lino-env

A library to operate .lenv files - an alternative to .env files that uses : (colon-space) instead of = for key-value separation.

Available in both JavaScript and Rust!

What are .lenv files?

.lenv files are configuration files similar to .env files, but with a different syntax:

# .env format (traditional)
GITHUB_TOKEN=gh_...
API_KEY=abc123

# .lenv format (this library)
GITHUB_TOKEN: gh_...
API_KEY: abc123

The key difference is the use of : separator, which aligns with links-notation format. If a key appears multiple times, the last value wins (rewrite semantics).

Packages

Package	Language	Directory	Status
lino-env	JavaScript	./js
lino-env	Rust	./rust

JavaScript Package

Installation

npm install lino-env

Quick Start

# create .lenv file
echo "HELLO: World" > .lenv

# create index.js
echo "import linoenv from 'lino-env'; linoenv.config(); console.log('Hello ' + process.env.HELLO)" > index.js

# run
node index.js

Output:

Hello World

Usage

import linoenv from 'lino-env';
linoenv.config();

console.log(`Hello ${process.env.HELLO}`);

For full API documentation, see the JavaScript README (coming soon) or the source code.

Rust Package

Installation

Add this to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
lino-env = "0.1"

Quick Start

use lino_env::LinoEnv;

// Create and write a new .lenv file
let mut env = LinoEnv::new(".lenv");
env.set("GITHUB_TOKEN", "gh_abc123");
env.set("API_KEY", "my_api_key");
env.write().unwrap();

// Read an existing .lenv file
let mut env = LinoEnv::new(".lenv");
env.read().unwrap();

// Get a value
if let Some(token) = env.get("GITHUB_TOKEN") {
    println!("Token: {}", token);
}

For full API documentation, see the Rust README.

File Format

.lenv files use the following format:

• Key-value separator: : (colon followed by space)
• One key-value pair per line
• Empty lines and lines starting with # are ignored
• If a key appears multiple times, the last value wins (rewrite semantics)
• Values can contain spaces, colons, and other special characters

Example .lenv file:

# Configuration file
GITHUB_TOKEN: gh_abc123xyz
TELEGRAM_TOKEN: 054test456

# Values with special characters
URL: https://example.com:8080
MESSAGE: Hello World

Repository Structure

lino-env/
├── js/                 # JavaScript package
│   ├── src/            # Source code
│   ├── tests/          # Tests
│   ├── .changeset/     # Changeset configuration
│   ├── package.json    # Package manifest
│   └── ...
├── rust/               # Rust package
│   ├── src/            # Source code
│   ├── tests/          # Tests (integration)
│   ├── changelog.d/    # Changelog fragments
│   ├── Cargo.toml      # Package manifest
│   └── ...
├── scripts/            # Shared scripts
└── .github/workflows/  # CI/CD workflows
    ├── js.yml          # JavaScript CI/CD
    └── rust.yml        # Rust CI/CD

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20.x for JavaScript development
• Rust 1.70+ for Rust development

Running Tests

# JavaScript tests
cd js && npm test

# Rust tests
cd rust && cargo test

Linting and Formatting

# JavaScript
cd js && npm run lint && npm run format:check

# Rust
cd rust && cargo fmt --check && cargo clippy

CI/CD Configuration

The repository uses GitHub Actions for automated testing and publishing.

JavaScript Package: Uses NPM trusted publishing, which leverages OpenID Connect (OIDC) to enable secure publishing without long-lived tokens. This is configured on npmjs.com by adding the GitHub repository as a trusted publisher, and requires id-token: write permission in the workflow. No manual token configuration is needed in the repository.

Rust Package: Requires maintainers to configure the CARGO_TOKEN secret:

Secret	Purpose	How to Obtain
CARGO_TOKEN	Publishing Rust package to crates.io	crates.io API tokens

Both packages are automatically published when changes are merged to the main branch, if the version has been bumped.

License

This project is released into the public domain under The Unlicense.

Repository

https://github.com/link-foundation/lino-env