process.env

[DanielRuf]

Issue

Description

Using process.env is not great as the used env variables seem to be not declared anywhere. We should use cross-env for testing purposes and use some config for setting them instead of using process.env.

[linux-nerd]

@DanielRuf Thanks for pointing it out. I added .env files with the variables as part of #57, and I think I missed to commit it.
I will raise a PR against this issue.

[linux-nerd]

Ahh! Now I see why I missed to add .env file. @crysfel, @emmawedekind I think we can remove .env file from .gitignore. It makes sense to ignore .env.local or.env.* but not .env file. If the developer has to change the value of .env file, hr/she can create .env.local file and make changes. Thoughts?

[emmabostian]

I think that's fine! I have approved the PR.

[ghost]

When I started the Google Analytics PR #70, I also included setting up .env for the tracking ID. It might have been a good idea for me to have started a separate issue. I'll leave the .env stuff to @linux-nerd and focus on getting the GA PR done.

[crysfel]

I'm wondering if dotenv supports .env.local to overwrite the values from .env. As far as I know CRA internally uses dotenv to load data to the process.env object.

[charlesjliu]

I don't think we should have a .env committed into the repo.

https://www.npmjs.com/package/dotenv#should-i-commit-my-env-file

Is there a reason why those links are set using environment variables (slack etc.)? I don't think those should be set by the environment.

If anything, you could set default values if the environment variables aren't detected. We can have a sample .env file that developers can use to write their own and include instructions in the repo. But environment variables should be for things like... the CODING_COACH_API url, or whatever client API keys we're using (like the Google Analytics example).

Just my two cents! 🤷‍♂️

[DanielRuf]

Exactly. dot-env are normally meant for credentials and user specific settings.