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[Utility & Helpers](/categories/utility) 4. / 5. charlretief/build-env ActiveComposer-plugin[Utility & Helpers](/categories/utility) charlretief/build-env ===================== Composer plugin to build .env files from .env.example with advanced configuration management 2.5(4y ago)01.4k1[1 PRs](https://github.com/charlretief/build-env/pulls)GPL-3.0PHP Since Apr 14Pushed 4y agoCompare [ Source](https://github.com/charlretief/build-env)[ Packagist](https://packagist.org/packages/charlretief/build-env)[ RSS](/packages/charlretief-build-env/feed)WikiDiscussions master Synced 2mo ago READMEChangelog (8)Dependencies (3)Versions (9)Used By (0) composer build-env ================== [](#composer-build-env) Build .env files from .env.example with advanced configuration management for different project environments like local, testing, staging, production. Also supports dynamic variables and environment defaults in ENV values. Installation ------------ [](#installation) Using composer: ``` composer global require "charlretief/build-env":"^2" ``` Usage ----- [](#usage) ``` composer build-env [] [] [--set-defaults] [--setup] ``` ### Multi-environment Build Setup [](#multi-environment-build-setup) To setup a project for multi-environment builds run: ``` composer build-env --setup ``` After running the setup new sections will be added to the .env.example like: ``` ################################################################ # APP_ENV=production ################################################################ #APP_DEBUG=false #APP_ENV=production ``` Variables put under these sections will be used when the target build environment matches the name in APP\_ENV comment section. Values in this section should be commented, they will get uncommented when the target build environment matches. ### Basic Usage [](#basic-usage) To build a basic .env file for local development just run: ``` composer build-env ``` or to specify a different build environment: ``` composer build-env staging ``` ### Advanced Usage #1 - Pinned values [](#advanced-usage-1---pinned-values) Pinned values allows for local overrides to values that should not be replaced by running build-env. One possible use for this is secrets management like database credentials that you do not want to commit into vcs. To create local pinned values simply add them to the bottom of any generated .env file below the placeholder. ``` ################################################################ # Local pinned values # ################################################################ DB_USERNAME="root" DB_PASSWORD="password123" ``` After adding pinned values run `composer build-env` again. It will then comment out the same variables in the generated portion of the file to prevent duplicate keys in the file. ### Advanced Usage #2 - Defaults file [](#advanced-usage-2---defaults-file) A defaults file is another "env" file, that allows for overwriting keys in the .env.example with default values. This is useful for CI/CD processes that need to always set the same hostnames in all .env files. It can also function as an alternative to pinned values for secrets management for things like database credentials that you do not want to commit into vcs. For example to always overwriting your DB\_HOST create a file `.env.defaults` (can be any filename) with content: ``` DB_HOST="127.0.0.1" ``` Then the generated .env file will always have this value for DB\_HOST. ``` composer build-env local .env.defaults ``` To remember your defaults file for next time you run without the defaults option add the --set-defaults argument: ``` composer build-env local .env.defaults --set-defaults ``` ### Advanced Usage #3 - Placeholder variable substitution [](#advanced-usage-3---placeholder-variable-substitution) In the .env.example file there can be placeholder variables in double curly braces, like `{{myvar}}`, that will be replaced with values from a defaults file if they are present in the defaults file. Example: ``` CONTACT_EMAIL={{EMAIL}} APP_URL="http://{{myvar}}.local.dev" ``` Version 2 --------- [](#version-2) [build-env version 1](readme_v1.md) is now deprecated, and with it the experimental .env.json file format. However version 2 will remain fully backwards compatible with reading the .env.json file format. ### Health Score 30 — LowBetter than 64% of packages Maintenance20 Infrequent updates — may be unmaintained Popularity15 Limited adoption so far Community7 Small or concentrated contributor base Maturity64 Established project with proven stability Bus Factor1 Top contributor holds 100% of commits — single point of failure How is this calculated?**Maintenance (25%)** — Last commit recency, latest release date, and issue-to-star ratio. Uses a 2-year decay window. **Popularity (30%)** — Total and monthly downloads, GitHub stars, and forks. Logarithmic scaling prevents top-heavy scores. **Community (15%)** — Contributors, dependents, forks, watchers, and maintainers. Measures real ecosystem engagement. **Maturity (30%)** — Project age, version count, PHP version support, and release stability. ### Release Activity Cadence Every ~113 days Recently: every ~27 days Total 8 Last Release 1789d ago Major Versions 1.1 → 2.02021-02-16 ### Community Maintainers ![](https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e43f9b8896ff41b8802027690ea1151e502afcb8ce9eab81a451f8e18315080f?d=identicon)[charlretief](/maintainers/charlretief) --- Top Contributors [![charlretief](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/40823712?v=4)](https://github.com/charlretief "charlretief (14 commits)") ### Embed Badge ![Health badge](/badges/charlretief-build-env/health.svg) ``` [![Health](https://phpackages.com/badges/charlretief-build-env/health.svg)](https://phpackages.com/packages/charlretief-build-env) ``` ### Alternatives [akaunting/laravel-money Currency formatting and conversion package for Laravel 7825.3M18](/packages/akaunting-laravel-money)[mglaman/composer-drupal-lenient 1317.4M15](/packages/mglaman-composer-drupal-lenient)[lullabot/drainpipe An automated build tool to allow projects to have a set standardized operations scripts. 41716.4k2](/packages/lullabot-drainpipe)[drupal/core-project-message Adds a message after Composer installation. 2122.6M172](/packages/drupal-core-project-message)[olvlvl/composer-attribute-collector A convenient and near zero-cost way to retrieve targets of PHP 8 attributes 184108.8k8](/packages/olvlvl-composer-attribute-collector)[vaimo/composer-changelogs Provide information about package changes based on changelog files that are bundled with releases; provide tools for generating documentation files from changelog sources 11150.5k10](/packages/vaimo-composer-changelogs) PHPackages © 2026 [Directory](/)[Categories](/categories)[Trending](/trending)[Changelog](/changelog)[Analyze](/analyze)