Env Inheritance

Env Inheritance keeps your .env files DRY. Instead of copy-pasting CLIENT_VERSION = 2.1.0 across dev.env, staging.env, and prod.env, define it once in base.env and extend. For more advanced cases, .profile files compose multiple envs into a single selectable profile.

Tip

Env Inheritance is a Pro feature. Free users see @extends highlighted but the inheritance doesn’t resolve at runtime. See Pricing.

@extends — inherit from a base env

envs/base.env

CLIENT_VERSION = 2.1.0
TIMEOUT        = 30000
LOG_LEVEL      = info

envs/dev.env

@extends base.env

BASE_URL  = https://api.dev.example.com
API_TOKEN = dev-token
LOG_LEVEL = debug          # override base.env

envs/prod.env

@extends base.env

BASE_URL = https://api.prod.example.com
TIMEOUT  = 15000           # override base.env

Runtime resolution: child keys override parent keys. LOG_LEVEL in dev.env is debug, inherited everywhere else as info.

Multiple extends

Multiple @extends chain in order. Later extends win:

envs/dev.env

@extends base.env
@extends defaults.env

BASE_URL = https://api.dev.example.com

Resolution (highest-priority last):

1. base.env
2. defaults.env (overrides base.env)
3. dev.env (overrides both)

.profile — compose multiple envs

When inheritance isn’t enough — you need region + role + tenant overlays — a .profile file stacks envs:

envs/profiles/dev-mobile-acme.profile

@env envs/base.env
@env envs/dev.env
@env envs/mobile-overrides.env
@env envs/tenant-acme.env

Select dev-mobile-acme from the env dropdown; all four files merge with last-wins ordering.

See the .profile reference for syntax details.

Env tooltip shows sources

Hover the env pill in the header — the tooltip shows every resolved key with its source file. You always know which env contributed which value.

dev.env (extends base.env)
─────────────────────────
CLIENT_VERSION = 2.1.0      (base.env)
TIMEOUT        = 30000      (base.env)
LOG_LEVEL      = debug      (dev.env)
BASE_URL       = https://…  (dev.env)
API_TOKEN      = dev-token  (dev.env)

Diagnostics

Settings → Envs panel shows the inheritance tree for your workspace:

• Broken @extends pointing to a missing file
• Circular extends chains
• Keys defined in multiple extended envs (conflict warnings)

Free vs Pro

Capability	Free	Pro
Editor highlights @extends / .profile	✓	✓
Runtime inheritance resolution	—	✓
.profile files selectable	—	✓
Envs Manager diagnostics	—	✓

See also

• .env reference
• .profile reference
• Pricing