env()

Signature

env() — returns any

Available in: controller, model, mapper, migrator, migration, tabledefinition Category: Miscellaneous Functions

Description

Returns the value of an environment variable. Checks application.env (loaded from .env files) first, then falls back to system environment variables (server.system.environment). Returns the default if the variable is not found in either location.

named argument default is also accepted for backwards compatibility with pre-rename callers.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
name	string	yes	—	The environment variable name to look up.
defaultValue	any	no	—	Value to return if the variable is not found. The legacy

Examples

// 1. Read a required environment variable
dbUrl = env("DATABASE_URL");
// dbUrl -> "postgres://user:pass@localhost/myapp" (or "" if not set)

// 2. Provide a default when the variable may be absent
smtpHost = env("SMTP_HOST", "localhost");
// smtpHost -> "localhost" when SMTP_HOST is not defined in .env or system env

// 3. Guard application startup based on an environment variable
appSecret = env("APP_SECRET_KEY");
if (!Len(appSecret)) {
	throw(type="App.ConfigError", message="APP_SECRET_KEY must be set.");
}