Working with Environment Variables

Configuration via Env

This lesson explains the main concept clearly with beginner-friendly examples and background so you can learn why the code works.

Use os.Getenv and os.LookupEnv.

port := os.Getenv("PORT")
if port == "" { port = "8080" }

Parsing numbers safely

if pStr, ok := os.LookupEnv("MAX_CONN"); ok {
    if p, err := strconv.Atoi(pStr); err == nil {
        maxConn = p
    }
}

Loading .env files (third‑party)

$ go get github.com/joho/godotenv

import "github.com/joho/godotenv"

godotenv.Load() // loads .env into process env