DevOps
Beginner
What is Environment Variable?
A dynamic value stored outside the application code that configures behavior without hardcoding sensitive or environment-specific data.
Environment variables store configuration that changes between environments (development, staging, production). Common examples include DATABASE_URL, API_KEY, and DEBUG_MODE.
They keep secrets out of source code, following the twelve-factor app methodology. Tools like .env files, Docker environment settings, and cloud provider secret managers handle environment variable management.
