Loading…

About Online .env Formatter

Make your dotenv files readable, predictable and safe to share. This .env formatter parses KEY=VALUE lines, cleans up spacing, preserves comments, and helps you standardize structure before committing or generating a secrets-free `.env.example` for teammates. It’s compatible with Node `dotenv`, `python-dotenv`, Ruby `dotenv` and most other dotenv-style loaders.

What This .env Formatter Helps You Do

  • Normalize `KEY=VALUE` lines while preserving comments and blank lines for human-readable grouping
  • Clean spacing around `=` and values for easier scanning and more compact diffs in reviews
  • Surface duplicate keys so you can see which one actually wins at runtime instead of guessing
  • Trim trailing whitespace and (optionally) ensure a final newline at EOF via the **Insert final newline** option
  • Preserve comment lines (`# ...`) and keep quoted `#` characters inside values intact
  • Keep placeholders like `${VAR}` and escape sequences exactly as written without performing expansion
  • Play nicely with cross-platform projects by normalizing layout for LF/CRLF and avoiding BOM surprises
  • Make it easy to derive a secrets-free `.env.example` (copy keys and structure, drop production values)
  • Friendly editor: paste or upload `.env`-style files, preview the result, then copy or download the cleaned output

🔧 How to Clean and Format Your .env File for env-formatter

1

1. Paste or Upload Your .env

Drop your `.env` file into the editor or paste the content directly. The tool is designed for typical dotenv formats such as `.env`, `.env.local`, `.env.production`, `.env.test`, `.env.staging`, `.env.example`, etc.

2

2. Review & Tweak Formatting Options

Enable or disable the available options (like **Insert final newline**) and decide how you want to organize keys and comments. Many teams use this step to enforce consistent grouping—for example, `APP_`, `DB_`, `NEXT_PUBLIC_` sections.

3

3. Preview, Copy or Download

Review the cleaned output, check that duplicates and comments look correct, then copy it back into your editor or download the formatted `.env`. Use the normalized structure as a base for `.env.example` or other environment variants.

Technical Specifications

Supported Files & Types

The formatter handles standard dotenv-style configuration files, including common framework conventions.

Extension / PatternTypeTypical Use
.envBase configDefaults for all environments
.env.localLocal overridesMachine-specific (usually git-ignored)
.env.developmentEnvironment variantDevelopment settings
.env.productionEnvironment variantDeployment settings
.env.testEnvironment variantCI / unit tests
.env.stagingEnvironment variantStaging or preview configs
.env.example / .env.sampleTemplateShared example file without real secrets
MIME typestext/plain, text/x-dotenv, application/x-envCommon content types used by editors and tools

Parsing Rules (dotenv-style)

The formatter is designed to be compatible with popular dotenv parsers across languages.

AspectBehaviorNotes
KeysCase-sensitive, typically `A–Z`, digits and `_`UPPER_SNAKE_CASE is recommended for readability
AssignmentLines of the form `KEY=VALUE`Spaces around `=` and values are normalized by the formatter
CommentsLines starting with `#``#` inside quoted values is treated as part of the value
QuotesSingle `'…'` or double `"…"`Escapes like `\n` and `\t` are preserved inside double quotes
Interpolation`${VAR}` kept literallyNo expansion or shell-like evaluation is performed
Blank LinesPreserved to keep logical sectionsYou can still manually collapse or re-group as desired
DuplicatesMultiple lines with the same key are surfacedTypical dotenv behavior: the last value wins at runtime

Normalization & Newlines

The formatter aims to reduce platform-specific noise in diffs: spacing around `=`, stray trailing spaces and final newlines can be normalized. The **Insert final newline** option ensures an EOF newline so Git and different editors stay in sync even across LF/CRLF differences.

Privacy & Safety

Formatting is handled by a secure backend dedicated to this tool and is intended for transient processing only—no third-party APIs are contacted. However, the safest practice is still to avoid pasting production secrets into browser-based tools: prefer editing sanitized `.env.example` files and keep real secrets in a vault or CI secret store.

Command Line Alternatives & Snippets

Prefer the terminal? Here are a few building blocks to mimic some of this formatter’s behavior using common CLI tools.

Linux/macOS

Sort keys (basic, ignores comments/blank lines)

grep -v '^\s*#' .env | grep -v '^\s*$' | sort > sorted.env

Alphabetically sorts non-comment lines so configuration keys are easier to scan and compare.

Align on `=` using awk

awk -F '=' 'BEGIN{max=0} /^[[:space:]]*#/||NF<2{next} {gsub(/[[:space:]]+$/,"",$1); if(length($1)>max) max=length($1)} END{print max}' .env | xargs -I{} awk -F '=' -v w={} 'BEGIN{OFS="="} /^[[:space:]]*#/||NF<2{print; next} {k=$1; sub(/[[:space:]]+$/,"",k); v=substr($0,index($0,"=")+1); gsub(/^\s+|\s+$/,"",v); printf("% -" w "s = %s\n", k, v)}' .env > aligned.env

Two-pass awk script that measures the widest key and then aligns all `KEY = VALUE` assignments to that width.

Windows (PowerShell)

Sort & dedupe keys (keep last value)

(Get-Content .env) | Where-Object {$_ -notmatch '^\s*#' -and $_ -notmatch '^\s*$'} | Group-Object { $_.Split('=')[0].Trim() } -AsHashTable -AsString | ForEach-Object { $_.Value[-1] } | Set-Content cleaned.env

Groups lines by key and writes only the last occurrence, mirroring how most dotenv loaders resolve duplicates.

Node.js (cross-platform)

Minimal formatter: parse, sort, align, write

node -e "const fs=require('fs');const s=fs.readFileSync('.env','utf8');const lines=s.split(/\r?\n/);const kv=[];const others=[];for(const l of lines){if(!l||/^\s*#/.test(l)||!l.includes('=')){others.push(l);continue;}const i=l.indexOf('=');kv.push([l.slice(0,i).trim(),l.slice(i+1).trim()]);}kv.sort((a,b)=>a[0].localeCompare(b[0]));const w=Math.max(...kv.map(([k])=>k.length),0);const out=[...kv.map(([k,v])=>k.padEnd(w)+" = "+v),...others];fs.writeFileSync('formatted.env',out.join('\n'));"

A compact Node script you can adapt into a dedicated formatter for local or CI usage.

Common .env Formatter Use Cases

Production Readiness & Hygiene

  • Catch accidental duplicate keys before deploying critical services
  • Normalize whitespace and end-of-file newlines to avoid noisy diffs
  • Standardize structure before generating `.env.example` or secrets templates
# Production .env
NODE_ENV=production
API_URL=https://api.example.com
LOG_LEVEL=info

Team Collaboration & Onboarding

  • Reduce PR noise by enforcing a canonical .env layout across all services
  • Commit a clean `.env.example` instead of real secrets so onboarding is safer
  • Help new team members quickly see all required configuration keys at a glance
# .env.example
API_URL=
API_KEY=
DEBUG=false

CI & Quality Gates

  • Add a check to ensure no duplicate keys reach `main` or `master` branches
  • Fail builds if `.env` files violate basic formatting or naming conventions
  • Keep configuration reviews focused on values and semantics, not spacing details

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How are duplicate keys handled?

Most dotenv loaders treat the last value for a given key as the effective one. This formatter is designed to surface duplicate keys clearly so you can decide which entries to keep instead of silently shipping conflicting configuration.

Will comments and blank lines be preserved?

Yes. Full comment lines are preserved, and blank lines are kept so your logical grouping remains readable. You can still adjust section spacing manually if you prefer a denser or more compact layout.

Do you expand ${VAR} references?

No. Placeholders like `${DB_HOST}` are treated as plain text. The formatter does not expand, validate or execute environment references, so you stay in full control of how interpolation is handled at runtime.

Is it safe to paste real secrets?

The formatter is built to process data transiently on this tool’s backend without contacting external APIs. Still, the safest practice is to avoid pasting production secrets into any browser-based tool: commit only sanitized `.env.example` files and rely on a dedicated secrets manager or CI secret store for real values.

What about CRLF vs LF and BOM issues?

Inconsistent newlines and stray UTF-8 BOMs often cause ugly diffs and parsing surprises. Pair this formatter with your editor settings (for example, always saving with LF and no BOM) so dotenv files stay consistent across operating systems and IDEs.

Does this change how my app reads the env file?

No. The goal is to keep semantics intact while making the file easier to read. Keys, values and comments remain functionally the same, assuming the original dotenv file was valid for your loader.

Pro Tips

Security Tip

Never commit real secrets to Git. Commit a `.env.example` with keys and safe hints, and load real values from a vault, CI secret store or local overrides.

Best Practice

Group keys by domain (`APP_`, `DB_`, `NEXT_PUBLIC_`, etc.) and keep each group consistently ordered to reduce cognitive load for new readers.

Best Practice

Enforce a single canonical .env style via pre-commit hooks or CI checks so you never have to argue about spacing in code reviews.

Best Practice

Quote values containing spaces, `#`, `=` or shell-reserved characters to avoid subtle parsing issues across different dotenv implementations.

Additional Resources

The Twelve-Factor App: Config
Documentation
dotenv (Node.js)
Documentation
python-dotenv
Documentation
ruby-dotenv
Documentation

Other Tools