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phplaravelphpdotenv

Using PHP functions in .env (dotenv) file

I'm trying to use a PHP function in .env file which is rand() in my case.

Here is what I'm trying to achieve in .env;

PROTOCOL="http"
DOMAIN="example.com"
URI="www.{$DOMAIN}"
RAND=rand(1,5)
CDN_URI="cdn{$RAND}.{$DOMAIN}"
CDN_URL="{$PROTOCOL}://{$CDN_URI}"

As you can see, I am trying to generate random integers from 1 to 5 which represent the CDN subdomain so that in a request I would get http://cdn2.example.com and in another one http://cdn4.example.com and so on.

I guess using PHP in .env is not natively supported but is there any way / workaround ?

P.S. I am using Laravel 5.

Solution

  • The .env file, as plain text, doesn't have support to PHP functions. This file was designed as a fallback for your environment variables (from the OS), so you cannot use PHP code on that. You can use a global variable to do something similar if you really need a global random number, instead:

    global $rand;
$rand = rand(1,5);

    Then where you need to use your number outside the main context (like inside functions), you'll need to declare global $rand:

    function someFunction ()
{
    global $rand;
    doSomethingWithRand($rand);
}

    But it's an ugly approach in my opinion. Depending on what you're trying to achieve, there is a better way to do that.

    Update

    Since you're using Laravel. You can add the call to rand() function in some of your config files, under /config/ dir, like: 'rand' => rand(1,5),. Then to access your random number, you should use:

    // If your config was set inside /config/app.php.
config('app.rand');

// OR

// If your config was set inside /config/services.php, for instance.
config('services.rand');

    Reference: http://laravel.com/docs/5.1/installation#accessing-configuration-values