🔀 Env Diff
Never deploy with a missing environment variable again.
Env Diff lets you instantly compare .env files to spot missing, extra, and changed variables between environments — right inside VS Code. The fastest way to catch config drift before it breaks production.
⚡ Zero runtime dependencies. Pure Node.js — fast, lightweight, and secure.
✨ Features
- ✅ Compare Two
.env Files — Instant structured diff showing missing, extra, changed, and matching variables
- ✅ Check
.env vs .env.example — One-command verification that your local config has every required variable
- ✅ Sort
.env Files — Alphabetically sort any .env file in-place, preserving comments and structure
- ✅ Smart Parsing — Handles quoted values,
export prefixes, inline comments, multiline values, and empty vars
- ✅ Configurable Highlighting — Toggle value comparison, output sorting, and change highlighting
📸 Screenshots
📥 Installation
- Open VS Code
- Go to the Extensions view (
Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
- Search for Env Diff
- Click Install
Or install from the command line:
code --install-extension devforge.env-diff
🚀 Usage
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and run:
| Command |
Shortcut |
Description |
| Env Diff: Compare Two .env Files |
Ctrl+Alt+D / Cmd+Alt+D |
Pick source + target and get an instant diff |
| Env Diff: Check for Missing Variables |
Ctrl+Alt+M / Cmd+Alt+M |
Checks .env against .env.example |
| Env Diff: Sort .env File |
Ctrl+Alt+S / Cmd+Alt+S |
Sorts the currently open file alphabetically |
📋 Use Cases
- 🚀 Pre-deployment checklist — "Did we add all new env vars to staging?"
- 👋 Onboarding — "What does the new dev need in their
.env?"
- 🐛 Debugging — "Why does this work locally but fail in production?"
- 📊 Config drift — "How has production config diverged from what we committed?"
- 👥 Team sync — "Everyone's
.env should match .env.example"
⚙️ Configuration
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
envdiff.ignoreValues |
true |
Only compare keys, not values (useful when values legitimately differ between environments) |
envdiff.sortOutput |
true |
Sort variables alphabetically in diff output |
envdiff.highlightChanges |
true |
Highlight value differences with arrows |
🔍 What It Parses
The parser handles all standard .env formats:
# Comments are skipped
DATABASE_URL=postgres://localhost/db
# Quoted values (quotes stripped)
NAME="My App"
SECRET='don\'t tell'
# Export prefix (shell-style)
export NODE_ENV=production
# Inline comments on unquoted values
PORT=3000 # the application port
# Multiline values
PRIVATE_KEY="-----BEGIN KEY-----..."
# Empty values are valid
EMPTY_VAR=
💎 Pro Features
Upgrade to Pro for advanced environment management:
- 📁 Multi-file comparison — Diff 3+
.env files at once (dev, staging, prod, CI)
- 🏷️ Variable grouping — Organize variables into custom categories (database, auth, features)
- 📤 Export diffs — Save comparison reports as Markdown or JSON for team sharing
- 🔔 Pre-commit hooks — Get alerted when
.env and .env.example drift apart
- 🎨 Visual diff view — Side-by-side colored comparison with merge controls
Upgrade to Pro for multi-file comparison, variable grouping, diff exporting, and visual merge tools — $4/month (or $12/month for teams). Visit https://devforge.dev to get your license key.
📄 License
MIT — free for personal and commercial use.
Built by DevForge — developer tools that solve real daily pain.
