The management of a sensitive information by .env

To securely manage sensitive information such as a public APK key in a React Native project,

you can use environment variables and a .env file. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set this up:

1. Install react-native-dotenv

   You can use the react-native-dotenv library to load environment variables from a .env file. First, install the library:

    npm install react-native-dotenv
   

2. Create a .env File

   Create a .env file in the root of your project and add your environment variables there:

    PUBLIC_APK_KEY=your_public_apk_key_here
   

3. Configure Babel to Use react-native-dotenv

   Edit your babel.config.js file to include react-native-dotenv:

    module.exports = {
      presets: ['module:metro-react-native-babel-preset'],
      plugins: [
        ['module:react-native-dotenv', {
          moduleName: '@env',
          path: '.env',
        }],
      ],
    };
   

   In my case :

    module.exports = function(api) {
      api.cache(true);
      return {
        presets: ['babel-preset-expo'],
        plugins: [
          "nativewind/babel",
          [
            'module:react-native-dotenv',
            {
              moduleName: '@env',
              path: '.env',
              blocklist: null,
              allowlist: null,
              safe: false,
              allowUndefined: true,
            },
          ],
        ],
      };
    };
   

4. Use Environment Variables in Your Code

   Now you can import and use the environment variables in your React Native components:

    import { PUBLIC_APK_KEY } from '@env';
       
    const MyComponent = () => {
      console.log('Public APK Key:', PUBLIC_APK_KEY);
       
      return (
        <View>
          <Text>{PUBLIC_APK_KEY}</Text>
        </View>
      );
    };
       
    export default MyComponent;
   

   In my case :

      return (
        <ClerkProvider publishableKey={REACT_APP_CLERK_PUBLIC_KEY}>
   

5. Add .env to .gitignore

   To ensure that your .env file is not committed to your version control system, add it to your .gitignore file:

    # .env file
    .env