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dotenv-linter

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dotenv-linter is a lightning-fast linter for .env files written in Rust. It can check, fix, and compare environment files for problems that may cause applications to malfunction in production environments.

Key Features:

  • 13 different checks including duplicated keys, incorrect delimiters, unordered keys, and trailing whitespace
  • Automatic fixing of many common issues with the fix command
  • File comparison to identify missing keys between different .env files
  • Extremely fast performance being written in Rust
  • Language agnostic - works with any project regardless of programming language
  • Skip specific checks using inline comments or configuration
  • Multiple file support for batch processing
  • Colored output for better readability
  • Zero dependencies - single binary installation

dotenv-linter documentation

dotenv-linter - GitHub

Configuration in MegaLinter

Variable Description Default value
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_ARGUMENTS User custom arguments to add in linter CLI call
Ex: -s --foo "bar"
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_COMMAND_REMOVE_ARGUMENTS User custom arguments to remove from command line before calling the linter
Ex: -s --foo "bar"
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_FILTER_REGEX_INCLUDE Custom regex including filter
Ex: (src\|lib)		 Include every file
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_FILTER_REGEX_EXCLUDE Custom regex excluding filter
Ex: (test\|examples)		 Exclude no file
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_CLI_LINT_MODE Override default CLI lint mode
- file: Calls the linter for each file
- project: Call the linter from the root of the project		 file
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_FILE_EXTENSIONS Allowed file extensions. "*" matches any extension, "" matches empty extension. Empty list excludes all files
Ex: [".py", ""]		 [".env"]
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_FILE_NAMES_REGEX File name regex filters. Regular expression list for filtering files by their base names using regex full match. Empty list includes all files
Ex: ["Dockerfile(-.+)?", "Jenkinsfile"]		 Include every file
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_PRE_COMMANDS List of bash commands to run before the linter None
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_POST_COMMANDS List of bash commands to run after the linter None
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_UNSECURED_ENV_VARIABLES List of env variables explicitly not filtered before calling ENV_DOTENV_LINTER and its pre/post commands None
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_DISABLE_ERRORS Run linter but consider errors as warnings false
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_DISABLE_ERRORS_IF_LESS_THAN Maximum number of errors allowed 0
ENV_DOTENV_LINTER_CLI_EXECUTABLE Override CLI executable ['dotenv-linter']

MegaLinter Flavors

This linter is available in the following flavors

Flavor Description Embedded linters Info
all Default MegaLinter Flavor 127 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
c_cpp Optimized for pure C/C++ projects 56 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
ci_light Optimized for CI items (Dockerfile, Jenkinsfile, JSON/YAML schemas,XML 22 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
cupcake MegaLinter for the most commonly used languages 88 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
documentation MegaLinter for documentation projects 49 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
dotnet Optimized for C, C++, C# or VB based projects 64 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
dotnetweb Optimized for C, C++, C# or VB based projects with JS/TS 73 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
go Optimized for GO based projects 51 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
java Optimized for JAVA based projects 54 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
javascript Optimized for JAVASCRIPT or TYPESCRIPT based projects 59 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
php Optimized for PHP based projects 54 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
python Optimized for PYTHON based projects 65 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
ruby Optimized for RUBY based projects 50 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
rust Optimized for RUST based projects 50 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
salesforce Optimized for Salesforce based projects 53 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
swift Optimized for SWIFT based projects 50 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls
terraform Optimized for TERRAFORM based projects 54 Docker Image Size (tag) Docker Pulls

Behind the scenes

How are identified applicable files

  • File extensions: .env

How the linting is performed

  • dotenv-linter is called one time by identified file (file CLI lint mode)

Example calls

dotenv-linter myfile.env

dotenv-linter fix myfile.env

Help content

dotenv-linter 4.0.0
Mikhail Grachev <work@mgrachev.com>, dotenv-linter core team & contributors
Lightning-fast linter for .env files

Usage: dotenv-linter [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>

Commands:
  check  Check .env files for errors such as duplicate keys or invalid syntax
  fix    Automatically fix issues in .env files
  diff   Compare .env files to ensure matching key sets
  help   Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)

Options:
      --plain    Switch to plain text output without colors
  -q, --quiet    Display only critical results, suppressing extra details
  -h, --help     Print help
  -V, --version  Print version

Installation on mega-linter Docker image

  • Dockerfile commands :
# renovate: datasource=github-tags depName=dotenv-linter/dotenv-linter
ARG DOTENV_LINTER_VERSION=4.0.0
RUN wget -q -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dotenv-linter/dotenv-linter/master/install.sh | sh -s -- -b /usr/local/bin "v${DOTENV_LINTER_VERSION}"