.env.local.production Guide

For example, in a Next.js project, you might have:

The .env.local.production file would contain key-value pairs specific to your production environment that are not version-controlled. For instance:

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.example.com
SECRET_API_KEY=your_secret_key_here

Next.js 9.4+ introduced built-in support for dotenv expansion. .env.local.production

Example:

# .env.production
API_URL=https://api.myapp.com
Sometimes, the process of building your application (minification, bundling, tree-shaking) requires specific flags. For example, you might enable source maps only in local production builds, but not in real production. For example, in a Next
# Real production (on the server)
GENERATE_SOURCEMAP=false
LOG_LEVEL=error
A typical .env.local.production file might look like this:
# Database Connection (Secret)
DATABASE_URL="postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/prod_db"
The .local suffix is special. It tells the framework: "Do not check this into version control." For example, .env.local is for your machine only. .env.development.local is for dev-specific secrets you don't share. tree-shaking) requires specific flags. For example
This brings us to the keyword: .env.production.local (often written without the second dot as .env.local.production depending on parser logic).

The .env.local.production file acts as a bridge between local development workflows and production requirements. It ensures that developers can build and test production-ready code locally without compromising security by committing sensitive credentials to version control.
Key Takeaway: If you need to run a production build locally and need secrets to do it, this is the file you should use.