.env file and environment variables in Laravel - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using .env File and Environment Variables in Laravel

📖 Scenario: You are building a Laravel web application that needs to connect to a database. To keep sensitive information like database credentials safe and separate from your code, you will use a .env file to store environment variables.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to create a .env file with environment variables and access those variables in Laravel configuration and code.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a .env file with specific environment variables

Add a configuration variable in config/database.php to use the environment variable

Access an environment variable in a Laravel controller

Use the environment variable in a Blade view

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Using .env files is a standard way to keep sensitive data like passwords and API keys out of your codebase and easily change configuration per environment (development, testing, production).

💼 Career

Understanding environment variables and .env files is essential for Laravel developers to build secure, configurable applications that work well in different deployment environments.

1

Create the .env file with database variables

Create a .env file in the root of your Laravel project with these exact lines:
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel_db
DB_USERNAME=laravel_user
DB_PASSWORD=secret123

Laravel

# Create a .env file with the specified database environment variables

Need a hint?

The .env file stores key-value pairs for environment variables. Each line should be exactly as shown.

2

Configure database.php to use environment variables

In the config/database.php file, set the 'host' key inside the 'mysql' connection array to use the environment variable DB_HOST by writing:
'host' => env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),

Laravel

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel_db
DB_USERNAME=laravel_user
DB_PASSWORD=secret123

// In config/database.php, set 'host' => env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),

Need a hint?

Use the env() helper function to read environment variables in Laravel config files.

3

Access an environment variable in a Laravel controller

In a Laravel controller method, create a variable called dbUser and assign it the value of the environment variable DB_USERNAME using env('DB_USERNAME').

Laravel

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel_db
DB_USERNAME=laravel_user
DB_PASSWORD=secret123

// config/database.php snippet
'mysql' => [
    'host' => env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),
    // other config keys...
],

// In a controller method:
// $dbUser = env('DB_USERNAME');

Need a hint?

Use the env() helper inside your controller to get environment variables.

4

Display the environment variable in a Blade view

In a Blade view file, display the value of the variable $dbUser passed from the controller using Blade syntax: {{ $dbUser }}.

Laravel

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel_db
DB_USERNAME=laravel_user
DB_PASSWORD=secret123

// config/database.php snippet
'mysql' => [
    'host' => env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),
    // other config keys...
],

// In a controller method
public function show()
{
    $dbUser = env('DB_USERNAME');
    return view('show-user', ['dbUser' => $dbUser]);
}

// In Blade view show-user.blade.php
// {{ $dbUser }}

Need a hint?

Use double curly braces {{ }} in Blade to display variables safely.