Environment Utilities

Type-safe environment variable management for Node.js applications.

Provides a single Env class with static methods for reading, validating, and transforming environment variables, plus helpers for masking sensitive values and loading .env files.

Main Features

Type-safe getters: Retrieve environment variables as strings, numbers, booleans, arrays, enums, dates, durations, URLs, emails, and paths.
Validation: Built-in validation for types, ranges, allowed values, formats, and existence.
Caching: Internal cache for parsed values to improve performance.
Sensitive masking: Mask sensitive values for safe logging.
.env loader: Load variables from .env files without overwriting existing ones.
Helpers: Check, set, delete, and clear environment variables at runtime.

API Summary

Environment enum - Represents valid application environments.
Env class - with static methods:
- isDev(): boolean - Checks if NODE_ENV is 'development'.
- isProd(): boolean - Checks if NODE_ENV is 'production'.
- isTest(): boolean - Checks if NODE_ENV is 'testing'.
- isStaging(): boolean - Checks if NODE_ENV is 'staging'.
- set(key: string, value: string): void - Sets an environment variable (in-memory only).
- getAll(): object - Returns all environment variables as an object.
- get(key: string, defaultValue: string): string - Gets a string environment variable, with variable expansion and fallback.
- getRequired(key: string): string - Gets a required string environment variable, throws if missing.
- getOrFail(key: string): string - Alias for getRequired.
- getNumber(key: string, defaultValue: number, options?: { min?: number; max?: number }): number - Gets a number environment variable, throws if not a valid number.
- getNumberRequired(key: string): number - Gets a required number environment variable, throws if missing or invalid.
- getInteger(key: string, defaultValue: number, options?: { min?: number; max?: number }): number - Gets an integer environment variable, with optional min/max validation.
- getBoolean(key: string, defaultValue?: boolean): boolean - Gets a boolean environment variable. Accepts true, 1, yes, on as true; false, 0, no, off as false.
- getBooleanRequired(key: string): boolean - Gets a required boolean environment variable, throws if missing or invalid.
- getJSON<T>(key: string, defaultValue: T): T - Parses a JSON object from an environment variable.
- getArray<T>(key: string, defaultValue?: T[], splitter?: string, transform?: (item: string) => T): T[] - Parses a delimited string as an array, with optional transformation.
- getNumberArray(key: string, defaultValue?: number[], splitter?: string): number[] - Parses a delimited string as an array of numbers.
- getEnum<T extends string>(key: string, allowedValues: readonly T[], defaultValue: T): T - Gets an enum environment variable, throws if not a valid value.
- getNumberEnum(key: string, allowedValues: number[], defaultValue: number): number - Gets a number enum environment variable, throws if not a valid value.
- getUrl(key: string, defaultValue: string, options?: UrlOptions): string - Gets a URL environment variable, with optional validation.
- getEmail(key: string, defaultValue: string): string - Gets an email environment variable, with basic validation.
- getPath(key: string, defaultValue: string, options?: PathOptions): string - Gets a path environment variable, with optional validation.
- getPort(key: string, defaultValue: number): number - Gets and validates a port number (0-65535).
- getDate(key: string, defaultValue?: string | Date): Date - Gets a date environment variable as a Date object.
- getDuration(key: string, defaultValue?: string | number): number - Parses a duration string (e.g., 1h30m) as milliseconds.
- getSafeEnv(sensitiveKeys?: string[]): Record<string, string> - Returns all environment variables with sensitive values masked.
- getWithDefault(key: string, defaultFn: () => string): string - Gets a value, or generates a default using a function.
- loadFromFile(path: string): Record<string, string> - Loads environment variables from a .env file (does not overwrite existing).
- has(key: string): boolean - Checks if an environment variable exists.
- delete(key: string): void - Deletes an environment variable (useful for tests).
- clearCache(): void - Clears the internal cache of parsed values.

Types & Interfaces

Below are the main types and interfaces used by the API methods:

`Environment` enum

Represents valid application environments.

enum Environment {
  PRODUCTION = 'production',
  DEVELOPMENT = 'development',
  STAGING = 'staging',
  TESTING = 'testing'
}

`UrlOptions` interface

Options for validating URL environment variables.

interface UrlOptions {
  protocols?: string[];        // Allowed protocols (e.g., ['http', 'https'])
  requireTld?: boolean;        // Require a top-level domain (default: true)
  allowIp?: boolean;           // Allow IP addresses (default: true)
  allowLocalhost?: boolean;    // Allow localhost (default: true)
}

`PathOptions` interface

Options for validating path environment variables.

interface PathOptions {
  mustExist?: boolean;         // Path must exist on the filesystem (default: false)
  makeAbsolute?: boolean;      // Convert relative paths to absolute (default: true)
  allowedExtensions?: string[];// Allowed file extensions (e.g., ['.json', '.yaml'])
}

Function Documentation & Usage Examples

`Env` class

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

`isDev()`

Checks if NODE_ENV is 'development'.

Env.isDev(); // true or false

`isProd()`

Checks if NODE_ENV is 'production'.

Env.isProd(); // true or false

`isTest()`

Checks if NODE_ENV is 'testing'.

Env.isTest(); // true or false

`isStaging()`

Checks if NODE_ENV is 'staging'.

Env.isStaging(); // true or false

`set()`

Sets an environment variable (in-memory only).

Method Signature:

set(key: string, value: string): void

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to set.
value: The value to assign to the environment variable.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.set('FOO', 'bar');

`getAll()`

Returns all environment variables as an object.

Method Signature:

getAll(): Record<string, string>

Returns:

An object containing all environment variables.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

const allEnv = Env.getAll(); // { NODE_ENV: 'development', FOO: 'bar', ... }

`get()`

Gets a string environment variable, with variable expansion and fallback.

Method Signature:

get(key: string, defaultValue: string): string

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The value to return if the environment variable is not set.

Returns:

The value of the environment variable, or the default value if not set.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.get('FOO', 'default'); // 'bar' if set, otherwise 'default'
Env.get('DATABASE_URL', 'postgres://${DB_HOST}/db'); // expands ${DB_HOST}

`getRequired()`

Gets a required string environment variable, throws if missing.

Method Signature:

getRequired(key: string): string

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.

Returns:

The value of the environment variable.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is not set.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getRequired('API_KEY'); // throws if not set

`getOrFail()`

Alias for getRequired.

Method Signature:

getOrFail(key: string): string

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.

Returns:

The value of the environment variable.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is not set.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getOrFail('SECRET'); // throws if not set

`getNumber()`

Gets a number environment variable, throws if not a valid number.

Method Signature:

getNumber(key: string, defaultValue: number, options: { min?: number; max?: number } = {}): number

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The value to return if the environment variable is not set.
options: Optional min/max validation.
- min: Minimum allowed value.
- max: Maximum allowed value.

Returns:

The numeric value of the environment variable, or the default value if not set.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not a valid number.
An error if the value is out of the specified min/max range.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getNumber('PORT', 3000); // 3000 if not set, otherwise parsed value
Env.getNumber('TIMEOUT', 5000, { min: 1000, max: 10000 }); // throws if out of range

`getNumberRequired()`

Gets a required number environment variable, throws if missing or invalid.

Method Signature:

getNumberRequired(key: string): number

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.

Returns:

The numeric value of the environment variable.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is not set or not a valid number.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getNumberRequired('TIMEOUT'); // throws if not set or not a number

`getInteger()`

Gets an integer environment variable, with optional min/max validation.

Method Signature:

getInteger(key: string, defaultValue: number, options: { min?: number; max?: number } = {}): number

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The value to return if the environment variable is not set.
options: Optional min/max validation.
- min: Minimum allowed value.
- max: Maximum allowed value.

Returns:

The integer value of the environment variable, or the default value if not set.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not a valid integer.
An error if the value is out of the specified min/max range.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getInteger('PORT', 8080, { min: 1024, max: 65535 }); // throws if not integer or out of range

`getBoolean()`

Gets a boolean environment variable. Accepts true, 1, yes, on as true; false, 0, no, off as false.

Method Signature:

getBoolean(key: string, defaultValue?: boolean): boolean

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The value to return if the environment variable is not set.

Returns:

The boolean value of the environment variable, or the default value if not set.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not a valid boolean.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getBoolean('DEBUG', false); // true if DEBUG=yes, otherwise false

`getBooleanRequired()`

Gets a required boolean environment variable, throws if missing or invalid.

Method Signature:

getBooleanRequired(key: string): boolean

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.

Returns:

The boolean value of the environment variable.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is not set or not a valid boolean.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getBooleanRequired('FEATURE_ENABLED'); // throws if not set or invalid

`getJSON()`

Parses a JSON object from an environment variable.

Method Signature:

getJSON<T>(key: string, defaultValue: T): T

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The value to return if the environment variable is not set.

Returns:

The parsed JSON object from the environment variable, or the default value if not set.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not valid JSON.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getJSON('CONFIG', { debug: false }); // parses JSON string or returns default

`getArray()`

Parses a delimited string as an array, with optional transformation.

Method Signature:

getArray<T>(key: string, defaultValue?: T[], splitter: string = ',', transform?: (item: string) => T): T[]

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The value to return if the environment variable is not set.
splitter: The string used to split the environment variable value into an array.
transform: An optional function to transform each item in the array.

Returns:

The array of values parsed from the environment variable, or the default value if not set.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but cannot be split or transformed.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getArray('ALLOWED_IPS'); // ['127.0.0.1', '192.168.1.1']
Env.getArray('PORTS', [], ',', p => parseInt(p, 10)); // [3000, 8080]

`getNumberArray()`

Parses a delimited string as an array of numbers.

Method Signature:

getNumberArray(key: string, defaultValue?: number[], splitter: string = ','): number[]

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The value to return if the environment variable is not set.
splitter: The string used to split the environment variable value into an array.

Returns:

The array of numbers parsed from the environment variable, or the default value if not set.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but contains non-numeric values.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getNumberArray('ALLOWED_PORTS'); // [80, 443, 3000]

`getEnum()`

Gets an environment variable as a string enum, validates allowed values.

Method Signature:

getEnum<T extends string>(key: string, allowedValues: readonly T[], defaultValue: T): T

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
allowedValues: The list of allowed string values.
defaultValue: The default value to return if the environment variable is not set or invalid.

Returns:

The value of the environment variable if valid, otherwise the default value.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not in the allowed values.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getEnum('LOG_LEVEL', ['debug', 'info', 'warn', 'error'] as const, 'info'); // 'debug', 'info', etc.

`getNumberEnum()`

Gets an environment variable as a number enum, validates allowed values.

Method Signature:

getNumberEnum(key: string, allowedValues: number[], defaultValue: number): number

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
allowedValues: The list of allowed number values.
defaultValue: The default value to return if the environment variable is not set or invalid.

Returns:

The numeric value of the environment variable if valid, otherwise the default value.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not in the allowed values.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getNumberEnum('NODE_VERSION', [14, 16, 18], 16); // 14, 16, or 18

`getUrl()`

Gets and validates a URL environment variable.

Method Signature:

getUrl(key: string, defaultValue: string, options?: UrlOptions): string

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The default value to return if the environment variable is not set or invalid.
options: Optional URL validation options.
- protocols: Allowed protocols (e.g., ['http', 'https']).
- requireTld: Require a top-level domain (default: true).
- allowIp: Allow IP addresses (default: true).
- allowLocalhost: Allow localhost (default: true).

Returns:

The URL string if valid, otherwise the default value.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not a valid URL.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getUrl('API_URL', 'https://api.example.com', {
  protocols: ['https'],
  requireTld: true,
  allowIp: false
}); // throws if invalid

`getEmail()`

Gets and validates an email environment variable.

Method Signature:

getEmail(key: string, defaultValue: string): string

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The default value to return if the environment variable is not set or invalid.

Returns:

The email string if valid, otherwise the default value.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not a valid email.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getEmail('SUPPORT_EMAIL', 'support@example.com'); // throws if invalid

`getPath()`

Gets and validates a path environment variable.

Method Signature:

getPath(key: string, defaultValue: string, options?: PathOptions): string

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The default value to return if the environment variable is not set or invalid.
options: Optional path validation options.
- mustExist: Require the path to exist (default: false).
- allowedExtensions: List of allowed file extensions (default: []).

Returns:

The path string if valid, otherwise the default value.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but the path does not exist (if mustExist is true).
An error if the path has an invalid extension (if allowedExtensions is specified).

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getPath('CONFIG_PATH', './config.json', {
  mustExist: true,
  allowedExtensions: ['.json', '.yaml']
}); // throws if not exists or invalid extension

`getPort()`

Gets and validates a port number (0-65535).

Method Signature:

getPort(key: string, defaultValue: number): number

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The default value to return if the environment variable is not set or invalid.

Returns:

The port number if valid, otherwise the default value.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not a valid port number.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getPort('PORT', 3000); // throws if out of range

`getDate()`

Gets a date environment variable as a Date object.

Method Signature:

getDate(key: string, defaultValue?: string | Date): Date

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The default value to return if the environment variable is not set or invalid.

Returns:

The date object if valid, otherwise the default value.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not a valid date.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getDate('EXPIRY_DATE', new Date()); // parses ISO string or returns default

`getDuration()`

Parses a duration string (e.g., 1h30m) as milliseconds.

Method Signature:

getDuration(key: string, defaultValue?: string | number): number

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultValue: The default value to return if the environment variable is not set or invalid.

Returns:

The duration in milliseconds if valid, otherwise the default value.

Throws:

An error if the environment variable is set but not a valid duration.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getDuration('CACHE_TTL', '2h30m'); // 9000000

`getSafeEnv()`

Returns all environment variables with sensitive values masked.

Method Signature:

getSafeEnv(sensitiveKeys?: string[]): Record<string, string>

Parameters:

sensitiveKeys: Optional list of keys to mask (default: ['password', 'secret', 'key']).

Returns:

An object containing all environment variables, with sensitive values replaced by '******'.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getSafeEnv(['password', 'secret', 'key']); // { NODE_ENV: 'development', API_KEY: '******', ... }

`getWithDefault()`

Gets a value, or generates a default using a function.

Method Signature:

getWithDefault(key: string, defaultFn: () => string): string

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to get.
defaultFn: A function that generates the default value if the environment variable is not set.

Returns:

The environment variable value if set, otherwise the result of calling defaultFn.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.getWithDefault('HOSTNAME', () => require('os').hostname());

`loadFromFile()`

Loads environment variables from a .env file (does not overwrite existing).

Method Signature:

loadFromFile(path: string): Record<string, string>

Parameters:

path: The path to the .env file to load.

Returns:

An object containing the loaded environment variables.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.loadFromFile('.env.development');

`has()`

Checks if an environment variable exists.

Method Signature:

has(key: string): boolean

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to check.

Returns:

true if the environment variable exists, false otherwise.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.has('API_KEY'); // true or false

`delete()`

Deletes an environment variable (useful for tests).

Method Signature:

delete(key: string): void

Parameters:

key: The name of the environment variable to delete.

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.delete('FOO');

`clearCache()`

Clears the internal cache of parsed values.

Method Signature:

clearCache(): void

Examples:

import { Env } from "@catbee/utils";

Env.clearCache();

Main Features​

API Summary​

Types & Interfaces​

Environment enum​

UrlOptions interface​

PathOptions interface​

Function Documentation & Usage Examples​

Env class​

isDev()​

isProd()​

isTest()​

isStaging()​

set()​

getAll()​

get()​

getRequired()​

getOrFail()​

getNumber()​

getNumberRequired()​

getInteger()​

getBoolean()​

getBooleanRequired()​

getJSON()​

getArray()​

getNumberArray()​

getEnum()​

getNumberEnum()​

getUrl()​

getEmail()​

getPath()​

getPort()​

getDate()​

getDuration()​

getSafeEnv()​

getWithDefault()​

loadFromFile()​

has()​

delete()​

clearCache()​

Main Features

API Summary

Types & Interfaces

`Environment` enum

`UrlOptions` interface

`PathOptions` interface

Function Documentation & Usage Examples

`Env` class

`isDev()`

`isProd()`

`isTest()`

`isStaging()`

`set()`

`getAll()`

`get()`

`getRequired()`

`getOrFail()`

`getNumber()`

`getNumberRequired()`

`getInteger()`

`getBoolean()`

`getBooleanRequired()`

`getJSON()`

`getArray()`

`getNumberArray()`

`getEnum()`

`getNumberEnum()`

`getUrl()`

`getEmail()`

`getPath()`

`getPort()`

`getDate()`

`getDuration()`

`getSafeEnv()`

`getWithDefault()`

`loadFromFile()`

`has()`

`delete()`

`clearCache()`