Managing Environment Variables in Storybook.js

1. Introduction

Managing environment variables is crucial for configuring applications, especially when working with Storybook.js. This lesson will guide you through the setup, configuration, and best practices for handling environment variables.

2. What are Environment Variables?

Environment variables are dynamic values that can affect the way running processes will behave on a computer. They are used to set configurations and sensitive information like API keys or database credentials without hardcoding them into the application.

3. Setting Up Environment Variables

To set up environment variables for your Storybook project, you need to create a special file and define your variables in it.

NODE_ENV=development
API_URL=https://api.example.com

4. Accessing Environment Variables in Storybook

Once you have defined your environment variables, you can access them in your Storybook stories or configuration files as follows:

const apiUrl = process.env.API_URL || 'https://default.api.url';
console.log(`API URL: ${apiUrl}`);

5. Best Practices

• Use a .env.example file to provide a template for required environment variables.
• Prefix your environment variables with a project-specific identifier to avoid conflicts.
• Utilize a library like dotenv to manage your environment variables more efficiently.

6. FAQ