Environment Variables
The documentation is not too clear on handling environment variables for each data provider. For example, with the Airtable provider, the examples show the API_KEY and BASE_ID in
pages/_app.tsx
. I am thinking it would be good for the project generator to help in this regard π20 Replies
Hi @jawmes.. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave:
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In refine, environment variables can be set before running the
npm run build
command. This is because the build process will use these variables to create an optimized production build of your application. For example, if you want to set the API_URL
for your application, you can do this in a .env
file in your project root. Here's an example of how you can set the API_URL
:
After setting your environment variables, you can then run npm run build
to create a production build of your application. The build process will use the environment variables you've set. Remember to restart your development server after setting the environment variables to ensure they take effect. source (https://discord.com/channels/837692625737613362/1127230773209083916)
For Next.js applications, environment variables can be defined for different application running environments. To use environment variables in the browser, you can add a NEXT_PUBLIC_
prefix to a variable defined in env.local
. Next.js will automatically make it accessible for use in the browser and anywhere else in your application. source (https://discord.com/channels/837692625737613362/1128492978026053723)
However, the documentation and examples provided do not specifically mention how to handle environment variables for each data provider like Airtable. It would indeed be helpful if the project generator could assist with this. For now, you might need to manually set these environment variables in your project.
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rare-sapphireβ’15mo ago
Hello @jawmes. Thanks for the feedback π.
actually handling environment variables is not different from any react application
ratty-blushOPβ’11mo ago
I'm not too clear on using my API keys in the data provider component still @kapa.ai
Let me check the knowledge base for you. One moment! :books:
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In refine, you can use your API keys in the data provider component by passing them as arguments to the data provider function. For example, if you're using the Airtable data provider, you would pass your
API_TOKEN
and BASE_ID
as arguments to the dataProvider
function like so:
In this example, replace <API_TOKEN>
and <BASE_ID>
with your actual Airtable API token and base ID. This will allow the data provider to authenticate your requests to the Airtable API. source (https://refine.dev/docs/data/packages/airtable)
For security reasons, it's recommended to store sensitive information like API keys in environment variables instead of hardcoding them into your application. You can then access these environment variables in your application using process.env
. Here's an example:
In this example, process.env.API_TOKEN
and process.env.BASE_ID
would be replaced with the actual values of your Airtable API token and base ID when your application is built.
----------------------
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ratty-blushOPβ’11mo ago
How do I protect my keys from being exposed? @kapa.ai
Let me check the knowledge base for you. One moment! :books:
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To protect your keys from being exposed, you should store them in environment variables. Environment variables are a secure way to store sensitive information like API keys, as they are not included in your application's code and therefore not exposed when your code is shared or published.
Here's an example of how you can store your keys in an environment variable:
1. Create a
.env
file in the root directory of your project.
2. Inside this file, define your keys like so:
3. Save and close the .env
file.
Now, you can access these keys in your application using process.env
. For example:
Remember to add your .env
file to your .gitignore
file to ensure it's not included when your code is pushed to a remote repository.
In the context of refine and Supabase, you can use these environment variables when creating your Supabase client:
In this example, VITE_SUPABASE_URL
and VITE_SUPABASE_KEY
are environment variables that store your Supabase URL and key. The createClient
function then uses these values to create a Supabase client that can interact with your Supabase backend. source (https://refine.dev/blog/refine-pixels-5#setting-up-supabase-config)
Remember, never expose your sensitive keys in public repositories or logs. Always use environment variables or other secure methods to handle sensitive information.
----------------------
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ratty-blushOPβ’11mo ago
I'm using an airtable data provider @kapa.ai
Let me check the knowledge base for you. One moment! :books:
----------------------
To protect your API keys when using the Airtable data provider in refine, you should store them in environment variables. Here's how you can do it:
1. Create a
.env
file in the root directory of your project.
2. Inside this file, define your keys like so:
3. Save and close the .env
file.
Now, you can access these keys in your application using process.env
. For example:
In this example, process.env.AIRTABLE_API_TOKEN
and process.env.AIRTABLE_BASE_ID
would be replaced with the actual values of your Airtable API token and base ID when your application is built. source (https://refine.dev/docs/data/packages/airtable)
Remember to add your .env
file to your .gitignore
file to ensure it's not included when your code is pushed to a remote repository. This way, your API keys will be kept secure and won't be exposed in your code or in a public repository.
----------------------
Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon:
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ratty-blushOPβ’11mo ago
Wont that not work because that would need a NEXT_PUBLIC prefix?
@kapa.ai Wont that not work because that would need a NEXT_PUBLIC prefix?
Let me check the knowledge base for you. One moment! :books:
----------------------
Yes, you're correct. In a Next.js application, if you want to use environment variables on the client-side, you need to prefix them with
NEXT_PUBLIC_
. This tells Next.js to embed the variable in the JavaScript bundle, which is served to the browser.
So, in your .env
file, you should define your keys like this:
And in your application, you can access these keys like this:
In this example, process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_AIRTABLE_API_TOKEN
and process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_AIRTABLE_BASE_ID
would be replaced with the actual values of your Airtable API token and base ID when your application is built. source (https://refine.dev/blog/next-js-environment-variables#using-environment-variables-in-the-browser)
Remember to add your .env
file to your .gitignore
file to ensure it's not included when your code is pushed to a remote repository. This way, your API keys will be kept secure and won't be exposed in your code or in a public repository.
----------------------
Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon:
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ratty-blushOPβ’11mo ago
I'm sorry I might really be misunderstanding the best way to do this using Refine without exposing my keys to the browser @kapa.ai
Let me check the knowledge base for you. One moment! :books:
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You're correct in your concern about exposing sensitive keys to the browser. In general, it's not recommended to expose sensitive keys on the client-side due to security reasons.
However, in the context of refine, the data provider is typically initialized on the client-side, which requires the API keys. If you're using Next.js with refine, you can secure your keys by using server-side functions and environment variables.
Here's a general approach:
1. Store your keys in a
.env
file in the root directory of your project:
2. In your server-side functions (like getServerSideProps
or getInitialProps
in Next.js), you can access these keys using process.env
and pass them to your data provider:
In this example, process.env.AIRTABLE_API_TOKEN
and process.env.AIRTABLE_BASE_ID
would be replaced with the actual values of your Airtable API token and base ID when your application is built. The keys are not exposed to the browser as they are used on the server-side.
Remember to add your .env
file to your .gitignore
file to ensure it's not included when your code is pushed to a remote repository. This way, your API keys will be kept secure and won't be exposed in your code or in a public repository.
Please note that this is a general approach and might need adjustments based on your specific use case and server-side framework. If you're using a different framework or have a different setup, the approach might vary.
----------------------
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----------------------rare-sapphireβ’11mo ago
Hello @jawmes808 ,β¨β¨
kapa.ai is now available for free at https://refine.dev/docs!
To improve our community interaction on the Refine Discord server and keep our focus on Q&A sharing, we invite you to our website to use kapa.ai.
ratty-blushOPβ’11mo ago
Thank you @Alican Erdurmaz sorry about thatπ
rare-sapphireβ’11mo ago
No worries π