envdiff-cli

Compare .env files and spot missing, extra, or changed variables instantly.

Why

• Onboarding: compare .env.example against your local .env to find missing keys
• Deployments: diff staging vs production env to catch misconfigurations
• CI: fail the pipeline when env files drift apart

Install

npm install -g envdiff-cli

Or use directly with npx:

npx envdiff-cli .env .env.example

Usage

# Show differences between two env files
envdiff .env .env.example

# Include matching entries
envdiff .env .env.production --all

# JSON output (for CI pipelines)
envdiff .env .env.example --json

Output

- SECRET_KEY=abc123              # missing from right file
+ NEW_FEATURE_FLAG=true          # extra in right file
~ DATABASE_URL  old -> new       # value changed

1 missing, 1 extra, 1 changed, 5 equal

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Files are identical
1	Differences found

Use exit codes in CI to fail on env drift:

- run: npx envdiff-cli .env.example .env.ci

Options

Flag	Description
--all	Show equal entries too
--json	Output as JSON
-h, --help	Show help

License

MIT