Configuration

In Bedstack, environment variables are more than just strings—they are fully typed and validated at startup using ArkEnv.

Why ArkEnv?

Configuration is often one of the most fragile parts of an application. Missing variables or incorrect types can lead to runtime crashes that are difficult to debug. Bedstack uses ArkEnv (built on ArkType) to solve this:

1. Strict Validation: The application won't even start if your environment variables don't match your schema.
2. Zero-Runtime Overhead: ArkEnv uses ArkType's JIT-optimized validation for near-instant checks.
3. Full Type Safety: Your configuration is an object with perfect IDE autocomplete and type-checking.
4. Implicit Conversion: String-based environment variables are automatically cast to numbers, booleans, or complex types as defined in your schema.

Defining Your Configuration

In a Bedstack application, your configuration resides in env.config.ts at the root of your app.

import arkenv from 'arkenv';

export default arkenv({
  PORT: 'number.port = 3000',
  NODE_ENV: "'development' | 'production' | 'test' = 'development'",
  DATABASE_URL: 'string',
  JWT_SECRET: 'string',
  LOG_LEVEL: "'debug' | 'info' | 'error' = 'info'",
});

Schema Syntax

Since ArkEnv is powered by ArkType, you can use the same powerful string-based syntax:

• Defaults: Use the = operator to provide a default value.
• Types: Use string, number, boolean, or literal unions like 'dev' | 'prod'.
• Keywords: Use specialized keywords like number.port for port validation.

Consuming Configuration

To use your environment variables, simply import the default export from your config file. In Bedstack, we typically alias this to @env in tsconfig.json.

import env from '@env';
import { Elysia } from 'elysia';

const app = new Elysia()
  .get('/', () => 'Hello Bedstack')
  .listen(env.PORT);

console.log(`🚀 Server running on port ${env.PORT}`);

Benefits of the @env Alias

By using the @env alias, you can import your configuration from anywhere in your application without worrying about relative paths. It also makes it clear that you are accessing the validated, typed environment.

Integration with Drizzle

Bedstack uses the same configuration for database migrations and runtime access. This ensures consistency between your application code and your migration scripts.

import env from '@env';
import { defineConfig } from 'drizzle-kit';

export default defineConfig({
  out: './drizzle/migrations',
  schema: '**/*.schema.ts',
  dialect: 'postgresql',
  dbCredentials: {
    url: env.DATABASE_URL,
  },
});

Local Development

For local development, we recommend using a .env file. ArkEnv will automatically load variables from your .env file if it exists.

JWT_SECRET=supersecretkey
DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/bedstack

Remember never to commit your .env file to version control. Use .env.example as a template for other developers.