How to use dotenv in Golang

Hello, today I will show you how to use dotenv (also known as .env) in Golang!

Dotenv is a zero-dependency module that loads environment variables from a .env file into process.env. The dotenv package is a great way to keep passwords, API keys, and other sensitive data out of your code. It allows you to create environment variables in a . env file instead of putting them in your code.

Step 1: Init and install packages.

Init our project:

go mod init dotenv

Install package:

go get github.com/joho/godotenv

Step 2: .env file

Write some values to the .env file:

GREETING="Hello World"

Step 3: Find .env file:

You must write the right .env file directory relative to the distance from main.go:

func main(){
 // Find .env file
 err := godotenv.Load(".env")
 if err != nil{
  log.Fatalf("Error loading .env file: %s", err)
 }
}

Step 4: Getting and using a value from .env

With a simple method, we can get any value from the .env:

func main(){
 // Find .env file
 err := godotenv.Load(".env")
 if err != nil{
  log.Fatalf("Error loading .env file: %s", err)
 }

 // Getting and using a value from .env
 greeting := os.Getenv("GREETING")

 fmt.Println(greeting)
}

The full code

package main

import (
 "fmt"
 "log"
 "os"

 "github.com/joho/godotenv"
)

func main(){
 // Find .env file
 err := godotenv.Load(".env")
 if err != nil{
  log.Fatalf("Error loading .env file: %s", err)
 }

 // Getting and using a value from .env
 greeting := os.Getenv("GREETING")

 fmt.Println(greeting)
}

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