Format

Format existing .env files, quoting unquoted values and standardizing structure.

Formatting Environment Files (`format` / `fmt`)

The format command formats your existing .env files. It wraps values in quotes (e.g. converting NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000 to NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL="http://localhost:3000"), normalizes spacing, and preserves comments, inline comments, and blank lines.

bash
envnix format

By default, running envnix format reads your .env file and outputs the formatted result to .env.formatted.

In-Place Formatting (`--write` / `-w` or `--force` / `-f`)

To format the original .env file directly in-place:

bash
envnix format --write
# or
envnix format --force

Options

Option	Shorthand	Description
`--write`	`-w`	Format directly in-place (overwrites the input file)
`--force`	`-f`	Alias for `--write`
`--input <file>`	`-i`	Custom input file instead of the default `.env`
`--output <file>`	`-o`	Custom output file path
`--all`	`-a`	Format all matched `.env*` files in the directory
`--quotes <mode>`		Quotes mode: `always` (default), `as-needed`, or `never`
`--quote-type <type>`		Quote type: `double` (default) or `single`
`--sort [asc\|desc]`		Sort variables alphabetically (keeps comments attached)
`--no-sort`		Disable sorting
`--no-comments`		Strip comments from output
`--dry-run`		Print formatted output to stdout without modifying disk
`--check`		Check if input files are formatted (for CI environments)
`--verbose`		Print verbose logs
`--quiet`	`-q`	Only output errors

Example Usage

Given an input .env file:

env
# API & server configuration
PORT=3000
NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000 # Frontend base URL
API_SECRET='super-secret-token'
EMPTY=

Running envnix format --write produces:

env
# API & server configuration
PORT="3000"
NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL="http://localhost:3000" # Frontend base URL
API_SECRET="super-secret-token"
EMPTY=""

Format All Environment Files

To format all .env* files in your project directory in-place:

bash
envnix format --all --write

CI Formatting Check

Check if all environment files are properly formatted in your CI workflows:

bash
envnix format --check

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Last updated on October 24, 2026

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