Compose: .env file ignored

[ujovlado]

Hi, I'm running docker-compose and .env file is ignored.

Location of the files:

$ ls -la | grep -e ".env" -e "docker-compose.yml"
-rw-rw-r--  1 vlado vlado   2878 May  4 17:17 docker-compose.yml
-rw-rw-r--  1 vlado vlado    171 May  4 16:42 .env

Environment:

• engine: 1.11.1, build 5604cbe (1.11.1-0~xenial)
• compose: 1.7.0, build 0d7bf73

Docker compose located in ~/bin/docker-compose.

Thanks!

[ujovlado]

This build should output:

testing

https://travis-ci.org/ujovlado/docker-compose-test/builds/127832493

[shin-]

The .env file has to be present in the working directory. Could that be the issue you're seeing?

[rafaelsierra]

https://gist.github.com/rafaelsierra/1b27afbea0a992a7518807c6e6079167

The .env file is on the same folder as everything else

[rafaelsierra]

Those environment variables will be used for variable substitution in your Compose file, but can also be used to define the following CLI variables:
From https://docs.docker.com/compose/env-file/

If that means that the .env file is used only for variable substitution then it is safe to ignore my comments

[aanand]

If you want the environment variables to turn up inside the container, you have to explicitly pass them through in docker-compose.yml:

version: "2"

services:
  nothing:
    image: debian:jessie
    command: /bin/false
    environment:
      - FOO

[ujovlado]

Comment by @aanand solved my problem. Thanks :+1:

[rmetzler]

I just want to comment on this, because I keep forgetting it.

Not only do you need to set the env names in docker-compose.yml like this:

services:
  my_service:
    environment:
      - FOO

You also need to write the value in the .env file without quotes:

# this works
FOO=bar

# this doesn't work
FOO="bar"