Your First Variables
Signing up for EnvManager takes you straight to work. There is no setup wizard to click through — we create your workspace for you and drop you on the one screen that matters.
What We Set Up For You
The moment your account is created, EnvManager automatically builds:
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Organization | Your workspace, named after your email. Rename it any time in organization settings. |
| Project | A project called My First Project. Rename it in project settings. |
| Environments | development and production, ready to use. |
This takes about a second, and then you land on your project page.
Nothing here is permanent. Rename anything, add more environments, or create extra projects whenever you like.
Step 1: Paste Your .env
Your project starts empty, and the fastest way to fill it is to paste the .env
file you already have.
Open your existing .env file
Any KEY=value file works — .env, .env.local, .env.production. Comment
lines starting with # and blank lines are ignored.
Paste it into the box
The paste box is already focused when you arrive, so you can paste straight away. As you paste, EnvManager tells you how many variables it found and how many of them look like secrets.
Click "Continue"
The button shows the count, for example Continue with 12 variables.
Review, then import
You'll see a table of everything that was found: the key, a masked preview of
the value, and a Secret checkbox. Keys containing words like SECRET,
KEY, TOKEN, PASSWORD or CREDENTIAL are ticked as secrets automatically.
Tick or untick anything you want to change, then click Import.
Nothing is saved until you click Import on the review screen. Values marked as secrets are encrypted in a vault and are never shown in plain text to anyone outside your organization.
Other ways to add your first variables
Underneath the paste box there are two alternatives:
- Upload a
.envfile instead — pick a file from your computer rather than pasting. Useful for larger files. See Importing Variables. - Add one variable manually — type a single key and value. Handy when you only need one or two.
Step 2: Pull Them Back Out
Once your variables are in, the project page shows you the two commands that bring them onto your machine:
npx @envmanager-cli/cli login
npx @envmanager-cli/cli pull --project <your-project-id> --environment development
Use the copy button next to the block — the project ID and environment name are
already filled in for you. The first command opens your browser to sign in; the
second writes a .env file in your current folder.
See the CLI Overview for everything else the CLI can do.
Step 3: Push Them Where They Run
Instead of pulling manually, you can have EnvManager keep your hosting platform in sync. From the project page, follow the see all integrations link to connect:
Vercel, Railway, Render, Dokploy, Coolify, GitHub Actions, AWS, GCP and more.
Each integration pushes the variables for a chosen environment whenever they change. See Integrations.
Working With Environments
Your project has two environment tabs at the top: development and production. Each one holds its own set of variables — the same key can have a different value in each.
Switching tabs shows that environment's variables. A newly created environment
is empty, so you'll see the paste box again — paste that environment's .env
the same way.
What's Next?
Secrets
How encryption works and who can reveal a value.
Invite Your Team
Add colleagues and control who can read or write each environment.
The CLI
Pull, push, diff and run commands with your variables injected.
Common Questions
I pasted my file but it says no variables were found.
EnvManager expects KEY=value lines. Files in other formats (YAML, JSON,
export KEY=value shell scripts) aren't parsed by the paste box — use Upload
a .env file instead, which understands more file types.
Will pasting my .env overwrite what's already there?
No. The review screen marks each key as New or as a conflict with an existing key, and you choose whether to skip or overwrite conflicts before importing.
Is it safe to paste production secrets?
Values you mark as secret are encrypted in a vault before they're stored, and
only members of your organization with access to that environment can reveal
them. If you'd rather start with something harmless, paste your development
.env first and add production later.
Can I rename "My First Project"?
Yes — open the project's Settings tab and change the name. The same goes for your organization name in organization settings.
Can I add more environments?
Yes. Add, rename or remove environments from your project settings. See Environments.