direnv

direnv is a per-directory environment manager. When you cd into a project, it loads the .envrc file — setting variables, adding to PATH, or running any shell code — and unloads it when you leave.

Key Features

• Automatic env loading on cd.
• .envrc files per project, committed with the repo.
• Shell hooks for bash, zsh, fish, nushell.
• use node, use python helpers via stdlib.
• Env diff detection and reload.
• Safe: prompts on first use, whitelisting.

Pricing

direnv is free and open source under the MIT license.

Getting Started

brew install direnv
# add to ~/.zshrc
eval "$(direnv hook zsh)"
# in a project:
echo 'export DATABASE_URL=postgres://localhost/db' > .envrc
direnv allow