Environment Variables

Environment variables are how your project gets its secrets and configuration — database URLs, payment keys, auth credentials. pre.dev detects which variables your app actually needs, tells you when any are missing, and applies your values to the running app.

The environment editor

Click the Environment button in your workspace to open the editor. If required variables are missing, the button shows a red badge with the count. The editor lists every variable your project needs — detected automatically by scanning your code — with the service each one belongs to and instructions for where to find its value. Detection runs with live progress, so you can watch variables appear as the scan finds them. From here you can:

Fill in values for detected variables (sensitive values are masked, with a toggle to reveal)
Add custom variables your app needs beyond what was detected
Remove variables you don’t want set (and restore them if you change your mind)

Hit Save and your values are persisted and written to the running app, so the change takes effect without you touching a terminal.

A few things the editor handles for you:

Custom variable names are normalized to UPPER_CASE automatically
Saved values persist across re-scans — updating the detected list never wipes what you’ve entered
Known providers are recognized by name, so a custom RESEND_API_KEY still gets the right service attribution and instructions

Bulk import

You don’t have to enter values one at a time:

Paste or drop

Switch to Paste text and paste your .env contents (or raw API keys) — or drop a .env, .txt, or .json file. Even a screenshot of your keys works.

Automatic matching

pre.dev parses the input and matches each value to the variable it belongs to. Variables that aren’t in the detected list are added as custom variables.

Review and save

Matched values fill in live so you can verify before saving.

Missing variable detection

While building, the agent works out which environment variables the project genuinely requires. If required values are missing, pre.dev emails you a precise list — each variable’s name, the service it belongs to, and what it’s for:

Missing Variables

STRIPE_SECRET_KEY
Stripe — Payment processing

CLERK_SECRET_KEY
Clerk — Authentication

The email links straight back to your project with the environment editor already open, and each variable comes with step-by-step instructions for where to find its value.

Nothing blocks silently: without the required values some features won’t work, so the email tells you exactly what’s needed instead of leaving you to discover it at runtime.

Organization-wide propagation

Teams on an enterprise organization can define shared environment variables at the org level in the knowledge base. When shared variables change — or new projects are missing them — the propagation panel shows every project that’s out of date and exactly which variables each one is missing. Push updates per project, or hit Update All to bring every project up to date in one click.