envswitch

Switch shell environments with a single command. No binaries, no hooks to approve, no .env files in your repos.

$ staging
 ✓ Loaded staging  (5 vars)

$ production
 ! Load production env? (y/n): y
 ✓ Loaded production  (12 vars)

$ unsetenv
 ✓ Cleared production environment

Install

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/octopols/envswitch/main/remote-install.sh | bash
source ~/.zshrc

Or clone locally

git clone https://github.com/octopols/envswitch.git
cd envswitch && bash install.sh && source ~/.zshrc

How it works

1. Env files live in ~/.envs/ — one file per environment
2. Each .env file automatically becomes a shell command
3. Type the name → it loads. Type another → previous one clears first
4. Add production.env → production is now a command. No config changes.

Commands

addenv [name]           Create env (interactive wizard if no args)
editenv <name>          Open env in editor
rmenv <name>            Delete env
loadenv <name>          Load env by name or path
unsetenv                Unload current env
envstatus               Show active env + masked values
envstatus --full        Reveal all values
envls                   List all envs
envrefresh              Re-scan after editing tags
envhelp                 Show all commands

setenvdir <path>        Change env directory
setenveditor <cmd>      Change editor
protectenv <name>       Require confirmation to load
unprotectenv <name>     Remove confirmation

Auto-loading (monorepo support)

Add tags to env file headers to auto-load on cd and branch switch:

# ~/.envs/growth_staging.env
# dir: ~/monorepo
# branch: growth/*
API_KEY=sk-staging-123

# ~/.envs/growth_production.env
# (no tags — manual only, never auto-loads)
API_KEY=sk-prod-456

Now:

$ cd ~/monorepo                    # on branch growth/feature-x
 ✓ Auto-loaded growth_staging  (dir:~/monorepo, branch:growth/feature-x)

$ production                       # context-aware: resolves to growth_production
 › Context: growth
 ✓ Loaded growth_production  (5 vars)

$ git switch payments/new-api
 ✓ Auto-loaded payments_staging  (branch:payments/new-api)

$ cd ~/Desktop
 ✓ Left mapped directory, clearing payments_staging

Rule: only tag your safe defaults. Tag staging envs for auto-load. Production envs stay untagged — reached manually or through context resolution.

Performance: no dir tags = zero overhead. Dir match without branch tags = no git call. Git is only read (~1ms) when branch disambiguation is needed. Results are cached.

Configuration

Set before the source line in .zshrc, or use runtime commands:

Variable	Default	Runtime
ENVSWITCH_DIR	~/.envs	setenvdir
ENVSWITCH_EDITOR	$EDITOR / code	setenveditor
ENVSWITCH_PROTECT	production:prod	protectenv
ENVSWITCH_PROMPT	true	set false to use your own prompt

Comparison

	envswitch	direnv	dotenv	aws-vault
Scope	Whole shell	Per directory	Per app (runtime)	AWS creds only
Switch staging → prod	production	Edit .envrc + direnv reload	Restart app	aws-vault exec prod
Monorepo + branches	Auto-load by dir + branch pattern	One .envrc per dir, no branch awareness	N/A	N/A
Files in repo	No — everything in ~/.envs	Yes — .envrc in each project	Yes — .env in project root	No
Install	source one file	Binary + shell hook + direnv allow per dir	Language-specific package	Binary + keychain setup
Protection for prod	Built-in confirmation prompt	None	None	Session-based
Config changes needed	None — add a file, get a command	Edit .envrc, run direnv allow	Edit app config	Edit ~/.aws/config

Uninstall

bash ~/.config/envswitch/uninstall.sh
source ~/.zshrc

Env files in ~/.envs are left untouched.

License

MIT