theskumar / theskumar/python-dotenv

Feature Request: generate a template from an env file

Open
#618 8 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

Dominant language
Python
Stars
8.9k
Forks
581
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

Hello,

Similar to the template support provided by dotenv in Ruby, it would be very helpful to have a CLI command that can generate an environment template file directly from an existing .env.

The goal is to make it easier to keep an environment template file up to date automatically.

For example:

# .env
S3_BUCKET=YOURS3BUCKET
SECRET_KEY=YOURSECRETKEYGOESHERE

Could generate:

# .env.template
S3_BUCKET=S3_BUCKET
SECRET_KEY=SECRET_KEY

This command could be integrated into a pre-commit hook to ensure the template always reflects the current set of environment variables.

Additionally, it would be helpful to support a configuration option to preserve selected variables as-is or to exclude them from the generated template.

Thank you for considering this feature.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

No files or tests are named in the issue. Start by reviewing the existing CLI commands and .env parsing behavior, then define how template generation, preserving selected variables, and exclusions should work. Done means a CLI command can generate the shown template while supporting those configuration options and keeping the template aligned with the source .env.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
cli
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.