Env Checker
Env Checker is a Visual Studio Code extension that helps you read, document, and compare dotenv-style files (.env, .env.local, .env.example, and similar).
Open an env file in a structured view, see comments as documentation next to each variable, and quickly spot missing or extra keys when you compare variants (for example local vs example template).
Features
- Custom editor — Opening
.env / .env.* files on disk uses the Env Checker view (you can switch back to the text editor via the command Env Checker: Reopen as text editor).
- Formatted table — Keys, values, and merged documentation from
# lines (above the key and optional inline # after the value).
- Side-by-side comparison — Pick a base file and a compare file from the same folder; defaults favor
.env vs .env.example when both exist.
- Live updates — Changes to env files in that folder refresh the view; unsaved buffer content is used when a file is open in the editor.
- Dotenv language — Basic language id
dotenv for common env filename patterns to improve editing when you use the text editor.
Requirements
Getting started
- Install the extension from the Marketplace (or load the folder / VSIX for development).
- Open a file like
.env or .env.example from the Explorer (workspace files on disk).
- Use the table and file pickers in the webview to compare with another env file in the same directory.
Commands
| Command |
Description |
| Env Checker: Open formatted view |
Opens the comparison webview for the active .env file (custom editor or text tab). |
| Env Checker: Compare with .env.example (and related) |
Same panel, focused on comparing with your example / related files. |
| Env Checker: Compare env files… |
Choose files from a dialog; opens the panel using the first selection’s folder context. |
| Env Checker: Reopen as text editor |
When a tab is the Env Checker custom editor, opens the same URI in the default text editor. |
Commands are also available from the Explorer context menu and the editor title bar when the resource is an env file.
Settings
| ID |
Description |
envChecker.relatedFileNames |
Basenames in the same folder as the active file that are treated as related env files for listing and comparison (in addition to patterns like .env / .env.*). |
Parser notes
- Supports optional
export before KEY=value.
- Comment lines immediately above a key attach as documentation; two or more consecutive blank lines break that attachment (one blank line is still allowed before the key).
- Quoted values support escaping per common dotenv usage.
Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome in the GitHub repository.
Development
pnpm install
pnpm run compile # esbuild bundle → out/extension.js
pnpm run typecheck # tsc --noEmit
Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host (default build task runs pnpm run watch, which rebuilds the bundle on save).
License
MIT
En français
Env Checker est une extension VS Code pour inspecter et comparer vos fichiers .env : vue tabulaire, documentation issue des commentaires #, et mise en évidence des variables manquantes ou présentes seulement dans une variante (par ex. .env vs .env.example). Les chaînes d’interface sont partiellement disponibles en français via la langue d’affichage de VS Code.
