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Overview

This example demonstrates how to configure envcheck for a typical Node.js application. It validates Node.js and npm versions, required environment variables, port availability, and essential project files.

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Configuration

.envcheck.yaml
version: "1"

tools:
  - name: node
    version: ">=18.0.0"
    required: true
  - name: npm
    version: ">=9.0.0"
    required: true
  - name: git
    required: true

env_vars:
  - name: NODE_ENV
    required: false
  - name: DATABASE_URL
    required: true

ports:
  - 3000
  - 5432

files:
  - path: .env
    required: true
  - path: package.json
    required: true

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What This Checks

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Tools

  • node >=18.0.0: Ensures you’re running a modern LTS version of Node.js with the latest features and security patches
  • npm >=9.0.0: Validates you have a compatible npm version with improved workspace support
  • git: Confirms git is installed for version control operations

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Environment Variables

  • NODE_ENV (optional): Standard Node.js environment variable for development/production modes
  • DATABASE_URL (required): Connection string for database access - critical for application functionality

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Ports

  • 3000: Default development server port for most Node.js frameworks (Express, Next.js, etc.)
  • 5432: PostgreSQL database port - ensures no conflicts with local database

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Files

  • .env: Local environment configuration file must exist
  • package.json: Project manifest is required for dependency management

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Expected Output

$ envcheck

✓ Tools
  ✓ node: 18.17.0 (>= 18.0.0)
  ✓ npm: 9.6.7 (>= 9.0.0)
  ✓ git: installed

✓ Environment Variables
  ✓ NODE_ENV: development
  ✓ DATABASE_URL: ***

✓ Ports
  ✓ 3000: available
  ✓ 5432: available

✓ Files
  ✓ .env: exists
  ✓ package.json: exists

All checks passed!

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Tips for Node.js Projects

Use .env.example as a template file committed to git, and create your local .env from it. Add .env to your .gitignore to prevent committing secrets.
If port 3000 is in use, you may have another dev server running. Use lsof -i :3000 on macOS/Linux or netstat -ano | findstr :3000 on Windows to find the process.
For monorepo setups with multiple Node.js services, create separate .envcheck.yaml files in each package directory with service-specific configurations.

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Common Variations

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TypeScript Projects

Add TypeScript compiler checks: 
tools:
  - name: node
    version: ">=18.0.0"
    required: true
  - name: npm
    version: ">=9.0.0"
    required: true
  - name: tsc
    required: true

files:
  - path: tsconfig.json
    required: true

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Next.js Applications

Check for Next.js-specific requirements: 
env_vars:
  - name: NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL
    required: true
  - name: NEXTAUTH_SECRET
    required: true

ports:
  - 3000

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Microservices

Validate additional service dependencies: 
tools:
  - name: docker
    required: true
  - name: docker-compose
    required: true

ports:
  - 3000  # API service
  - 3001  # Auth service
  - 6379  # Redis

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