direnv (1)

direnv command ...

direnv is an environment variable manager for your shell. It knows how to hook into bash, zsh and fish shell to load or unload environment variables depending on your current directory. This allows to have project-specific environment variables and not clutter the "~/.profile" file.

Before each prompt it checks for the existence of an ".envrc" file in the current and parent directories. If the file exists, it is loaded into a bash sub-shell and all exported variables are then captured by direnv and then made available to your current shell.

Because direnv is compiled into a single static executable it is fast enough to be unnoticeable on each prompt. It is also language agnostic and can be used to build solutions similar to rbenv, pyenv, phpenv, ...

$ cd ~/my_project
$ echo ${FOO-nope}
nope
$ echo export FOO=foo > .envrc
.envrc is not allowed
$ direnv allow .
direnv: reloading
direnv: loading .envrc
direnv export: +FOO
$ echo ${FOO-nope}
foo
$ cd ..
direnv: unloading
direnv export: ~PATH
$ echo ${FOO-nope}
nope

For direnv to work properly it needs to be hooked into the shell. Each shell has it's own extension mechanism:

BASH

Add the following line at the end of your "~/.bashrc" file:

eval "$(direnv hook bash)"

Make sure it appears even after rvm, git-prompt and other shell extensions that manipulate your prompt.

ZSH

Add the previous line at the end of you "~/.zshrc" file:

eval "$(direnv hook zsh)"

FISH

Add the previous line at the end of your "~/.config/fish/config.fish" file:

eval (direnv hook fish)

In some target folder, create an ".envrc" file and add some export(1) directives in it.

On the next prompt you will notice that direnv complains about the ".envrc" being blocked. This is the security mechanism to avoid loading new files automatically. Otherwise and git repo that you pull, or tar archive that you unpack, would be able to wipe your hard drive once you cd into it.

So here we are pretty sure that it won't do anything bad. Type direnv allow . and watch direnv loading your new environment. Note that direnv edit . is a handy shortcut that open the file in your $EDITOR and automatically allows it if the file's modification time has changed.

Now that the environment is loaded you can notice that once your cd out of the directory it automatically gets unloaded. If you cd back into it it's loaded again. That's the base of the mechanism that allows you to build cool things.

Exporting variables by hand is a bit repetitive so direnv provides a set of utility functions that are made available in the context of the ".envrc" file. Check the direnv-stdlib(1) man page for more details. You can also define your own extensions inside a "~/.direnvrc" file.

Hopefully this is enough to get you started.

Bug reports, contributions and forks are welcome.

All bugs or other forms of discussion happen on

There is also a wiki available where you can share your usage patterns or other tips and tricks

Or drop by on the #direnv channel on FreeNode

to have a chat.

Copyright (C) 2014 zimbatm and contributors under the MIT licence.

direnv-stdlib(1)