.env.dist.local [hot] Access

PAYMENT_GATEWAY_KEY=pk_test_dummy PAYMENT_GATEWAY_SECRET=sk_test_dummy GEOCODING_API_KEY=local_dummy_key

One significant risk occurs when an application merges .env files at runtime. A developer might accidentally leak a local or test configuration into a production environment. For example, a DATABASE_URL from a developer's .env.local file could, through a flawed build or deployment script, override the production database configuration. This can lead to a catastrophic service outage or data corruption. This is why the hierarchy of files must be strictly controlled at the application loading level , not just at the file level. .env.dist.local