CODEWITHSUNDEEP
node.jsenvironment-variables
joachim
joachim

Reputation: 692

Change ENV variables at runtime

Is it possible to inject/change the current enviroment variables in an already loaded and started NodeJS process?

Exposing an Interface within the application is not an option, restarting is also not a valid option.

The process is running inside a docker container, requiring a specific NodeJS Version is possible.

EDIT: The change must be done from outside the application source so doing process.env.ENV_VAR = "new env" is not possible.

Upvotes: 16

Views: 16486

Answers (2)

Kurtis Rader
Kurtis Rader

Reputation: 7469

It isn't possible to modify the env vars of a running process. This isn't unique to NodeJS processes. It's just how env vars work on UNIX like operating systems. The vars live within the address space of the process. And while they are, typically, initially placed at a well known location near the top of the stack the current vars are likely to be at an arbitrary address in the heap. Env vars are intentionally private to each process. So unless the program provides an API for changing its env vars you can't modify them once the program is running.

Upvotes: 14

Michele Della Mea
Michele Della Mea

Reputation: 156

You should use a redis store shared between containers that has stored the env.

redis node repo - redis listen for changes

Upvotes: 0

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