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Environment variables are the standard way to pass configuration and secrets (database credentials, API keys, feature flags) to your app without hardcoding them.

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Setting Environment Variables

The simplest approach — create a .env file in your app directory via the CLI: 
instapods exec my-app -- "cat > /home/instapod/app/.env << 'EOF'
DATABASE_URL=postgres://instapod:secret@localhost:5432/instapod
API_KEY=sk-your-api-key-here
NODE_ENV=production
EOF"
Then reload to pick up changes: 
instapods pods reload my-app

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Option 2: Set at Pod Creation (API)

Pass environment variables when creating a pod via the API: 
curl -X POST https://app.instapods.com/api/pods \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "my-app",
    "preset": "nodejs",
    "customizations": {
      "env_vars": {
        "NODE_ENV": "production",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "info"
      }
    }
  }'
Variables set this way are written to /etc/environment and automatically available to all processes.

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How Each Preset Reads Environment Variables

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Node.js

The systemd service sets NODE_ENV=production by default. Variables from /etc/environment are inherited automatically. For .env files, use the dotenv package: 
// At the top of your entry point (index.js)
require('dotenv').config();

// Access variables
const dbUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL;
const apiKey = process.env.API_KEY;

npm install dotenv

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Python

Variables from /etc/environment are inherited by the systemd service automatically. For .env files, use python-dotenv: 
# app.py
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import os

load_dotenv()  # loads .env from current directory

db_url = os.environ.get('DATABASE_URL')
api_key = os.environ.get('API_KEY')

# requirements.txt
python-dotenv>=1.0
flask>=3.0

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PHP

PHP-FPM provides access to system environment variables via getenv(). For .env files, parse them manually or use a library: 
<?php
// Simple .env loading (no library needed)
$envFile = __DIR__ . '/../.env';
if (file_exists($envFile)) {
    foreach (file($envFile, FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES | FILE_SKIP_EMPTY_LINES) as $line) {
        if ($line[0] === '#') continue;
        if (strpos($line, '=') !== false) putenv(trim($line));
    }
}

$dbPass = getenv('DB_PASS') ?: '';
$apiKey = getenv('API_KEY') ?: '';
For Laravel, the framework handles .env files automatically — just create the file and it works.

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Static

Static sites don’t run server-side code. For JavaScript apps that need configuration, use a config.js file: 
// config.js (served as a static file)
window.APP_CONFIG = {
  API_URL: 'https://api.example.com',
  ENV: 'production'
};

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Common Pattern: Database Credentials

After installing a database service, get the credentials and set them as env vars: 
# Install MySQL
instapods services add my-app -s mysql -w

# Get the auto-generated password
instapods services creds my-app -s mysql

# Create .env with the credentials
instapods exec my-app -- "cat > /home/instapod/app/.env << 'EOF'
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=3306
DB_NAME=instapod
DB_USER=instapod
DB_PASS=<password from creds command>
EOF"

# Reload to apply
instapods pods reload my-app

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Updating Variables

To update environment variables after pod creation: 
# Overwrite the .env file with new values
instapods exec my-app -- "cat > /home/instapod/app/.env << 'EOF'
DATABASE_URL=postgres://new-credentials@localhost/db
API_KEY=new-key
DEBUG=false
EOF"

# Restart the app to pick up changes
instapods pods reload my-app
The .env file is stored inside your pod. If you delete the pod, the file is lost. Keep a copy of your environment variables in a secure location.

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Best Practices

  • Never commit secrets to git — always use .env files or environment variables
  • Use defaults in code — Always provide fallback values (process.env.PORT || 3000)
  • Reload after changes — Run instapods pods reload after updating .env to restart the app
  • Separate configs — Use different .env files for development vs production