Node-config won't use variables from custom-environment-variables.json in Heroku

Question

I'm using the node-config module for mongo connection strings and jwt keys.

For example:

if(!config.get('jwtPrivateKey')){
    throw new Error('FATAL ERROR: jwtPrivateKey is not defined');

My custom-environment-variables.json file looks like:

{
    "jwtPrivateKey": "video-app_jwtPrivateKey",
    "db": "video-app_db"
}

default.json

{
    "db": "default db",
    "jwtPrivateKey": "default key"
}

production.json

{
    "db": "production db",
    "jwtPrivateKey": "production key"
}

long story short - although the environment variables are set in heroku, node-config doesn't look at the values set in custom-environment-variables.json. I can alter the NODE_ENV and get the relevant json file's hardcoded values, but the environment variables are never used, which seems to contradict the docs

Does this also happen in your local environment? looks like something it rewriting the variable env. — Fulvio, Apr 19 '20 at 06:13

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 29 '19 at 13:10

1

You can config vars on this way in Heroku

answered Jan 29 '19 at 13:10

Irvin Sandoval

742
7
18

I think I've created the vars correctly. Typing `heroku config:get video-app_db` returns the variable as expected. However, using node-config in my code to `config.get('db')` returns the value from default or production.json rather than the `custom-environment-variables.json` file. It seems to be a problem with node-config i guess? I'll edit my title to reflect that – NickW Jan 29 '19 at 13:49
If you suspect the problem is with`node-config`, you can set the environment variable yourself (without Heroku) and see if it works. I believe you'll find it does. The problem appears specific to Heroku. – Mark Stosberg Mar 09 '19 at 19:16

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 03 '19 at 17:57

I had the same issue. It took removing the hyphen from the keys for heroku to read from custom-environment-variables.

So custom-environment-variables.json:

{
    "jwtPrivateKey": "video-app_jwtPrivateKey",
    "db": "video-app_db"
}

Becomes:

{
    "jwtPrivateKey": "videoapp_jwtPrivateKey",
    "db": "videoapp_db"
}

Heroku docs:

Config var policies

Config var keys should use only alphanumeric characters and the underscore character (_) to ensure that they are accessible from all programming languages. Config var keys should not include the hyphen character.

Config var data (the combination of all keys and values) cannot exceed 32kb for each app.

Config var keys should not begin with a double underscore (__).

A config var’s key should not begin with HEROKU_ unless it is set by the Heroku platform itself.

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited May 30 '20 at 18:11

So, I had the same issue: I deployed my app, set environment variables in Heroku, but nothing worked (unlike my local machine where everything was fine).
Seems like the problem was that I accidentally added all the node_modules folder to git. It happened because I created a .gitignore file after the initial commit was made (if I get it right).

What I did, that worked for me: I removed node_modules from git and committed/pushed changes to Heroku:

git rm -rf node_modules

then commit and push.

This was the error message I got:

Error: /app/node_modules/bcrypt/lib/binding/bcrypt_lib.node: invalid ELF header

I spent two days trying to figure it out.
I hope it's helpful.

Node-config won't use variables from custom-environment-variables.json in Heroku

3 Answers3

Linked