Multi Dotenv

A VS Code extension for environment configuration management: multi-file .env profiles with a dashboard UI, effective-config resolution, environment comparison, secret masking, validation diagnostics, and one-click sync to .env.local.

Author: dark-aura-95 · Publisher: AuraBox · Repo: vscode-env-manger

Features

• Multi-file profiles — Each .env* file in the workspace is a named profile (.env, .env.dev, .env.prod, …), including nested env files in monorepos
• Multi-root & monorepo support — Detects .env files recursively (skipping node_modules, .git, dist, …) and manages each workspace folder independently
• Effective config — Resolve the effective value for every key (base .env → environment file → .env.local), showing the source file and why a value wins
• Compare environments — Diff any two profiles: added, removed, changed, and identical variables with masked secret values
• Editor diagnostics — Duplicate keys, empty values, and missing required variables surface in the Problems panel directly on the env files
• .gitignore protection — Warns when .env files are not protected by .gitignore and offers a one-command fix
• Live status bar — Shows the active environment; click to switch from the status bar
• Dashboard UI — Search, edit, reorder, and manage variables from a webview panel
• Apply → .env.local — Switch the active profile and sync its values to .env.local for local development
• Shared keys across profiles — Add a variable to all profiles at once; set values per profile
• Notes — Optional one-line notes stored as # comment lines above variables in profile files
• Duplicate profile — Copy a profile file to a new .env.* name from the toolbar
• Copy variable — Copy key, value, or KEY=value from each row via the copy menu
• Secret masking — Masks values for keys containing SECRET, TOKEN, PASSWORD, API_KEY, JWT_SECRET, and other patterns
• Generate .env.example — Create a sanitized keys-only example from all profiles
• Validation — Warns about duplicate keys, empty values, and missing required variables

Getting Started

1. Open a workspace with profile files such as .env.dev and .env.prod (or create .env from the empty state)
2. Run Multi Dotenv: Open Dashboard from the Command Palette, or click ENV in the status bar
3. Select a profile, edit variables, then click Apply to sync it to .env.local

How profiles work

Supported profile names

Example layout

my-project/
  .env.dev          # development values
  .env.prod         # production values
  .env.local        # created/updated on Apply
  .env.example      # optional generated template

Monorepos work out of the box — env files in subfolders are detected too:

repo/
  .env              # root base
  apps/api/.env.prod
  apps/web/.env.dev

# .env.dev
# API base URL for development
API_URL=https://api-dev.example.com
DB_HOST=localhost

After Apply on the DEV profile, .env.local contains only that profile's active variables.

Effective configuration

Effective values resolve with this precedence (lowest → highest):

1. .env (base) — values shared across environments
2. the environment file (e.g. .env.prod)
3. .env.local (local override, when the inspected environment is active)

Multi Dotenv: Show Effective Config lists each key with its effective value, the source file that provides it, and an explanation of why it wins (e.g. "Overrides .env; .env.prod wins (environment-specific value)").

Commands

Settings

License

MIT © 2026 dark-aura-95 / AuraBox — see LICENSE.