chezmoi
Focus: dotfiles and config management. Shares command line and open source with direnv. Adds Windows and Offline. Rated 4.7 (direnv: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
Desktop App
direnv
Automatically load the right settings when you open a project folder.
Rating
4.6 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Intermediate
Works on
macOS, Linux
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is direnv?
direnv is an extension for your shell that loads and unloads environment variables depending on the current directory. It checks for a .envrc file before each prompt, supports bash, zsh, tcsh and fish, and is used for per-project setups and loading secrets for deployment.
Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.
Pros: what direnv does well
- Project settings load on their own
- Keeps projects separate
- Works with common shells
Cons: where it falls short
- Only for shell users
- Needs a one-time setup in your shell
Who direnv is for
Developers who work across several projects with different settings.
Who can skip it
Anyone who does not use a shell.
direnv alternatives
Not sold on direnv? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
fish shell
Focus: terminal and autocomplete. Shares shell and command line with direnv. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.6Visit
Nushell
Focus: data pipelines. Shares shell and command line with direnv. Adds Windows and Offline. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
mise
Focus: version manager, dev environment and task runner. Shares open source and github with direnv. Adds Windows and Offline. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
Atuin
Focus: shell history, terminal and sync. Shares command line and open source with direnv. Adds Windows. Rated 4.7 (direnv: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit
htop
Focus: process viewer, system monitor and terminal. Shares command line and open source with direnv. Rated 4.7 (direnv: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit
Free alternatives to direnv
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
jq
Focus: json, data and filter. Shares command line and open source with direnv. Adds Windows. Rated 4.7 (direnv: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
OCRmyPDF
Focus: ocr and scanned pdf. Shares command line and open source with direnv. Adds Windows and Offline. Rated 4.7 (direnv: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
rclone
Focus: cloud sync, backup and file transfer. Shares command line and open source with direnv. Adds Windows. Rated 4.7 (direnv: 4.6).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.7Visit
Gum
Focus: shell scripts and terminal ui. Shares command line and open source with direnv. Adds Windows and Offline. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
kitty
Focus: terminal and gpu. Shares command line and open source with direnv. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.6Visit
Oh My Zsh
Focus: terminal, zsh and plugins. Shares shell and open source with direnv. Same 4.6 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.6Visit
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