7.4Environment Variables

Environment variables configure tests for different environments without changing code. They are the standard way to manage configuration across dev, staging, and production.

Setting Environment Variables

# Set for the current session
export BASE_URL=https://staging.example.com
export API_KEY=test-key-12345
export DB_HOST=localhost
export DB_PORT=5432

# Use in commands
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" "$BASE_URL/api/users"

# Set for a single command only
BASE_URL=https://prod.example.com npx playwright test --project=smoke

Loading from .env Files

# .env file format
BASE_URL=https://staging.example.com
API_KEY=test-key-12345
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
LOG_LEVEL=debug

# Load all variables from .env
export $(grep -v '^#' .env | xargs)

# Or load with a specific file
export $(grep -v '^#' .env.staging | xargs)

Default Values

# Use default if variable is not set
TIMEOUT=${TEST_TIMEOUT:-30000}
BROWSER=${TEST_BROWSER:-chromium}
WORKERS=${TEST_WORKERS:-4}
BASE_URL=${BASE_URL:-http://localhost:3000}

# Verify required variables are set
: "${API_KEY:?ERROR: API_KEY must be set}"
# If API_KEY is empty or unset, the script exits with the error message

Environment-Specific Configuration

# Pattern: different .env files per environment
# .env.dev
BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000
DB_HOST=localhost

# .env.staging
BASE_URL=https://staging.example.com
DB_HOST=staging-db.example.com

# .env.production
BASE_URL=https://www.example.com
DB_HOST=prod-db.example.com

# Load the right one
ENV=${ENVIRONMENT:-dev}
export $(grep -v '^#' ".env.${ENV}" | xargs)
echo "Running tests against $BASE_URL"

Viewing Environment Variables

# Show all environment variables
env

# Show all, sorted and filtered
env | sort | grep -i test

# Show a specific variable
echo $BASE_URL

# Check if a variable is set
if [ -z "$API_KEY" ]; then
  echo "WARNING: API_KEY is not set"
fi