.env

Runable loads environment files for the active Vite mode and variables already present in process.env. Use useRuntime() to read them from the application.

Declare variables

Runable recognizes two prefixes: RUN_ and VITE_. Prefer RUN_ in new projects to distinguish Runable configuration clearly.

# Available in the browser and during SSR
RUN_PUBLIC_API_BASE=/api
RUN_PUBLIC_FEATURE_ENABLED=true

# Available only on the server
RUN_DATABASE_URL=postgres://localhost/acme
RUN_RETRY_COUNT=3

The PUBLIC_ segment controls client exposure:

Runable removes the prefix and converts the name to camelCase.

Read configuration

useRuntime() is auto-imported into the Vue application:

<script setup lang="ts">
const runtime = useRuntime();

const apiBase = runtime.public.apiBase;
</script>

<template>
  <a :href="`${apiBase}/projects`">View projects</a>
</template>

A private variable exists in the object produced for the SSR bundle, but not in the client bundle. Read it only in server code:

if (import.meta.server) {
  const runtime = useRuntime();
  console.log(runtime.databaseUrl);
}

You can also import useRuntime from runable in backend code. This version loads .env, merges values with process.env, and gives process variables priority.

Generated types

At startup, Runable analyzes values and writes declarations to .app/runtime.d.ts. Your editor therefore knows the available properties without a manual TypeScript interface.

RUN_PUBLIC_ENABLED=true
RUN_PORT=3000
RUN_TAGS=["documentation","dashboard"]

These values become a boolean, number, and array respectively. Runable also recognizes null, undefined, and valid JSON objects. Every other value remains a string.

Restart the development server after adding or renaming a variable to regenerate types and injected values.

Direct access with import.meta.env

Runable also replaces static accesses using the RUN_ and VITE_ prefixes:

const apiBase = import.meta.env.RUN_PUBLIC_API_BASE;

Use dot notation and the full variable name. Dynamic access such as import.meta.env[key] is not transformed.

useRuntime() remains preferable: it clearly separates public, converts names, and provides generated types.

Files to commit

Keep local values in .env or standard Vite mode variants such as .env.development and .env.production. Commit a secret-free .env.example that describes the expected configuration.

# .env.example
RUN_PUBLIC_API_BASE=
RUN_DATABASE_URL=