I'm curious to learn how others handle the management and backup of production `.env` files in real-world setups. Do you make backups of these files, and if so, where do you store them securely? Additionally, how do you keep things organized when managing multiple projects with `.env` files? I've been considering potential risks like accidental loss, server issues, and team access, and I feel this aspect is often overlooked. I'd appreciate hearing about your setups, tools, or best practices.
1 Answer
It's generally best not to use `.env` files in production. Instead, opt for real environment variables set at the system level or use a secrets manager. This way, your environment variables are scoped to specific users with restricted permissions, minimizing security risks. Remember, `.env` files are designed for development convenience and should not store sensitive information like API keys.
I agree that this is the ideal approach, but I've found that using actual environment variables can complicate things, especially if you have multiple projects on the same server that might conflict. In practice, many developers still rely on `.env` files even in production because it simplifies things. I personally use encrypted `.env` files with Ansible for deployment.