Vercel Env Create 🛠️

The missing vercel env create command

Easily create .env files and keep them in sync with the environment variables referenced in your codebase. This tool scans supported source files for process.env.* (or import.meta.env.*) references, then creates/appends entries in the environment templates Next.js and Vercel load.

Supported .env files

This project now only targets the env files that Next.js and Vercel workflows use:

• .env
• .env.local
• .env.development
• .env.development.local
• .env.test
• .env.test.local
• .env.production
• .env.production.local

The following conventions match current docs:

• local overrides are loaded from .env.local (except in test environments)
• environment-specific defaults come from .env.$(NODE_ENV)
• environment-specific secrets come from .env.$(NODE_ENV).local
• test mode uses .env.test and .env.test.local

Installation

Install with npm:

npm install -g vercel-env-create

Or run with npx:

npx vercel-env-create

Usage

From a project root, run:

vercel-env-create

The tool:

1. scans supported files under the current directory,
2. collects variable names used in process.env / import.meta.env,
3. creates missing env files for the supported set above,
4. appends missing keys as blank entries while preserving existing values.

Example file scanning

By default these extensions are scanned:

• .js, .jsx, .ts, .tsx, .mjs, .cjs
• .json, .yaml, .yml
• .ipynb

You can change this by calling findReferencedEnvVars from the module API.

Quick example

Given a project with:

src/lib/db.ts
src/app/page.tsx

Where those files contain:

// src/lib/db.ts
export const dbUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL;
export const featureFlag = process.env['NEXT_PUBLIC_FLAG'];

// src/app/page.tsx
const token = import.meta.env.AUTH_TOKEN;

Running from the project root:

npx vercel-env-create

Creates/updates (if missing) all supported env files and adds:

# resulting files (excerpt)
.env
# ... existing content
AUTH_TOKEN=
DATABASE_URL=
NEXT_PUBLIC_FLAG=

If you already have existing keys, they are preserved and only missing keys are appended.

# existing .env before
DATABASE_URL=postgres://...

After running:

.env
DATABASE_URL=postgres://...
AUTH_TOKEN=
NEXT_PUBLIC_FLAG=

Push variables to Vercel

Use --push after local sync to push discovered variable values to Vercel:

vercel-env-create --push

Behavior:

• If your project is linked to Vercel, the linked project is used automatically.
• If not linked, you get an interactive clack multi-select UI to choose one or more Vercel projects.
• You can choose target environment with an interactive clack select (development, preview, production).

Options:

• --project <name>
  • Target one or more projects explicitly (repeatable).
• --environment <name>
  • Set target environment without interactive selection.
• --env-file <file>
  • Source env file used for values (default: .env).
• --yes
  • Run non-interactively (required in non-TTY contexts).

The tool uses your existing local Vercel CLI authentication (vercel login).

If a referenced variable has no value in the source file, that variable is skipped during push.

.env.example handling

If either .env.example or .env.local.example exists:

• the tool will seed new env files from the first example file it finds,
• no new keys are appended automatically (the file contents are preserved as-is).

Notes

• .env.example is intentionally supported for bootstrap defaults.
• .env*.local files are not meant to be committed because they contain secrets.
• If you need a stricter scan surface, import findReferencedEnvVars from the package and build your own wrapper.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Open an issue or submit a pull request.

License

Licensed under the MIT License.

Thanks

Shoutout to HiDeoo for vercel-env-push and create-app, which inspired this CLI.