[Solved]Environment variable won't work outside dev

[merry flume]

Hello, this is starting to drive me crazy, is there something I don't understand?

I have environment variables, in vite dev I can access them normally via process.env
When I build (nitroV2 with the AWS amplify preset) and start the app (locally or deployed) the variables are undefined.

Locally, they are set in the .env file, and they are formatted like ADMIN_COOKIE="xxx"

It's secret variables used in server context, i've tried multiple way, each of them works in dev mode

• Getting them outside my serverFN in the same ts file
• Getting them inside each function
• Using node:process (and process solo)
• Creating a ServerOnlyFn to get them, and using this func on my serverFn

the console.log inside each func (serverOnlyfn>serverFN>clientUsage) show the variable in dev mode at each points, but not in builded env.
On aws i set these variables, they are displayed in undefined too.
I have exhausted all my ideas at this point

[outer dew]

in runtime you have to acess ENV variables through

import.meta.env

best is to use @t3-oss/env-core package to handle it.

[pastel imp]

that's the opposite. import.meta.env vars are basically bundle time macros

[merry flume]

import.meta.env isn't for client sided variables ? I use it for my VITE_ environment variable

(i have to redo it wit createIsomorphicFn() but i used it for shared/public vars, using process.env or import.meta.env to get my publics vars)

[pastel imp]

@merry flume have you tried loading the env explicitely in the vite config ?

[outer dew]

that's what i said isn't it ?

[pastel imp]

no, you said import.meta.env is for runtime env vars
import.meta.env is for bundle time env vars (which happen to be available for the client, but not exclusive to it)

[merry flume]

i didn't knew that i'll test it

[outer dew]

ahh okay.

actually i had the same issue env not showing in productions build and then i used t3-oss package and it fixed it.

[pastel imp]

i get your confusion for import.meta.env being runtime
calling that property "runtimeEnv" was probably a bad idea

they should have called it something like envSource

fwiw, @merry flume i also use t3-env

[outer dew]

haa right.

[pastel imp]

although there is a difference in my setup: i run on bun serve, not nitro+aws

[merry flume]

Do I actually need to do something specific with the const?
i have very light knowledge on vite config, i just saw the define param to explicitely define a variable it is that ?

[merry flume]

i'll check this i didn't know it

[pastel imp]

no, i just screenshotted a project where i do use the env, but you don't need to

otherwise i have no idea other than maybe there is a special place where to add the env vars on aws that i dont know of

[outer dew]

you using nitro which build server and client both.
so if you just load the env in viteconfig then you can leak some ENV which are server only.

[pastel imp]

i don't think so

[merry flume]

that's what i thought with this param X)

[pastel imp]

i used to have to do this with ts start, and checked that the client output didnt contain my server side vars

anyway: server side vars are not replaced at bundle time since those are runtime vars

[outer dew]

yes that's the case brother case tanstack is isomorphic bydefault if you use any function which load the env it will be on client to.

[merry flume]

even in my local build the environment var are undefined that's what i don't understand, if it's was only on aws...

[pastel imp]

runtime vars cannot be on the client whatsoever

[outer dew]

until and unless you using inside createServerOnlyFn.

[pastel imp]

even if you tried to do something like process.env.MY_VAR on the client, it would be undefined

since the client is static, nothing can come from the runtime

so it's impossible to leak those

the only thing that can leak is the name of the env var

not its value

[outer dew]

no bro tantstack start pre-render html on server on first load. it's not just a simple client only vite app.

then sub sequent navigation are on client side.

[pastel imp]

yes, but this happen on prerender/ssr

not at bundle time

prerender/ssr is runtime, not bundle time

@merry flume #1427777473956810812 message

[outer dew]

but it think @merry flume is talking about productions.

[pastel imp]

found this

I think Daniel's solution should do the trick

they're even using the same setup as you

[outer dew]

yess i guess so.

[merry flume]

i'll test that, i searched in the discord every mention of env or nitro but didn't find it

t3 env do exactly what i planned to implement to handle my env var btw, thx for the discovery

[merry flume]

IT WORK !

thx

[Solved]Environment variable won't work outside dev