EnvEditor

Advanced .env Parser, Writer, Schema Validator, and Config Factory for PHP

EnvEditor is a full-featured environment management toolkit for modern PHP projects—
designed to replace fragile string-based .env handling with a structured, validated, type-safe, and developer-friendly system.

This documentation covers every part of the library in depth:

🔹 Writer (editing .env files with order control & multiline support)
🔹 Reader / Parser (accurately parses any real-world dotenv file)
🔹 Formatter (ensures valid dotenv formatting & escaping)
🔹 Schema Validator (required/optional keys, casting, rules, grouping)
🔹 Rules Engine (min/max/regex/length/in/custom)
🔹 Config Factory (DTO Generator) for type-safe config objects
🔹 Vanilla PHP Integration Guide
🔹 Full examples for every method

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Features

Feature Category	Description
Parser	High-precision dotenv parser with strict key validation, escape handling, and export removal.
Writer	Smart writer with ordering, spacing, top/bottom, before/after insertion.
Multiline Support	Fully supports multiline values with proper quote detection and unescaping.
Comments	Preserves inline comments and full line comments exactly as they appear.
Atomic Saving	Safer writes using temp files to prevent corruption.
Casting	Built-in casting: array, json, bool, float, int.
Enum Casting	Convert values into backed PHP enums automatically.
Validation Rules	min, max, regex, in, length, custom callbacks.
Schema Groups	Namespaced schemas: e.g., group('DB_', fn($db) => … ).
DTO Factory	Build typed objects from env via EnvConfigFactory.
Env Loader	Loads validated env values into putenv(), $_ENV, and $_SERVER.
Test Coverage	Comprehensive test suite validating all core features.

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Installation

composer require vilnisgr/env-editor

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Usage Guide

use VilnisGr\EnvEditor\Writer\DotenvWriter;

$writer = new DotenvWriter();
$writer->load('.env');

$writer->set('APP_ENV', 'production');
$writer->save();

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1. DOTENV WRITER – FULL DOCUMENTATION & TUTORIAL

1.1 Creating the writer

$writer = new DotenvWriter();
$writer->load('.env');

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1.2 Setting / updating a key

$writer->set('APP_NAME', 'MyApp');

If the key exists, it's updated.
If not, it's added at the bottom.

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1.3 Insert AFTER another key

$writer->after('DB_HOST')->set('DB_PORT', '3306');

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1.4 Insert BEFORE a key

$writer->before('APP_ENV')->set('APP_NAME', 'NewName');

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1.5 Spacing (adds blank lines before inserting)

$writer->after('APP_ENV')->spacing(2)->set('API_KEY', 'xyz');

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1.6 Insert at TOP or BOTTOM

$writer->top()->set('HEADER', '1');
$writer->bottom()->set('FOOTER', '9');

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1.7 Array-style positioning

$writer->set('TOKEN', 'abc', position: ['after' => 'API_KEY'], spacing: 1);

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1.8 Remove a key

$writer->remove('DB_USER');

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1.9 Import multiple keys

$writer->import([
    'A' => '1',
    'B' => '2'
]);

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1.10 Export env to array

$array = $writer->toArray();

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1.11 Save (atomic & non-atomic)

$writer->save();                  // atomic
$writer->save(atomic: false);     // simple write

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1.12 Preview without saving

echo $writer->preview();

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1.13 Backup & Restore

$writer->backup('.env.bak');
$writer->restore('.env.bak');

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1.14 Diff

$diff = $writer->diff('.env.example');

Returns:

[
  'missing_in_current' => [...],
  'extra_in_current' => [...],
  'changed' => [
      KEY => ['current' => X, 'other' => Y]
  ]
]

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1.15 Merge

$writer->merge('.env.example', overrideExisting: false);

overrideExisting:

• false (default): keep the value already in your current .env file.
• true: replace the value in your current .env with the value from the other file.

Example:
Current .env has : APP_ENV=production
other file has : APP_ENV=local

merge(..., false) -> keeps the value from your current .env ("production")
merge(..., true) -> replaces it with the value from the other file ("local")

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2. DOTENV PARSER

Inline comments preserved

APP_NAME=MyApp # comment

export` keyword support

export APP_KEY=123

Multiline values

PRIVATE_KEY="-----BEGIN-----
LINE1
LINE2
-----END-----"

Escapes recognized

• \n
• \r
• \t
• \
• "

Key validation

Key must match:

/^[A-Za-z0-9_.:-]+$/

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3. VALUE FORMATTER

Ensures correct .env formatting.

Auto-quotes values containing:

• spaces
• tabs
• newline
• #

Escape rules

\ → \
" → \"  


 → \n  

 → \r  
	 → \t

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4. ENV LOADER

Loads parsed env into:

• putenv()
• $_ENV
• $_SERVER

Example:

$loader = new EnvLoader('.env');
$loader->load(true);

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5. ENV SCHEMA – COMPLETE VALIDATOR

$schema = EnvSchema::make()
    ->required('APP_NAME', 'DB_HOST')
    ->optional('DEBUG', 'false')
    ->int('DB_PORT')
    ->bool('DEBUG');

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Type Casts

Method	Result
int()	converts "123" → 123
float()	"1.5" → 1.5
bool()	"true" → true
array()	"a,b,c" → ['a','b','c']
json()	'{"a":1}' → ['a'=>1]
castEnum()	"A" → Enum::A

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Validation Rules

$rules = $schema->rules();

$rules->min('PORT', 1000);
$rules->max('PORT', 9000);
$rules->regex('API_KEY', '/^[A-Z]+$/');
$rules->in('APP_ENV', ['local','prod']);
$rules->length('TOKEN', 32);

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Schema Groups

$schema->group('DB_', function (EnvSchema $db) {
    $db->required('HOST', 'USER');
    $db->optional('PORT', '3306')->int('PORT');
});

Generates:

• DB_HOST
• DB_USER
• DB_PORT

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6. CONFIG FACTORY – DTO BUILDER

$factory = new EnvConfigFactory($schema, $writer);
$config = $factory->make(AppConfig::class);

final class AppConfig
{
    public function __construct(
      public string $appName,
      public int $dbPort,
      public bool $debug
    ) {}
}

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7. VANILLA PHP INTEGRATION

AppConfig.php (DTO class)

final class AppConfig
{
    public function __construct(
        public string $appName,  // maps to APP_NAME
        public int    $dbPort,   // maps to DB_PORT
        public bool   $debug     // maps to DEBUG
    ) {}
}

Loading .env and creating config

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use VilnisGr\EnvEditor\Writer\DotenvWriter;
use VilnisGr\EnvEditor\Schema\EnvSchema;
use VilnisGr\EnvEditor\Schema\EnvConfigFactory;

$writer = new DotenvWriter();
$writer->load('.env');

$schema = EnvSchema::make()
    ->required('APP_NAME')
    ->int('DB_PORT')
    ->bool('DEBUG');

$config = (new EnvConfigFactory($schema, $writer))
    ->make(AppConfig::class);

Retrieving env values (3 different ways)

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1. From the writer (raw .env, uncasted)

$env = $writer->toArray();  
echo $env['APP_NAME'];

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2. From the typed DTO

echo $config->appName;   // string  
echo $config->dbPort;    // int  
echo $config->debug;     // bool  

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3. From PHP runtime environment (after EnvLoader)

use VilnisGr\EnvEditor\Loader\EnvLoader;

$loader = new EnvLoader('.env');
$loader->load(true); // true = overwrite system env vars

echo getenv('APP_NAME');   // string
echo $_ENV['APP_NAME'];    // string
echo $_SERVER['APP_NAME']; // string

When to use which?

• Writer → for manipulating the .env file itself.
• Config DTO → for application configuration, type-safe, validated.
• getenv() / $_ENV → when you need global system-level env variables.

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8. FULL LIST OF ALL PUBLIC METHODS

Writer Methods

Method	Description
load()	Load a .env file into the writer.
set()	Add or update a key with optional position & spacing.
remove()	Remove a key from the file.
save()	Save the file (atomic or non-atomic).
preview()	Get the output without writing to disk.
toArray()	Export all env entries as key => value.
import()	Import an associative array of values.
has()	Check if a key exists.
missingKeys()	Return keys missing from the file.
backup()	Create a backup of the env file.
restore()	Restore from a backup.
diff()	Compare against another env file.
merge()	Merge another env file into the current one.
after()	Insert the next set() after a specific key.
before()	Insert the next set() before a specific key.
top()	Insert the next set() at the top.
bottom()	Insert the next set() at the bottom.
spacing()	Add blank lines before inserting with set().

Schema Methods

Method	Description
required()	Define keys that must appear in the env.
optional()	Define optional keys with default values.
cast()	Cast a key using a specific type (int, bool, etc.).
bool()	Convenience method: cast to boolean.
int()	Convenience method: cast to integer.
float()	Cast to float.
array()	Cast comma-separated lists to arrays.
json()	Cast values to decoded JSON arrays.
castEnum()	Cast value into a PHP backed enum.
rules()	Get the rules object for adding validation rules.
group()	Create grouped/namespaced schemas (e.g., DB_HOST).
validate()	Validate & cast writer values based on schema.

Rules Methods

Method	Description
add()	Add a custom validation rule (callable).
validate()	Validate a value against all rules for a key.
min()	Require numeric value >= minimum.
max()	Require numeric value <= maximum.
in()	Require value to be in a fixed allow-list.
regex()	Require value to match a regular expression.
length()	Require string length to be between [min,max].
export()	Export all rules for use in grouped schemas.

ConfigFactory Methods

Method	Description
make()	Build a typed configuration DTO from validated environment variables.

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License, Author & Support

EnvEditor - Complete .env Toolkit for PHP
Maintained by: VilnisGrinbergs2000
License: MIT (Free for commercial and private use)
Source Code & Issues: https://github.com/VilnisGrinbergs2000/env-editor