dotenv-tiny

Tiny .env parser. Multi-line quoted values, escape sequences, comments, export prefix, optional ${VAR} expansion. Zero dependencies, no fs access (pure function — you bring the text).

import { parse, apply } from "dotenv-tiny";
import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";

const parsed = parse(readFileSync(".env", "utf8"), { expand: true });

apply(parsed);                       // writes into process.env (preserves existing)
apply(parsed, target, { override: true });

Install

npm install dotenv-tiny

Works with Node 20+, browsers, Bun, Deno. ESM + CJS.

Why

The classic dotenv package is fine but:

• CJS-first, awkward in modern ESM projects
• Reads files for you — you can't use it in edge runtimes that don't have fs
• Confusing options surface (override, preload, processEnv, ...)

dotenv-tiny is a pure parser. You read the file yourself (in any way that makes sense for your runtime), pass the text in, get a flat key/value object back. Optionally call apply() to push into process.env.

Edge runtime? parse(env_string_from_kv_store). Vite? Pass the result through define. Test? Use the object directly without touching env.

What's supported

# Comments on their own line
PLAIN=hello
QUOTED="hello world"
ESCAPED="multi\nline\tvalue"
SINGLE='${LITERAL}'           # single quotes: no escapes, no expansion
BACKTICK=`also literal`

MULTILINE="
  line 1
  line 2
"

export EXPORTED=1             # `export` prefix is accepted (and ignored)

WITH_COMMENT=value # inline comment

EXPANDED=${PLAIN}/x           # only with parse(text, { expand: true })

Recipes

Load .env file in Node

import { parse, apply } from "dotenv-tiny";
import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";

const parsed = parse(readFileSync(".env", "utf8"), {
  expand: true,
  expandSource: process.env,
});
apply(parsed);

Load from a Cloudflare Workers KV

import { parse, apply } from "dotenv-tiny";

export default {
  async fetch(req: Request, env: Env) {
    const envText = await env.CONFIG_KV.get("env-config");
    if (!envText) return new Response("missing config", { status: 500 });

    const parsed = parse(envText);
    // Merge into a config object instead of process.env (which doesn't exist on Workers)
    const config = { ...defaultConfig, ...parsed };
    return handle(req, config);
  },
};

Pattern: load + validate

import { parse } from "dotenv-tiny";
import { v } from "@p-vbordei/tiny-validator";
import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";

const Env = v.object({
  PORT: v.string().pattern(/^\d+$/).transform(Number),
  DATABASE_URL: v.string().min(1),
  DEBUG: v.string().optional(),
});

const raw = parse(readFileSync(".env", "utf8"), { expand: true });
const config = Env.parse(raw);
// config is typed: { PORT: number; DATABASE_URL: string; DEBUG?: string }

Layered config (.env, .env.local, .env.production)

import { parse, apply } from "dotenv-tiny";
import { readFileSync, existsSync } from "node:fs";

function loadIfExists(path: string, opts?: any) {
  if (!existsSync(path)) return {};
  return parse(readFileSync(path, "utf8"), opts);
}

const merged = {
  ...loadIfExists(".env"),
  ...loadIfExists(`.env.${process.env.NODE_ENV}`),
  ...loadIfExists(".env.local"),  // last wins
};
apply(merged, process.env, { override: true });

Inline expansion without touching process.env

import { parse } from "dotenv-tiny";

const config = parse(`
  HOME_DIR=/home/vlad
  CONFIG_PATH=\${HOME_DIR}/.config
`, { expand: true });
// config.CONFIG_PATH === "/home/vlad/.config"

API

parse(text, opts?): Record<string, string>

Pure function. Returns a flat object. Never throws.

Option	Type	Meaning
expand	boolean	Substitute ${VAR} / $VAR in unquoted and double-quoted values
expandSource	Record<string, string | undefined>	Fallback source for expansion (e.g. process.env)

Single-quoted and backtick-quoted values are never expanded.

apply(parsed, target?, opts?): { applied: string[]; skipped: string[] }

Write parsed values into a target object. Defaults: target is process.env, override: false (existing keys preserved).

Caveats

• No file watching. Read the file when your app starts; if you need live reload, watch and re-parse yourself.
• No .env.local etc. conventions — bring your own layering (see Recipes).
• String values only. All values are strings. Coerce types yourself (or use tiny-validator.transform).

License

Apache-2.0 © Vlad Bordei