.env files are used to store variables in Laravel projects that change with the environment, such as database information and API keys, to avoid hard coding. 1. The .env file is located in the root directory of the project and is generated through cp .env.example .env. After modification, you need to run php artisan config:clear to make it take effect; 2. It is recommended to use the config() function to read the configuration instead of directly using env() to improve performance; 3. Adding custom variables requires declaration in .env and creating the corresponding configuration file to refer to the variable; 4. Notes include: not submitting .env to Git, using different .env files in different environments, not frequently calling env() in controllers or templates, and server environment variables need to be directly set in some deployment environments.
Configuring environment variables and .env
files in Laravel projects is not complicated, but it is easy to get confused for beginners. The key is to understand the role of .env
files and how to correctly use config()
and env()
functions to read values.

1. What does .env
file do?
Laravel uses .env
files to store project environment variables, such as database connection information, API keys, application keys, etc. This information will usually vary according to different deployment environments (local development, testing, production), and can be placed in .env
files to avoid hard-coded in the code.

You can find the .env
file in the project root directory. If you have just installed Laravel, this file exists by default, and you can also generate it through the command:
cp.env.example.env php artisan key:generate
The content inside looks like this:

APP_NAME=Laravel APP_ENV=local APP_KEY=base64:xxx APP_DEBUG=true DB_HOST=127.0.0.1 DB_PORT=3306 DB_DATABASE=homestead DB_USERNAME=homestead DB_PASSWORD=secret
Remember to run after modifying .env
:
php artisan config:clear
Otherwise the new variable may not take effect.
2. How to read variables in .env
?
Laravel provides two main ways to access environment variables:
-
env('KEY')
: Read values ??directly from.env
files. -
config('app.key')
: Read from configuration files, which generally refer to the value of.env
.
For example, in config/app.php
you will see configuration items like this:
'key' => env('APP_KEY', 'fallback_value'),
Therefore, the recommended approach is: use config()
to obtain variables first, rather than use env()
directly , because this is more conducive to cache configuration and improve performance.
Tip: Do not use
env()
frequently in controllers or Blade templates, as it will cause the configuration to be uncachedable.
3. How to add custom environment variables?
If you want to add your own variables, such as a token for a third-party API, you can do this:
Add a line to the
.env
file:MY_API_TOKEN=your-secret-token-here
Create a custom configuration file, such as
config/myconfig.php
:Return [ 'api_token' => env('MY_API_TOKEN'), ];
Then in the code you can use it like this:
$token = config('myconfig.api_token');
This method is not only clear in structure, but also convenient for unified management.
4. Frequently Asked Questions and Precautions
.env
files should not be submitted to Git
It usually contains sensitive information and should be added to.gitignore
. When collaborating with teams, you can use.env.example
as a template.Different environments need to use different
.env
files
For example, the database account passwords of local development and online servers are definitely different.Don't treat
.env
as a global variable pool
It is better to only place configuration items that need to distinguish the environment. Other common settings are written inconfig/
file.Some services require you to set real environment variables on the server
For example, when deploying Forge or Envoyer, they suggest you set environment variables directly on the server instead of relying on.env
files.
Basically that's it. Configuring
.env
and environment variables is not difficult, but details are easy to ignore, especially the caching mechanism and calling methods. Just remember to "encapsulate.env
with configuration and don't useenv()
randomly", and you will basically not make any mistakes.The above is the detailed content of Setting up Environment Variables and .env File in Laravel?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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