mifesta / dotenv-editor

v13.0.0 2026-11-11 12:49 UTC

Requires

• php: ^8.3
• illuminate/config: ^13.0
• illuminate/console: ^13.0
• illuminate/container: ^13.0
• illuminate/support: ^13.0

Requires (Dev)

• phpunit/phpunit: ^11.5

MIT

• Sergei Gruzdov

• laravel
• env
• dotenv
• dotenv-editor

Published on Packagist.org on 2026-11-11 12:50 UTC

README

Edit a Laravel .env file from PHP or Artisan: read keys, change them, and keep comments, export and quoting intact.

Versions

Package	Laravel	PHP
^13.0	13	8.3–8.5
^12.0	12	8.2–8.5
^11.0	11	8.2–8.4
^10.0	10	8.1–8.3
1.0.2	5	legacy release, no longer maintained

composer require mifesta/dotenv-editor installs the newest release whose Laravel constraint matches the application.

Installation

composer require mifesta/dotenv-editor

Laravel discovers the service provider and the DotenvEditor facade. To register them manually:

// bootstrap/providers.php (Laravel 11+) or config/app.php
Mifesta\DotenvEditor\DotenvEditorServiceProvider::class,

'aliases' => [
    'DotenvEditor' => Mifesta\DotenvEditor\Facades\DotenvEditor::class,
],

Publish the config when you want to change the backup directory or turn automatic backups off:

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Mifesta\DotenvEditor\DotenvEditorServiceProvider" --tag=config

autoBackup copies the current file before every save(). Backups are stored in storage/dotenv-editor/backups/.

Usage

use Mifesta\DotenvEditor\Facades\DotenvEditor;

DotenvEditor::load(base_path('.env.example'))
    ->setKey('APP_URL', 'https://example.com')
    ->save();

$value = DotenvEditor::getValue('APP_URL');

load($path) uses the given path as-is. Pass base_path() yourself when the path is relative to the application. load() with no arguments reads the environment file Laravel is using.

Reading

• getContent() returns the raw file.
• getLines() returns every line with its parsed type, key, value and comment.
• getKeys(['APP_DEBUG', 'APP_URL']) returns those setters. An empty list returns all of them.
• keyExists('APP_URL') checks the file on disk.
• getValue('APP_URL') returns the value or throws KeyNotFoundException.

Writing

Changes go into a buffer. save() writes that buffer to disk.

DotenvEditor::setKey('ENV_KEY');
DotenvEditor::setKey('ENV_KEY', 'anything-you-want');
DotenvEditor::setKey('ENV_KEY', 'anything-you-want', 'your-comment');
DotenvEditor::setKey('ENV_KEY', 'new-value');              // keeps the comment and the export prefix
DotenvEditor::setKey('ENV_KEY', 'new-value', null, true);  // force "export "
DotenvEditor::setKey('ENV_KEY', 'new-value', null, false); // remove "export "
DotenvEditor::setKey('ENV_KEY', 'new-value', '');          // clear the comment

DotenvEditor::setKeys([
    ['key' => 'ENV_KEY_1', 'value' => 'one', 'comment' => 'first', 'export' => true],
    ['key' => 'ENV_KEY_2', 'value' => 'two'],
]);

DotenvEditor::addEmpty();
DotenvEditor::addComment('Mail');
DotenvEditor::deleteKey('ENV_KEY');
DotenvEditor::deleteKeys(['ENV_KEY_1', 'ENV_KEY_2']);
DotenvEditor::save();

Calling setKey() again before save() updates the buffered line. deleteKey() followed by setKey() for the same name puts the key back. Values true, false and null are written as those words. A boolean true or false passed from PHP is written as true or false as well.

Paths and quotes are escaped so Laravel's dotenv parser can read them:

DotenvEditor::setKey('CERT_PATH', 'C:\\certs\\app.pem')->save();
// CERT_PATH="C:\\certs\\app.pem"

Backups

DotenvEditor::backup();
DotenvEditor::getBackups();
DotenvEditor::getLatestBackup();
DotenvEditor::restore();
DotenvEditor::restore(storage_path('dotenv-editor/backups/.env.backup_2017_04_10_152709'));
DotenvEditor::deleteBackup(storage_path('dotenv-editor/backups/.env.backup_2017_04_10_152709'));
DotenvEditor::deleteBackups();
DotenvEditor::autoBackup(false);

load($path, true) recreates a missing file from the latest backup. load($path, true, $source) copies $source instead. A failed copy throws UnableWriteToFileException.

Artisan

php artisan dotenv:get-keys
php artisan dotenv:set-key APP_DEBUG false
php artisan dotenv:set-key MAIL_MAILER null
php artisan dotenv:delete-key EXAMPLE_KEY
php artisan dotenv:backup
php artisan dotenv:get-backups --latest
php artisan dotenv:restore

dotenv:set-key writes the value exactly as it was typed, including the words true, false and null. Pass false as the comment argument to clear an existing comment. --export-key adds the export prefix; without that option the current prefix is left in place. Use --help on each command for the path and restore options.

Testing

composer test

Security

Report vulnerabilities to [e-mail].

Credits

• Sergei Gruzdov

License

MIT. See LICENSE.