Dotenv

Load a .env next to your OpenCode config and resolve {env:VAR} placeholders — no shell wrapper, no profile alias.

A plugin for OpenCode that reads a .env file from your config directory into the running process, so {env:VAR} placeholders in opencode.json, MCP definitions, provider options, and other plugins resolve automatically. Cross-platform (Linux, macOS, Windows) with zero runtime dependencies.

Repository: AeonDave/opencode-dot-env

Why This Exists

OpenCode resolves {env:VAR} from the process environment at startup. Without help, that means exporting every secret beforehand — a shell wrapper script, a profile alias, or system-wide environment variables. That is fragile and easy to forget.

This plugin removes the wrapper: drop a .env next to opencode.json and the variables are loaded for you, on every OS, every launch.

• One .env, everywhere — Keep values like API_KEY, ACCESS_TOKEN, and other secrets in a single gitignored file beside your config.
• Placeholders just work — {env:VAR} and ${VAR} in config files resolve from the loaded .env.
• Shells inherit it too — Loaded variables are injected into the bash tool and terminal sessions.

How It Works

The plugin runs at three points, earliest first:

1. Plugin init — before MCP servers spawn and providers initialize, it parses the .env and populates process.env. This is what makes OpenCode's own {env:VAR} resolution succeed.
2. config hook — rewrites any {env:VAR} / ${VAR} literals that survived into the merged config object (covers opencode.json, dcp.jsonc, and other plugins' config).
3. shell.env hook — injects the loaded variables into shell executions (bash tool + user terminals).

Unknown variables are left untouched, so a typo never silently blanks a value.

.env Resolution

The plugin looks for a .env in your OpenCode config directory, resolved in this order:

1. OPENCODE_DOTENV_DIR — explicit directory to search.
2. OPENCODE_CONFIG — explicit config file; its directory is used.
3. XDG_CONFIG_HOME/opencode.
4. ~/.config/opencode (OpenCode's default on every OS, including Windows).

An optional OPENCODE_DOTENV_PATH points at a specific .env file, which is loaded last and wins.

Supported .env syntax

# comments and blank lines are ignored
export FOO=bar
API_KEY="example-key"
QUOTED='single quoted'
MULTILINE="line1\nline2"   # \n \t \r \\ \" unescaped inside double quotes

Installation

From npm (recommended)

Add the package to the plugin array in your OpenCode config at ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json:

{
  "plugin": ["@aeondave/opencode-dotenv@latest"]
}

OpenCode installs the plugin automatically on the next start. To pin a version, replace @latest with a specific version (e.g. @0.1.0).

From a local clone (shim)

Run from a local checkout — useful before publishing or while hacking on the plugin:

1. Clone the repository and install dependencies:

   git clone https://github.com/AeonDave/opencode-dot-env.git
   cd opencode-dot-env
   npm install
   

2. Create a shim file in your global plugin directory that re-exports the checkout's entry point. The plugin directory is plugins (plural):

   • Path: ~/.config/opencode/plugins/dotenv.ts
   • Content — a single line pointing at the absolute path of the cloned entry point:

   export { default } from "/absolute/path/to/opencode-dot-env/src/plugin/dotenv.ts"
   

   On Windows, use forward slashes and include the drive letter, for example:

   export { default } from "C:/path/to/opencode-dot-env/src/plugin/dotenv.ts"
   

3. Restart OpenCode. The plugin loads from your working tree, so edits to src/ take effect on the next restart. Delete the shim file to uninstall.

Use one method at a time. If you add the npm entry, remove the local shim (and vice versa) so the plugin is not loaded twice.

Directory name: current OpenCode scans plugins (plural) — ~/.config/opencode/plugins/ and .opencode/plugins/. Some older builds used the singular plugin/. If the shim doesn't load, check your version (opencode --version) and try the other spelling.

Usage

1. Put a .env next to your config:

   # ~/.config/opencode/.env
   API_KEY=your-api-key
   ACCESS_TOKEN=your-access-token
   

2. Reference the variables in your config as usual:

   // Example excerpt
   {
     "somePlugin": {
       "apiKey": "{env:API_KEY}",
       "accessToken": "${ACCESS_TOKEN}"
     }
   }
   

3. Start OpenCode normally — no wrapper script, no alias.

Add .env to your .gitignore. Never commit real secrets.

Configuration

Environment variable	Default	Effect
OPENCODE_DOTENV_DIR	unset	Directory to search for .env (overrides config-dir detection).
OPENCODE_DOTENV_PATH	unset	Path to an extra .env file, loaded last (highest priority).
OPENCODE_DOTENV_OVERRIDE	0	When truthy (1/true/yes/on), .env values replace existing process variables. By default existing variables are kept.
OPENCODE_DOTENV_SILENT	0	When truthy, suppress info/debug logs (warnings still shown).

Development

npm install      # install dev dependencies
npm run typecheck

Disclaimer

This project is not built by the OpenCode team and is not affiliated with OpenCode.

License

MIT