ENV ↔ JSON Converter
Convert .env files to JSON objects and JSON objects back to .env format.
What is a .env File?
A .env file (dot-env file) is a plain-text configuration file used to store environment variables for an application. Each line defines one variable as a KEY=value pair. It is loaded at startup by libraries like dotenv (Node.js), python-dotenv, or godotenv (Go).
The .env pattern keeps secrets like database URLs, API keys, and passwords out of source code. The file is added to .gitignore so credentials are never committed. Developers share a .env.example with dummy values instead.
This tool converts between .env and JSON format — useful for passing environment config to APIs, cloud functions, or container platforms that accept JSON configuration.
.env Format Rules
| Syntax | Behavior | Example |
|---|---|---|
| KEY=value | Plain string value | APP=production |
| KEY="value" | Quoted string (quotes stripped) | NAME="Alice Smith" |
| KEY=123 | Auto-coerced to number | PORT=3000 |
| KEY=true/false | Auto-coerced to boolean | DEBUG=false |
| # comment | Line skipped | # Database settings |
| KEY= | Empty string | SECRET= |
Use Case: Config Management
bash
# .env file
NODE_ENV=production
PORT=3000
DEBUG=false
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://localhost/mydb"
JWT_SECRET=abc123Parsed JSON:
json
{
"NODE_ENV": "production",
"PORT": 3000,
"DEBUG": false,
"DATABASE_URL": "postgresql://localhost/mydb",
"JWT_SECRET": "abc123"
}