Configuration

Environment Variables API

The environment object provides access to environment variables in your Zuplo API gateway. It returns a record of environment variable names to their values.

Interface

Code(ts)
 
const environment: Record<string, string | undefined>;

Usage

Access environment variables using the environment object:

Code(ts)
 
import { environment, ZuploContext, ZuploRequest } from "@zuplo/runtime";

export default async function handler(
  request: ZuploRequest,
  context: ZuploContext,
) {
  // Access environment variables
  const apiKey = environment.API_KEY;
  const apiUrl = environment.API_BASE_URL;

  if (!apiKey) {
    throw new Error("API_KEY environment variable is not set");
  }

  const response = await fetch(`${apiUrl}/data`, {
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
    },
  });

  return response;
}

Type Safety

Since environment variables might not be defined, they return string | undefined:

Code(ts)
 
import { environment } from "@zuplo/runtime";

// TypeScript knows this could be undefined
const value = environment.MY_VAR; // string | undefined

// Always check before using
if (value) {
  // value is string here
  console.log(value.toUpperCase());
}

// Or provide a default
const port = environment.PORT || "3000";

Common Patterns

Required Environment Variables

Create a helper to validate required variables:

Code(ts)
 
import { environment, ConfigurationError } from "@zuplo/runtime";

function getRequiredEnv(name: string): string {
  const value = environment[name];
  if (!value) {
    throw new ConfigurationError(
      `Required environment variable '${name}' is not set`,
    );
  }
  return value;
}

// Usage
export default async function handler(
  request: ZuploRequest,
  context: ZuploContext,
) {
  const apiKey = getRequiredEnv("API_KEY");
  const apiUrl = getRequiredEnv("API_BASE_URL");

  // Both are guaranteed to be strings
  return fetch(`${apiUrl}/endpoint`, {
    headers: { "X-API-Key": apiKey },
  });
}

Configuration Object

Create a configuration object from environment variables:

Code(ts)
 
import { environment, ConfigurationError } from "@zuplo/runtime";

interface Config {
  apiKey: string;
  apiUrl: string;
  maxRetries: number;
  timeout: number;
  debug: boolean;
}

function loadConfig(): Config {
  const apiKey = environment.API_KEY;
  const apiUrl = environment.API_URL;

  if (!apiKey || !apiUrl) {
    throw new ConfigurationError("Missing required environment variables");
  }

  return {
    apiKey,
    apiUrl,
    maxRetries: parseInt(environment.MAX_RETRIES || "3"),
    timeout: parseInt(environment.TIMEOUT_MS || "5000"),
    debug: environment.DEBUG === "true",
  };
}

// Load once and reuse
const config = loadConfig();

export default async function handler(
  request: ZuploRequest,
  context: ZuploContext,
) {
  if (config.debug) {
    context.log.debug("Request received", { url: request.url });
  }

  // Use config values
  return fetchWithRetry(config.apiUrl, {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${config.apiKey}` },
    maxRetries: config.maxRetries,
    timeout: config.timeout,
  });
}

Environment-Specific Configuration

To handle environment-specific logic, use environment variables that you define:

Code(ts)
 
import { environment } from "@zuplo/runtime";

// Define your own environment variable to identify the environment
const isProduction = environment.ENVIRONMENT === "production";
const isStaging = environment.ENVIRONMENT === "staging";
const isDevelopment = environment.ENVIRONMENT === "development";

export default async function handler(
  request: ZuploRequest,
  context: ZuploContext,
) {
  // Use different endpoints based on environment
  const apiUrl = isProduction
    ? "https://api.example.com"
    : isStaging
      ? "https://staging-api.example.com"
      : "https://dev-api.example.com";

  // Enable debug logging in non-production
  if (!isProduction) {
    context.log.debug("Incoming request", {
      headers: Object.fromEntries(request.headers),
      url: request.url,
    });
  }

  // Use stricter security in production
  const headers: HeadersInit = {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  };

  if (isProduction) {
    headers["Strict-Transport-Security"] = "max-age=31536000";
  }

  return new Response("OK", { headers });
}

Secret Management

Code(ts)
 
import { environment } from "@zuplo/runtime";

// Group related secrets
const secrets = {
  database: {
    host: environment.DB_HOST || "localhost",
    port: environment.DB_PORT || "5432",
    user: environment.DB_USER,
    password: environment.DB_PASSWORD,
    name: environment.DB_NAME || "myapp",
  },
  redis: {
    url: environment.REDIS_URL || "redis://localhost:6379",
  },
  external: {
    stripeKey: environment.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY,
    sendgridKey: environment.SENDGRID_API_KEY,
  },
};

// Validate all required secrets on startup
function validateSecrets() {
  const missing: string[] = [];

  if (!secrets.database.user) missing.push("DB_USER");
  if (!secrets.database.password) missing.push("DB_PASSWORD");
  if (!secrets.external.stripeKey) missing.push("STRIPE_SECRET_KEY");

  if (missing.length > 0) {
    throw new ConfigurationError(
      `Missing required secrets: ${missing.join(", ")}`,
    );
  }
}

// Run validation
validateSecrets();

Environment Detection

Zuplo does not provide a built-in NODE_ENV variable since it runs on a custom V8 runtime, not Node.js. To implement environment-specific logic, define your own environment variables (e.g., ENVIRONMENT, STAGE, or ENV_TYPE) and set them appropriately for each environment in your project settings.

Best Practices

1. Use Descriptive Names

Code(ts)
 
// Good
environment.STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET;
environment.DATABASE_CONNECTION_STRING;
environment.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL;

// Less clear
environment.KEY;
environment.URL;
environment.SECRET;

2. Provide Defaults Where Appropriate

Code(ts)
 
const config = {
  port: environment.PORT || "3000",
  logLevel: environment.LOG_LEVEL || "info",
  maxConnections: parseInt(environment.MAX_CONNECTIONS || "100"),
  enableCache: environment.ENABLE_CACHE !== "false", // Default true
};

3. Validate Early

Code(ts)
 
// Validate at module load time, not request time
const apiKey = environment.API_KEY;
if (!apiKey) {
  throw new ConfigurationError("API_KEY must be set");
}

export default async function handler(
  request: ZuploRequest,
  context: ZuploContext,
) {
  // apiKey is guaranteed to exist here
  return fetch("https://api.example.com", {
    headers: { "X-API-Key": apiKey },
  });
}

4. Don't Log Secrets

Code(ts)
 
// DON'T do this
context.log.info("Config loaded", {
  apiKey: environment.API_KEY,
});

// DO this instead
context.log.info("Config loaded", {
  apiKeyPresent: !!environment.API_KEY,
  apiKeyLength: environment.API_KEY?.length,
});

Setting Environment Variables

Environment variables are set in the Zuplo Portal:

1. Navigate to your project
2. Go to Settings → Environment Variables
3. Add variables for each environment (production, preview, development)
4. Variables are encrypted at rest and in transit

Beta Status

The environment object is currently in beta and the API may change in future releases.

See Also

• Environment Variables - Setting up environment variables
• ConfigurationError - Error handling for configuration issues
• Going to Production - Production configuration best practices