nuxt build changes NODE_ENV

[rutgerbakker95]

Environment

• Operating System: Darwin
• Node Version: v18.14.1
• Nuxt Version: 3.3.1
• Nitro Version: 2.3.1
• Package Manager: yarn@1.22.19
• Builder: vite
• User Config: srcDir, runtimeConfig, vite, modules, i18n, tailwindcss, apollo
• Runtime Modules: @nuxtjs/i18n@8.0.0-beta.10, @nuxtjs/tailwindcss@6.6.0, @nuxtjs/apollo@5.0.0-alpha.5
• Build Modules: -

Reproduction

[WARN] Changing NODE_ENV from staging to production, to avoid unintended behavior.

Describe the bug

Is there a way to prevent Nuxt from automatically changing NODE_ENV to production when I use export NODE_ENV=staging in my pipeline?

Additional context

No response

Logs

No response

[pi0]

This was a required workaround we needed to do because tools such as postcss(plugins) was having unexpected behavior when NODE_ENV is not production. (cc @Atinux if you remember more).

WHat is your main usage for NODE_ENV = staging is it used for runtimeConfig or other logic conditions? (we might think about a temporary restore of user-provided env to resolve both logics, however can be tricky and more info would be nice)

[danielroe]

I agree with @pi0. I don't think we can support alternative NODE_ENV values. This is not where you should set your app's environment; it's a protected Node environment variable with a limited list of valid values. I would recommend instead using APP_ENV or similar.

[rutgerbakker95]

@pi0 Ah ok. I'm using three env files (.env, .env.production, .env.staging) which contains an API_HOST variable used on runtime. I can give it a shot and see if I can use only one file to store variables for different environments.

[danielroe]

@rutgerbakker95 Nuxt does not have native support for reading .env files based on NODE_ENV (nor does it read in env files at all in production), so you could continue to split your config, but manually read them in based on APP_ENV or similar.

[rutgerbakker95]

@danielroe Ok, I'll try to make it work with APP_ENV