Environment Variable Naming Conventions: Best Practices
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Environment variables use SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE universally: DATABASE_URL, NODE_ENV, API_SECRET_KEY.
Naming Rules
- ALL_CAPS with underscores — no exceptions
- Use meaningful prefixes:
DB_HOST,DB_PORT,DB_NAME - App-specific prefix to avoid conflicts:
MYAPP_API_KEY - Boolean vars:
ENABLE_CACHE=true,DEBUG=false
Common Patterns
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Database | DATABASE_URL, DB_HOST, DB_PASSWORD |
| API | API_KEY, API_BASE_URL, API_TIMEOUT |
| Server | PORT, HOST, NODE_ENV |
| Auth | JWT_SECRET, OAUTH_CLIENT_ID |
| Feature flags | ENABLE_DARK_MODE, BETA_FEATURES |