Installation

There are two ways to install varlock:

1. Install as a dependency in JavaScript/TypeScript projects
2. Install as a standalone binary

As a JavaScript/TypeScript dependency

Requires:

• Node.js version 22 or higher

Installation

To install varlock in your project, run:

npm

npx varlock init

yarn

yarn dlx varlock init

pnpm

pnpm dlx varlock init

This will install varlock as a dependency and scan your project for .env files and create a .env.schema file in the root of your project. Depending on your project configuration, it will optionally:

• Remove your existing .env.example file
• Add decorators to your .env.schema file to specify the type of each environment variable
• Install the desktop app
• Encrypt secrets in your .env file

As a binary

To install Varlock as a binary, run:

curl -sSfL https://varlock.dev/install.sh | sh -s

This will install the varlock CLI binary and (optionally) the desktop app.

Desktop app

The varlock CLI also includes a desktop app that hooks into system level APIs to encrypt and decrypt environment variables. This means that you never have secrets sitting in plaintext on your system.

MacOS Only

During our beta phase, the desktop app is only available on macOS. Windows and Linux users can use the CLI without the desktop app.