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Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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

​
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