How to work with environment variables in PHP?
Use getenv() to read environment variables and vlucas/phpdotenv to load .env files in development; store sensitive data like API keys outside code, never commit .env to version control, and use actual environment variables in production for security.
Working with environment variables in PHP helps keep configuration separate from code, especially for sensitive data like API keys or database credentials. The most common and secure way to handle them is through the .env file in development, while using actual environment variables in production.
Using getenv() and putenv()
PHP provides built-in functions to interact with environment variables.getenv() retrieves the value of an environment variable:
- getenv('HOME') returns the user's home directory. - getenv('APP_ENV') could return 'development' or 'production'.If no argument is passed, getenv() returns an associative array of all available environment variables.
putenv() and setenv() let you define or modify environment variables at runtime:
- putenv('API_KEY=abc123') sets a variable accessible via getenv('API_KEY').
- These changes are temporary and only last for the duration of the script.
Using a .env file in development
Most PHP projects use a .env file to manage environment variables locally.Create a .env file in your project root:
APP_ENV=developmentDB_HOST=localhost
DB_USER=root
DB_PASS=secret
API_KEY=your_api_key_here
To load this file, you can manually parse it or use a library like vlucas/phpdotenv, which is widely adopted.
Install it via Composer: composer require vlucas/phpdotenv
Then load the variables in your bootstrap script: $dotenv = Dotenv\Dotenv::createImmutable(DIR);\n $dotenv->load();
After this, you can access the values using getenv() or $_ENV.
Accessing variables via $_ENV and $_SERVER
Environment variables may also be accessible through superglobals, depending on PHP configuration.$_ENV contains environment variables if variables_order includes 'E' in php.ini.
$_SERVER often contains the same values (e.g., $_SERVER['DB_HOST']).
However, relying on $_ENV isn't always safe due to server configuration differences. getenv() is more consistent.
Best practices
To use environment variables safely and effectively: - Never commit .env files to version control. Add them to .gitignore. - Provide a .env.example file with dummy values for onboarding. - Validate required variables at startup. - Use actual environment variables (not .env files) in production for security.Basically, use getenv() to read, vlucas/phpdotenv to load from a file, and always keep secrets out of code.
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