.json.

Usage

Options

Config Fields

Declare workspace environment values under environment.workspaces.<path>.variables in nova.config.json, keyed by the workspace path. Any workspace without an environment.workspaces entry is skipped — the repo root included. The repo root gets .env/.env.sample only when you declare environment.workspaces["./"] (for example, prefix "ROOT_" with no variables).

This command reads only each variable's key and defaultValue. A variable may also declare secret and buildOnly, which this command ignores — the publish workflow uses them to deliver each value to the build or the running server. A non-secret defaultValue seeds .env.sample; the .env entry is always left blank so real secrets stay out of version control.

The NODE_ENV, LOG_LEVEL, and LOG_TIME keys are reserved. The template manages them, so declaring any of them under environment.workspaces.<path>.variables is rejected when the config loads, with a warning naming the reserved key. These three remain the only unprefixed, template-managed keys.

Output Files

The command writes these files into each workspace directory that declares an environment.workspaces entry, including the repo root ./ only when it is declared.

How It Works

The command is non-interactive. It reads nova.config.json, then generates .env and .env.sample for every workspace that declares an environment.workspaces entry, writing both files into each workspace directory without prompting.

To change a workspace's variables, edit its environment.workspaces entry directly in nova.config.json.

This command writes the double-quoted values; the Dotenv Suite verifies them, so a hand-edited file that drifts from the convention is caught during testing.

Template Output

Each generated file starts from a built-in template that ships three reserved keys with sensible defaults and an inline comment listing their valid values: NODE_ENV (development | production | test, default development), LOG_LEVEL (debug | info | warn | error | auto, default auto, where auto derives the level from NODE_ENV), and LOG_TIME (true | false, default false). Each variable under environment.workspaces.<path>.variables is appended as KEY="" to .env and KEY="<defaultValue>" to .env.sample.

When a workspace declares no variables, the generator emits the template only.

Value Preservation

For .env, the generator reads any existing file in the workspace first and keeps the values already filled in for every declared key — including the reserved NODE_ENV, LOG_LEVEL, and LOG_TIME keys. Only newly-added keys are written blank as KEY="", so regenerating after editing the config never overwrites a real secret. The .env.sample file is always rebuilt from the config defaults, since it holds no secrets.