Download the PHP package laxity7/dotenv without Composer

PHP DotEnv

A fast, lightweight .env file parser for PHP. Loads environment variables and makes them accessible via $_ENV, getenv(), and the built-in Env::get() helper.

Table of Contents

• Requirements
• Installation
• Quick Start
• Features
  • Type Casting
  • Variable Interpolation
  • Export Prefix
  • Inline Comments
  • Error Tolerance
• API
  • DotEnv
  • Env Helper
• Comparison with symfony/dotenv
• Development

Requirements

• PHP >=7.4 | 8+

Installation

Quick Start

Create a .env file in your project root (make sure it is added to .gitignore):

Load it in your application:

All loaded variables are also available in $_ENV:

If the file does not exist, no error is thrown — only already existing environment variables will be available.

You can load additional files. By default, existing variables are not overwritten:

Helper Function

For convenience, you can create a global env() helper:

Or use the built-in Env static helper:

Or combine both approaches for a short env() function:

Features

Type Casting

Values are automatically cast to native PHP types:

Note: Quoted values ("..." or '...') are always treated as strings, even if they look like numbers or booleans.

Variable Interpolation

Reference previously defined variables using ${VAR} syntax:

Interpolation is not performed inside single-quoted values: FOO='${BAR}' will remain the literal string ${BAR}.
If a referenced variable is not defined, it is replaced with an empty string.

Export Prefix

Lines prefixed with export are supported (common in shell-compatible .env files):

The export keyword is simply stripped — variables are loaded as usual.

Inline Comments

Comments are supported both on their own line and inline:

Error Tolerance

Unlike many parsers, this package gracefully handles common formatting issues:

All of the above will be parsed without errors.

API

DotEnv

load(string $path, bool $overrideExistingVars = false, bool $usePutEnv = false): void

Load variables from a .env file.

• $path — path to the .env file. If the file does not exist, the call is silently ignored.
• $overrideExistingVars — if true, variables from the file will overwrite already defined ones.
• $usePutEnv — if true, also call putenv() for each variable (see below).

get(string $name, $default = null): mixed

Get the value of an environment variable. Returns $default if the variable is not defined.

has(string $name): bool

Check whether a variable exists (including variables with a null value).

getAll(): array

Return all loaded environment variables as an associative array.

clear(): void

Clear the internal variable store. Does not modify $_ENV or system environment — only resets the internal state.

$usePutEnv (property)

When enabled, variables are also registered via putenv(), making them accessible through getenv().

⚠️ putenv() is not thread-safe. Use only when you specifically need getenv() support.

The $usePutEnv parameter in load() serves the same purpose but applies only to that single call, while the property applies to all subsequent load() calls.

Env Helper

A static helper class for convenient access from anywhere in your application.

Calling get() or has() before load() will throw a \RuntimeException.

Comparison with symfony/dotenv

Boolean Values

Performance

Benchmark results (10 000 iterations):

Run benchmarks yourself:

Error Tolerance

This .env file is valid for laxity7/dotenv, but causes exceptions in symfony/dotenv:

symfony/dotenv errors:

Development

The project uses Docker for all commands, so no local PHP installation is required.

License

MIT