Installation

There are two ways to install Varlock:

1. Install as a package.json dependency in JavaScript/TypeScript projects (the varlock CLI package)
2. Install as a standalone binary

If you prefer to let your AI agent install Varlock for you, you can skip these instructions and build a prompt for your agent:

Open Prompt Builder

Docs MCP

There is also a Docs MCP server that exposes a search tool. See more details here.

As a JavaScript/TypeScript dependency

Requires:

• Node.js version 22 or higher

Installation

To install varlock in your project, run:

npm

npx varlock init

pnpm

pnpm dlx varlock init

bun

bunx varlock init

vlt

vlx varlock init

yarn

yarn dlx varlock init

This will install varlock as a dependency and scan your project for .env files and create a .env.schema file in the root of your project. Depending on your project configuration, it will optionally:

• Remove your existing .env.example file
• Add decorators to your .env.schema file to specify the type of each environment variable

For AI agent workflows, use non-interactive mode instead:

npm

npx varlock init --agent

pnpm

pnpm dlx varlock init --agent

bun

bunx varlock init --agent

vlt

vlx varlock init --agent

yarn

yarn dlx varlock init --agent

As a standalone binary

To install varlock CLI as a binary, run:

# Install via homebrew
brew install dmno-dev/tap/varlock

# OR via cURL
curl -sSfL https://varlock.dev/install.sh | sh -s

Then run the setup wizard to help you get started:

varlock init

Windows Defender

If Windows flags varlock-local-encrypt.exe, see the local encryption guide, Windows Defender false positives for verification and recovery steps.

Varlock skill

Then install the Varlock agent skill:

skills

npx skills add dmno-dev/varlock

GitHub CLI

Requires GitHub CLI v2.90+.

gh skill install dmno-dev/varlock varlock

See the AI Tools guide for update commands and agent-specific options.

Editor and shell tooling

Varlock ships with first-party tooling that makes authoring .env.schema files much easier. Set these up right after installing the CLI.

VS Code extension

Install the @env-spec VS Code extension from the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX (for Cursor, Windsurf, and other VS Code forks).

It provides syntax highlighting, decorator and @type IntelliSense, $KEY reference completion, and inline validation while you edit .env.schema and other @env-spec files.

Shell completion

Enable tab completion for varlock commands and flags in bash, zsh, or fish. See the Shell completion guide for one-time setup. Usually, adding eval "$(varlock complete)" to your shell profile is enough.