[SOLVED] Cleaner Way to load multiple environment variables into shell

Issue

I'm currently loading multiple variables into my shell (from a .env file) like so:

eval $(grep '^VAR_1' .env) && eval $(grep '^VAR_2' .env) && ...

I then use them in a script like so: echo $VAR_1.

Is there any way to condense this script into something like: eval $(grep ^('VAR_1|VAR_2')) .env? Maybe needs something other than grep

Solution

You may use this grep with ERE option to filter all the variable you want from .env file:

grep -E '^(VAR_1|VAR_2)=' .env

This pattern will find VAR_1= or VAR_2= strings at the start.

To set variable use:

declare $(grep -E '^(VAR_1|VAR_2)=' .env)

# or
eval "$(grep -E '^(VAR_1|VAR_2)=' .env)"

Answered By - anubhava

Answer Checked By - Mary Flores (WPSolving Volunteer)