From 00d614a106d214955269e889e6e29b7389d9ef32 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: jbranchaud <jbranchaud@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2024 21:48:30 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] Add Load And Use Env Var In Node Script as a JavaScript TIL

---
 README.md                                     |  3 +-
 .../load-and-use-env-var-in-node-script.md    | 43 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 45 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 javascript/load-and-use-env-var-in-node-script.md

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 85babff..dd3d878 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ pairing with smart people at Hashrocket.
 
 For a steady stream of TILs, [sign up for my newsletter](https://crafty-builder-6996.ck.page/e169c61186).
 
-_1379 TILs and counting..._
+_1380 TILs and counting..._
 
 ---
 
@@ -465,6 +465,7 @@ _1379 TILs and counting..._
 - [ISO-8601 Formatted Dates Are Interpreted As UTC](javascript/iso-8601-formatted-dates-are-interpreted-as-utc.md)
 - [Link A JavaScript Package Locally](javascript/link-a-javascript-package-locally.md)
 - [List Top-Level NPM Dependencies](javascript/list-top-level-npm-dependencies.md)
+- [Load And Use Env Var In Node Script](javascript/load-and-use-env-var-in-node-script.md)
 - [Make The Browser Editable With Design Mode](javascript/make-the-browser-editable-with-design-mode.md)
 - [Matching A Computed Property In Function Args](javascript/matching-a-computed-property-in-function-args.md)
 - [Matching Multiple Values In A Switch Statement](javascript/matching-multiple-values-in-a-switch-statement.md)
diff --git a/javascript/load-and-use-env-var-in-node-script.md b/javascript/load-and-use-env-var-in-node-script.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7bd5f7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/javascript/load-and-use-env-var-in-node-script.md
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# Load And Use Env Var In Node Script
+
+The node scripts defined under `scripts` in a `package.json` file can be used
+to do all sorts of handy development tasks for a project.
+
+There are times where those scripts would be even more useful if they had
+access to environment variables specified in the project's `.env` files.
+
+With the help of [`dotenv-cli`](https://github.com/venthur/dotenv-cli) and
+[`cross-var`](https://github.com/elijahmanor/cross-var), we can load in and
+reference the project's env vars.
+
+As an example, let's say our `.env` file has a `DATABASE_URL`:
+
+```
+DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/postgres"
+```
+
+We can create a node script in `package.json` that accesses that value like so:
+
+```json
+{
+  "scripts": {
+    "db:url": "dotenv cross-var -- echo \"%DATABASE_URL%\""
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Running that command will echo out the value:
+
+```bash
+❯ npm run db:url
+
+> db:url
+> dotenv cross-var -- echo "%DATABASE_URL%"
+
+postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:9876/postgres
+```
+
+You could do something more useful with that value like open a `psql`
+connection to that local database.
+
+[source](https://www.genui.com/resources/env-variables-json)