Phase: ShippingAction Day45 minutes

Day 25: Production Environment Variables

Production secrets are stored in the platform, never in your code. Your local `.env.local` doesn't exist on Vercel - you need to add those variables in Vercel's dashboard.

Today's Tasks

  1. 1Understand the difference between local and production env vars
  2. 2Add an environment variable in Vercel
  3. 3Verify it works in production

Prompt to Use

Explain the difference between .env.local (my computer) and production environment variables (Vercel). Then help me add an environment variable in Vercel's dashboard. Show me how to verify it's working.

Expected Outcome

Understanding of production secrets management.

New Terms

Production VariablesVercel DashboardBuild-time vs Runtime

Pro Tip

Never commit real API keys to GitHub. Even if you delete them, they're in the Git history forever.

Coming Tomorrow

We'll add a real database with Supabase.