Dotenv Mask Editor: No more embarrassing screen leaks of your .env
Hi HN, I built this because I often work in coworking spaces or do screen sharing, and I've always had this fear of accidentally flashing my .env file with production secrets to the whole room (or recording). It’s a simple VS Code extension that opens .env files in a custom grid editor. It automatically masks any value longer than 6 characters so I can safely open the file to check keys without exposing the actual secrets. It runs 100% locally with zero dependencies (I know how sensitive these files are). It just reads the file, renders the grid, and saves it back as standard text. It's open…
Dotenv Mask Editor: No more embarrassing screen leaks of your .env launched on January 22, 2026 with 28 votes, #651 of 14,584 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches.
In plain words
Dotenv Mask Editor is a VS Code extension that opens .env files in a grid view with automatic masking of values longer than six characters, preventing accidental exposure of production secrets during screen sharing or coworking sessions. Designed for developers who work in shared environments, it processes files entirely locally without external dependencies, leaving the file structure intact for saving. The tool is open source and MIT licensed.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Extension for Visual Studio Code - Secure visual editor for .env files that masks sensitive secrets while allowing easy editing
A visual editor for environment files with automatic secret masking. Dotenv Mask Editor provides a table-based interface for .env files. It is designed to reduce the accidental exposure of sensitive values by masking strings that meet a length threshold. All processing is done locally within your editor. If the file opens in the standard text editor, right-click the file tab and select "Reopen Editor With..." followed by "Dotenv Mask Editor". { "envSecretMasking.filePatterns": [ "*.config" ] } Installation Available through the VS Code Marketplace. Search for "Dotenv Maskfrom marketplace.visualstudio.com
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hi HN, I built this because I often work in coworking spaces or do screen sharing, and I've always had this fear of accidentally flashing my .env file with production secrets to the whole room (or recording). It’s a simple VS Code extension that opens .env files in a custom grid editor. It automatically masks any…
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Dotenv, if it is a Unix utility2024 · github.com · ▲225I like the idea of using dotenv files, but I dislike having to use different language-specific libraries to read them. To solve this, I created a small utility that lets you prefix any command with "dotenv" to load the ".env" file. This is how I imagine dotenv would work if it had started as a UNIX utility rather than a Node.js library.
enveil – hide your .env secrets from prAIng eyesFeb 2026 · github.com · ▲201enject: Hide .env secrets from prAIng eyes: secrets live in local encrypted stores (per project) and are injected directly into apps at runtime, never touching disk as plaintext. - GreatScott/enject
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