Environment Precedence

When the same variable is defined in multiple places, Invowk™ follows a specific precedence order. Higher precedence sources override lower ones.

Precedence Order

Applied from lowest to highest priority:

Priority	Source	Example
1	System environment	Host's environment (if env_inherit_mode allows)
2	Root files	root.env.files
3	Command files	command.env.files
4	Implementation files	implementations[].env.files
5	Root vars	root.env.vars
6	Command vars	command.env.vars
7	Implementation vars	implementations[].env.vars
8	Invowk vars	INVOWK_*, ARG*
9	CLI env files	--ivk-env-file .env.local
10	CLI env vars	--ivk-env-var KEY=value

Visual Hierarchy

System Environment (lowest priority)
    │
Files (by scope, lowest to highest)
├── Root env.files
├── Command env.files
└── Implementation env.files
    │
Vars (by scope, lowest to highest)
├── Root env.vars
├── Command env.vars
└── Implementation env.vars
    │
Invowk Vars
├── INVOWK_*
└── ARG*
    │
CLI (highest priority)
├── --ivk-env-file .env.local
└── --ivk-env-var KEY=value

Example Walkthrough

Given this invowkfile:

// Root level
env: {
    files: [".env"]
    vars: {
        API_URL: "http://root.example.com"
        LOG_LEVEL: "info"
    }
}

cmds: [
    {
        name: "build"
        // Command level
        env: {
            files: [".env.build"]
            vars: {
                API_URL: "http://command.example.com"
                BUILD_MODE: "development"
            }
        }
        implementations: [{
            script: "echo $API_URL $LOG_LEVEL $BUILD_MODE $NODE_ENV"
            runtimes: [{name: "native"}]
            platforms: [{name: "linux"}, {name: "macos"}]
            // Implementation level
            env: {
                vars: {
                    BUILD_MODE: "production"
                    NODE_ENV: "production"
                }
            }
        }]
    }
]

And these files:

# .env
API_URL=http://envfile.example.com
DATABASE_URL=postgres://localhost/db

# .env.build
BUILD_MODE=release
CACHE_DIR=./cache

Resolution Order

1. Start with system environment (e.g., PATH, HOME) if env_inherit_mode is not none

2. Load root files (.env):

   • API_URL=http://envfile.example.com
   • DATABASE_URL=postgres://localhost/db

3. Load command files (.env.build):

   • BUILD_MODE=release
   • CACHE_DIR=./cache

4. Load implementation files (implementations[].env.files):

   • (none in this example)

5. Apply root vars (override files):

   • API_URL=http://root.example.com ← overrides .env
   • LOG_LEVEL=info

6. Apply command vars (override files):

   • API_URL=http://command.example.com ← overrides root
   • BUILD_MODE=development ← overrides .env.build

7. Apply implementation vars:

   • BUILD_MODE=production ← overrides command
   • NODE_ENV=production

8. Apply Invowk vars (flags/args):

   • INVOWK_FLAG_*, INVOWK_ARG_* (if present)

9. Apply CLI overrides (if provided):

   • --ivk-env-file then --ivk-env-var (highest priority)

Final Result

API_URL=http://command.example.com    # From command vars
LOG_LEVEL=info                         # From root vars
BUILD_MODE=production                  # From implementation vars
NODE_ENV=production                    # From implementation vars
DATABASE_URL=postgres://localhost/db   # From .env file
CACHE_DIR=./cache                      # From .env.build file

With CLI Override

invowk cmd build --ivk-env-var API_URL=http://cli.example.com

Now API_URL=http://cli.example.com because CLI has highest priority.

Vars Always Override Files

All env.files are loaded first (root → command → implementation), then all env.vars are applied on top (root → command → implementation). This means even root-level vars override implementation-level files:

env: {
    files: [".env"]  // API_URL=from-file
    vars: {
        API_URL: "from-vars"  // This wins
    }
}

Multiple Files at Same Level

Files are loaded in order; later files override earlier:

env: {
    files: [
        ".env",           // API_URL=base
        ".env.local",     // API_URL=local (wins)
    ]
}

Platform-Specific Variables

For platform-specific environment variables, use separate implementations per platform:

// Platform-specific env requires separate implementations
implementations: [
    {
        script: "echo $CONFIG_PATH"
        runtimes: [{name: "native"}]
        platforms: [{name: "linux"}]
        env: {
            vars: {
                CONFIG_PATH: "/etc/app"
                OTHER_VAR: "value"
            }
        }
    },
    {
        script: "echo $CONFIG_PATH"
        runtimes: [{name: "native"}]
        platforms: [{name: "macos"}]
        env: {
            vars: {
                CONFIG_PATH: "/usr/local/etc/app"
                OTHER_VAR: "value"
            }
        }
    }
]

Each implementation has its own env that is applied when that platform is selected.

Best Practices

Use Appropriate Levels

// Root: shared across all commands
env: {
    vars: {
        PROJECT_NAME: "myapp"
        VERSION: "1.0.0"
    }
}

// Command: specific to this command
{
    name: "build"
    env: {
        vars: {
            BUILD_TARGET: "production"
        }
    }
}

// Implementation: specific to this runtime
implementations: [{
    runtimes: [{name: "container", image: "node:20"}]
    platforms: [{name: "linux"}]
    env: {
        vars: {
            NODE_OPTIONS: "--max-old-space-size=4096"
        }
    }
}]

Override Pattern

Base config in files, overrides in vars:

env: {
    files: [".env"]              // Defaults
    vars: {
        OVERRIDE_THIS: "value"   // Specific override
    }
}

Local Development

Use optional local files for developer overrides:

env: {
    files: [
        ".env",          // Committed defaults
        ".env.local?",   // Not committed, personal overrides
    ]
}

CLI for Temporary Overrides

# Quick test with different config
invowk cmd build --ivk-env-var DEBUG=true --ivk-env-var LOG_LEVEL=debug

Debugging Precedence

To see final values, add debug output:

{
    name: "debug-env"
    implementations: [{
        script: """
            echo "API_URL=$API_URL"
            echo "LOG_LEVEL=$LOG_LEVEL"
            echo "BUILD_MODE=$BUILD_MODE"
            env | sort
            """
        runtimes: [{name: "native"}]
        platforms: [{name: "linux"}, {name: "macos"}]
    }]
}

Next Steps

• Env Files - Load from .env files
• Env Vars - Set variables directly