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kriszyp merged 2 commits into from
Jul 20, 2026
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docs(env-vars): clarify loadEnv/.env cannot shape Harper's instance config #579

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docs(env-vars): clarify loadEnv/.env cannot shape Harper's instance c…
kriszyp Jul 12, 2026
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docs(env-vars): address PR review — VersionBadge placement + grammar
kriszyp Jul 20, 2026
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10 changes: 10 additions & 0 deletions reference/environment-variables/overview.md
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Expand Up @@ -46,6 +46,16 @@ myApp:

Because Harper is a single-process application, environment variables are loaded onto `process.env` and are shared across all components. As long as `loadEnv` is listed before dependent components, those components will have access to the loaded variables.

:::warning
`loadEnv` supplies **application** environment variables — values your component code reads from `process.env` (secrets, API endpoints, app settings). It does **not** configure Harper itself.

Harper's own instance-wide configuration is composed once at startup, **before** any component's `loadEnv` runs. As a result, config-shaping variables such as `HARPER_CONFIG`, `HARPER_SET_CONFIG`, and `HARPER_DEFAULT_CONFIG` delivered through a `.env` file are read too late to take effect and are ignored (Harper logs a warning when it detects any of them).

<VersionBadge type="changed" version="v5.2.0" />

To change Harper's configuration, set it in the [configuration file](../configuration/overview.md) or export the variable in the real process/container environment **before** Harper starts — not through `loadEnv`.
:::

## Override Behavior

By default, `loadEnv` follows the standard dotenv convention: **existing environment variables take precedence** over values in `.env` files. This means variables already set in the shell or container environment will not be overwritten.
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