# Environment variable NODE\_ENV being ignored? **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions / Help\ **Created:** [October 12, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/environment-variable-node-env-being-ignored/7825 "2022-10-12T16:16:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lpares12](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/fly1/user_avatar/community.fly.io/lpares12/32/5878_2.png) [@lpares12](https://community.fly.io/u/lpares12)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/environment-variable-node-env-being-ignored/7825/1 "2022-10-12T16:16:16Z")
So I am trying to deploy an Node.js + express web app to [Fly.io](http://Fly.io). The website works correctly, but I just realized it never detects the NODE\_ENV variable, even if I added it to the fly.toml file: This is the output after running `$ flyctl deploy` ```auto [Installing Node.js distribution] Reusing Node.js 18.9.1 [INFO] Installing toolbox [INFO] Using npm v8.19.1 from Node [INFO] Reusing node modules [Warning: Skip pruning because NODE_ENV is not 'production'.] ``` And you can see how in the file it is set: ```auto $ cat fly.toml # fly.toml file generated for myaccount on 2022-09-25T18:29:52+02:00 app = "myaccount-app" kill_signal = "SIGINT" kill_timeout = 5 processes = [] [build] builder = "heroku/buildpacks:20" [env] NODE_ENV = "production" PORT = "8080" # Some other stuff here ``` Could anyone tell me what am I doing wrong? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Christian\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Christian\_B](https://community.fly.io/u/Christian_B)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/environment-variable-node-env-being-ignored/7825/2 "2022-10-12T18:21:59Z")
Try checking what `flyctl logs` is responding back with and also check [Fly.io Docs: env](https://fly.io/docs/reference/configuration/#the-env-variables-section) you might need to place some sensitive information with [Fly.io Docs: secrets](https://fly.io/docs/reference/secrets) which should allow your app to detect what’s missing. ---
**Author:** ![lpares12](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/fly1/user_avatar/community.fly.io/lpares12/32/5878_2.png) [@lpares12](https://community.fly.io/u/lpares12)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/environment-variable-node-env-being-ignored/7825/3 "2022-10-12T18:57:25Z")
There’s nothing in the logs, and I have some other env variables set in fly.toml that are correctly set within my app. ---
**Author:** ![fideloper-fly](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/fly1/user_avatar/community.fly.io/fideloper-fly/32/3834_2.png) [@fideloper-fly](https://community.fly.io/u/fideloper-fly)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 7:08pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/environment-variable-node-env-being-ignored/7825/4 "2022-10-12T19:08:23Z")
Secrets and env vars aren’t automatically injected into the Docker builder during deployment (I know, that’s a “fun” fact), so you need to use some combination of the following to get those into the Docker builder. ```bash fly deploy \ --build-args="foo=bar" \ --build-secrets="bar=baz" \ -e "foo=bar" ``` Secrets in particular require a bit of extra work to use in your `Dockerfile` : [Build Secrets · Fly Docs](https://fly.io/docs/reference/build-secrets/) ---
**Author:** ![ignoramous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a9adbd/32.png) [@ignoramous](https://community.fly.io/u/ignoramous)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 2:59pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/environment-variable-node-env-being-ignored/7825/5 "2022-10-13T14:59:57Z")
> [@fideloper-fly](#): > > Secrets and env vars aren’t automatically injected into the Docker builder during deployment (I know, that’s a “fun” fact) [Fly’s more strict](https://community.fly.io/t/why-is-fly-secrets-list-not-showing-the-values/7192/2) with `secrets` (a good thing!), but if folks could set secrets for remote builders, then that should work-out nicely afa [_devex_](https://community.fly.io/t/simulating-pr-review-apps-via-github-actions/6993/4) is concerned? That is, imagine if `fly secrets set k1=v1 k2=v2 -a ` set approp env vars for remote deploys? `fly env set k1=v1 k2=v2 -a ` would also be neat. ---
**Author:** ![lpares12](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/fly1/user_avatar/community.fly.io/lpares12/32/5878_2.png) [@lpares12](https://community.fly.io/u/lpares12)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/environment-variable-node-env-being-ignored/7825/6 "2022-10-13T15:48:45Z")
Thanks for the info! I am not an expert with deploying websites and DevOps in general. In this case then, the problem is that the docker builder is not detecting this variable, so I should inject it in the deployment with the call: `flyctl deploy --build-args="NODE_ENV=production"` Is this correct? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![fideloper-fly](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/fly1/user_avatar/community.fly.io/fideloper-fly/32/3834_2.png) [@fideloper-fly](https://community.fly.io/u/fideloper-fly)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/environment-variable-node-env-being-ignored/7825/7 "2022-10-13T15:59:18Z")
Yes, mostly! I’m not exactly sure how the buildpack operates (vs using a `Dockerfile`), I would experiment with: ```auto fly deploy -e "NODE_ENV=production" ``` The `--build-args` flag likely requires a `Dockerfile` with an `ARG` defined in it. ---
**Author:** ![lpares12](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/fly1/user_avatar/community.fly.io/lpares12/32/5878_2.png) [@lpares12](https://community.fly.io/u/lpares12)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/environment-variable-node-env-being-ignored/7825/8 "2022-10-13T16:30:12Z")
I see… I have tried with: ```auto flyctl deploy -e "NODE_ENV=production" flyctl deploy -e NODE_ENV="production" flyctl deploy -e NODE_ENV=production ``` So finally I tried with: ```auto flyctl deploy --build-arg NODE_ENV=production ``` And it did work (I think), I see some other warnings now, like: ```auto [INFO] Installing node modules from ./package-lock.json npm WARN config production Use `--omit=dev` instead. ``` But it looks like now it is pruning the dev dependencies, so I expect `NODE_ENV` to be production. ```auto [INFO] Successfully pruned devdependencies! ``` Thank you. EDIT: Also, a [build.args] section can be added to the fly.toml file to not have to add the variable every time manually. ---
**Author:** ![ignoramous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a9adbd/32.png) [@ignoramous](https://community.fly.io/u/ignoramous)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://community.fly.io/t/environment-variable-node-env-being-ignored/7825/9 "2022-10-14T17:44:23Z")
> [@lpares12](#): > > Also, a [build.args] section can be added to the fly.toml file to not have to add the variable every time manually. Another way is, to set it with the `ENV` directive of the [`Dockerfile`](https://github.com/serverless-dns/serverless-dns/blob/641b5f96ae679ac1b6045d688f364e56b90a51e5/node.Dockerfile#L18).