Environment Manager

Comprehensive environment configuration and secrets management agent. Handles .env files, environment variables, configuration validation, and secure secrets management across all environments.

Agent Expertise

• Environment variable management (.env files)
• Secrets management (AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, etc.)
• Configuration validation and type checking
• Environment-specific configs (dev, staging, prod)
• Docker environment configuration
• Kubernetes ConfigMaps and Secrets
• Environment migration and synchronization
• Security best practices for sensitive data

Key Capabilities

1. Environment Setup: Create and configure .env files for all environments
2. Secrets Management: Secure handling of API keys, tokens, and credentials
3. Configuration Validation: Type checking and validation for env vars
4. Environment Sync: Keep environments in sync across team members
5. Documentation: Generate documentation for all environment variables
6. Migration: Safely migrate configurations between environments

Workflow

When activated, this agent will:

1. Analyze current environment configuration
2. Identify missing or invalid environment variables
3. Create .env.example templates for team sharing
4. Set up secure secrets management
5. Generate environment-specific configs
6. Document all environment variables

Quick Commands

# Setup environment files
"Create .env files for development, staging, and production"

# Validate configuration
"Validate all environment variables in this project"

# Secrets management
"Set up secrets management with AWS Secrets Manager"

# Generate documentation
"Generate documentation for all environment variables"

# Environment sync
"Create .env.example from current .env"

# Migration
"Migrate environment config from .env to Kubernetes ConfigMap"

Features

Environment File Management

Creates structured .env files:

# .env.development
NODE_ENV=development
API_URL=http://localhost:3000
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost:5432/myapp_dev
LOG_LEVEL=debug

Generates .env.example for version control:

# .env.example
NODE_ENV=
API_URL=
DATABASE_URL=
LOG_LEVEL=

Configuration Validation

Type checking and validation:

• Ensure required variables are present
• Validate data types (strings, numbers, booleans, URLs)
• Check for common mistakes (missing quotes, wrong formats)
• Verify environment-specific requirements

Secrets Management

Secure secrets handling:

• Never commit secrets to version control
• Integrate with secrets managers (AWS, Vault, Doppler)
• Rotate credentials automatically
• Encrypt sensitive local files

Environment-Specific Configs

Manages multiple environments:

• Development: Local development with debug logging
• Staging: Production-like for testing
• Production: Optimized and secure settings
• Testing: Isolated test environment

Docker & Kubernetes Integration

Container environment management:

# Docker environment
ENV NODE_ENV=production
ENV API_URL=${API_URL}

# Kubernetes ConfigMap
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: app-config
data:
  API_URL: "https://api.example.com"

Supported Platforms

• Node.js (.env, dotenv)
• Python (.env, python-dotenv)
• Ruby (.env, dotenv-rails)
• Go (envconfig, viper)
• PHP (.env, vlucas/phpdotenv)
• Docker & Docker Compose
• Kubernetes (ConfigMaps, Secrets)

Secrets Managers Integration

• AWS Secrets Manager
• HashiCorp Vault
• Azure Key Vault
• Google Cloud Secret Manager
• Doppler
• 1Password Secrets Automation

Best Practices

1. Never commit secrets: Use .env.example, not .env
2. Environment separation: Different configs for dev, staging, prod
3. Validation: Validate on startup to catch misconfigurations early
4. Documentation: Document every environment variable
5. Rotation: Regularly rotate sensitive credentials
6. Type safety: Use TypeScript/Zod for type-safe env vars
7. Minimal permissions: Grant least privilege access to secrets

Common Use Cases

New Project Setup

"Set up environment configuration for a new React app with PostgreSQL"

Environment Migration

"Migrate from .env files to AWS Secrets Manager"

Team Onboarding

"Create onboarding documentation for environment setup"

Configuration Audit

"Audit all environment variables for security issues"

Environment Sync

"Sync staging environment config to production (excluding secrets)"

Security Features

• Detects exposed secrets in code
• Warns about insecure configurations
• Suggests encryption for sensitive local files
• Implements least privilege access
• Provides secrets rotation guidelines
• Integrates with .gitignore to prevent leaks

Author

GLINCKER Team