lean

command module

v0.2.0 Latest Latest Go to latest Published: May 6, 2026 License: MIT Imports: 1 Imported by: 0

Details

Valid go.mod file
Redistributable license
Tagged version
Stable version
Learn more about best practices

Repository

github.com/dominionthedev/lean

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README ¶

lean ⚡

A lightweight, expressive environment profile manager.

lean keeps your .env files safe, organized, and human-friendly. Switch between profiles, protect secrets, restore backups — all from one CLI.

Installation

go install github.com/dominionthedev/lean@latest

Or grab a binary from the Releases page (Linux, macOS, Windows — amd64 + arm64).

Quick start

lean init              # interactive setup — creates your first profile
lean create --name prod
lean apply prod        # .env.prod → .env  (backs up the old .env first)
lean list              # see all profiles
lean current           # which profile is active right now

Commands

`lean init`

Interactive setup wizard. Creates your first profile and writes .env.

lean init

Running lean init --quiet? lean has feelings about that.

`lean create`

Create a new environment profile.

lean create --name staging
lean create --name prod --from .env.template
lean create --name test  --from .env.dev --strip   # keys only, no values
lean create --interactive                           # guided prompt

Flag	Short	Description
`--name`	`-n`	Profile name
`--from`		Copy from a template or existing file
`--strip`	`-s`	Strip values (keep keys only)
`--interactive`	`-i`	Prompt for name interactively

`lean apply`

Switch the active environment. Backs up the current .env before overwriting.

lean apply dev
lean apply prod

`lean set`

Set (or update) a variable in a profile.

lean set DEBUG=true
lean set API_KEY=abc123 --profile prod

If the profile is currently active, .env is updated immediately.

Flag	Short	Description
`--profile`	`-p`	Target profile (default: active)

`lean get`

Get the value of a variable. Output is plain — pipeline-friendly.

lean get DEBUG
lean get DATABASE_URL --profile prod
lean get SECRET_KEY --profile staging | pbcopy

Flag	Short	Description
`--profile`	`-p`	Target profile (default: active)

`lean delete`

Remove a variable from a profile.

lean delete OLD_KEY
lean delete LEGACY_TOKEN --profile staging

Aliases: del, rm

Flag	Short	Description
`--profile`	`-p`	Target profile (default: active)

`lean list`

List all known profiles. Auto-discovers any .env.* files on disk.

lean list

⚡ Profiles

  ▶ dev    (active)
  · prod
  · staging

`lean current`

Show the active profile.

lean current

`lean restore`

Restore .env from a backup. lean takes a snapshot every time lean apply runs.

lean restore              # interactive picker
lean restore dev-20250228-143022.env   # direct

`lean version`

Print the current version.

lean version

How it works

lean keeps a .lean/ folder in your project:

.lean/
  state.json       ← active profile, registered profiles, version
  backups/         ← timestamped .env snapshots (created on every apply)

state.json is safe to commit. The backups folder is local only.

Safety

Atomic writes — lean never writes directly to .env. It writes to a temp file and renames, so a crash mid-write can't corrupt your env.
Backup on apply — every lean apply snapshots the current .env before replacing it. Run lean restore to get it back.
.gitignore aware — lean's own .gitignore excludes .env and .env.* by default, keeping secrets off GitHub.