Environment variables

Environment variables allow us to parameterize sensitive state, like third party API keys and URLs, without hard coding them into our application code. We will take you through the process of using those variables to create an application with a user login.

  1. To start, deploy the Begin template below. When prompted give it a cool name!

Deploy to Begin

Make note of the staging and production URLs after it is deployed.

  1. Create three OAuth applications on GitHub following these instructions …this ensures totally isolated systems for testing, staging and production environments
Application name Homepage URL Authorization callback URL
My App Local http://localhost:3333 http://localhost:3333/login
My App Staging https://foo-123-staging.begin.app https://foo-123-staging.begin.app/login
My App Production https://foo-123.begin.app https://foo-123.begin.app/login
  1. Set up local development for this project.
# Clone your app repo locally
git clone https://github.com/username/begin-app-project-name.git

# cd into your Begin project dir
cd begin-app-project-name

# Install NPM packages
npm install
  1. Create a file called .arc-env in the root of the project directory and add the GitHub Client ID, GitHub Secret Key and redirect values from the GitHub OAuth apps created in step 2. The Architect Sandbox will load environment variables from the .arc-env file for local testing only.

These environment variables can be accessed using process.env.YOUR_ENV_VARIABLE. For example, in the code we make a reference to process.env.GITHUB_CLIENT_ID which will reference the .arc-env file. This let's us manage secrets and keys without hard coding them into the application.

# .arc-env
@testing
GITHUB_CLIENT_ID xxx
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET xxx
GITHUB_REDIRECT http://localhost:3333/login

⚠️ Do not commit .arc-env to revision control. Make sure it is added to your .gitignore.

  1. Add the environment variables for staging and production on Begin, since they are not committed to the GitHub repo.

To add your environment variables, open Environments in the left nav of your project's console.

Check out the docs for more documentation on environment variables on Begin.

Environment Variables Screenshot

  1. Now that the environment variables are set both locally in the .arc-env file and on Begin, Proceed to implement OAuth