# nvs-dotenv
[](https://components.espressif.com/components/igrr/nvs-dotenv)
`nvs-dotenv` is an ESP-IDF component which makes variables defined in a `.env` file accessible using `getenv` function:
- Create a `.env` file inside you project directory
- Keep various local configs and secrets in `.env` — Wi-Fi credentials, API tokens, and so on.
- In your ESP-IDF application, call `getenv` function to access these variables
With `nvs-dotenv`, you won't have to:
- hardcode credentials in your application source code
- store the credentials in sdkconfig, and wait for the entire app to rebuild when you change them.
`nvs-dotenv` is intended to be used mainly during the development phase. In a production device you will likely need a provisioning workflow of some sort.
## Using the component
1. In an existing ESP-IDF project, run the following command to install the component:
```bash
idf.py add-dependency "igrr/nvs-dotenv"
```
2. Edit your partition table, adding a new partition:
```csv
# Name, Type, SubType, Offset, Size, Flags
dotenv, data, nvs, , 12k,
```
3. Create a `.env` file in your project directory:
```
WIFI_SSID=yyyyyy
WIFI_PASS=xxxxxx
```
4. In the application, initialize `nvs-dotenv`:
```c++
ESP_ERROR_CHECK(nvs_dotenv_load());
```
5. Now you can access variables from `.env` using `getenv`:
```c++
const char *ssid = getenv("WIFI_SSID");
```
## `.env` file format
Each variable is defined on its own line, as `VAR_NAME=value`. Blank lines and lines starting with `#` are ignored.
```
# Wi-Fi credentials
WIFI_SSID=yyyyyy
WIFI_PASS="pass with trailing space "
MQTT_TOPICS=home/temperature,home/humidity
```
Names are split from values at the first `=`, so a name can contain any character except `=`, and can't start with `#`.
Values can contain any character except a line break — a variable can't span multiple lines. Note that:
- Whitespace around the name and the value is removed. To keep leading or trailing whitespace in a value, put the value in double quotes; surrounding double quotes are removed.
- `#` only starts a comment at the beginning of a line, so it is kept as a regular character inside a value.
- Variable interpolation (`${OTHER_VAR}`) is not supported; `$` is kept as a regular character.
Values are stored and read back as UTF-8.
## Example
This component includes an example illustrating the above steps. You can try the example as follows:
```bash
idf.py create-project-from-example "igrr/nvs-dotenv:nvs-dotenv-example"
```
Then build as usual:
```bash
cd nvs-dotenv-example
idf.py build
```
And flash it to the board:
```bash
idf.py -p PORT flash monitor
```
The output should be:
```
I (3263) example: Loading environment variables
I (6033) example: WIFI_SSID: yyyyyy
I (6053) example: WIFI_PASS: xxxxxx
I (6073) example: MQTT_TOPICS: home/temperature,home/humidity
```
## Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please follow these guidelines:
1. **Commit messages**: Use [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/) format. You can use [commitizen](https://commitizen-tools.github.io/commitizen/) to help format your commits:
```bash
pip install commitizen
cz commit
```
2. **Pre-commit hooks**: Install pre-commit hooks before making changes:
```bash
pip install pre-commit
pre-commit install
```
3. **Releases**: Maintainers use commitizen to manage versioning and changelog:
```bash
cz bump
```
## License
This component is provided under Apache 2.0 license, see [LICENSE](LICENSE.md) file for details.
e523af2116308615fec731049658ba9fc53b82f6
idf.py add-dependency "igrr/nvs-dotenv^1.0.2"