Common Issues deployment

Environment Variables Not Working in Production

Your app works perfectly on your local machine or in the AI tool's preview, but in production it fails. The cause is almost always missing or misconfigured environment variables — API keys, database URLs, and secrets that the app needs to function.

Common Causes

  • Environment variables not set in the hosting platform (Vercel, Netlify, Railway, Render)
  • Variable names are different between .env file and hosting platform
  • The .env file was committed to git with wrong values for production
  • Environment variables not available at build time (some frameworks require this)
  • The app reads from process.env but the hosting platform uses a different mechanism

How to Fix It

  1. List all variables in your .env file and verify each one is set in your hosting platform
  2. Check that variable names match exactly (they're case-sensitive)
  3. Some frameworks require env vars prefixed with NEXT_PUBLIC_ or VITE_ to be available in the browser
  4. After adding env vars, redeploy — most platforms require a redeploy for changes to take effect
  5. Check deployment logs for messages about missing configuration

Real developers can help you.

Krishna Sai Kuncha Krishna Sai Kuncha Experienced Professional Full stack Developer with 8+ years of experience across react, python, js, ts, golang and react-native. Developed inhouse websearch tooling for AI before websearch was solved : ) Prakash Prajapati Prakash Prajapati I’m a Senior Python Developer specializing in building secure, scalable, and highly available systems. I work primarily with Python, Django, FastAPI, Docker, PostgreSQL, and modern AI tooling such as PydanticAI, focusing on clean architecture, strong design principles, and reliable DevOps practices. I enjoy solving complex engineering problems and designing systems that are maintainable, resilient, and built to scale. Daniel Vázquez Daniel Vázquez Software Engineer with over 10 years of experience on Startups, Government, big tech industry & consulting. Kingsley Omage Kingsley Omage Fullstack software engineer passionate about AI Agents, blockchain, LLMs. Milan Surelia Milan Surelia Milan Surelia is a Mobile App Developer with 5+ years of experience crafting scalable, cross-platform apps at 7Span and Meticha. At 7Span, he engineers feature-rich Flutter apps with smooth performance and modern UI. As the Co-Founder of Meticha, he builds open-source tools and developer-focused products that solve real-world problems. Expertise: 💡 Developing cross-platform apps using Flutter, Dart, and Jetpack Compose for Android, iOS, and Web. 🖋️ Sharing insights through technical writing, blogging, and open-source contributions. 🤝 Collaborating closely with designers, PMs, and developers to build seamless mobile experiences. Notable Achievements: 🎯 Revamped the Vepaar app into Vepaar Store & CRM with a 2x performance boost and smoother UX. 🚀 Launched Compose101 — a Jetpack Compose starter kit to speed up Android development. 🌟 Open source contributions on Github & StackOverflow for Flutter & Dart 🎖️ Worked on improving app performance and user experience with smart solutions. Milan is always happy to connect, work on new ideas, and explore the latest in technology. PawelPloszaj PawelPloszaj I'm fronted developer with 10+ years of experience with big projects. I have small backend background too legrab legrab I'll fill this later Caio Rodrigues Caio Rodrigues I'm a full-stack developer focused on building practical and scalable web applications. My main experience is with **React, TypeScript, and modern frontend architectures**, where I prioritize clean code, component reusability, and maintainable project structures. I have strong experience working with **dynamic forms, state management (Redux / React Hook Form), and complex data-driven interfaces**. I enjoy solving real-world problems by turning ideas into reliable software that companies can actually use in their daily operations. Beyond coding, I care about **software quality and architecture**, following best practices for componentization, code organization, and performance optimization. I'm also comfortable working across the stack when needed, integrating APIs, handling business logic, and helping transform prototypes into production-ready systems. My goal is always to deliver solutions that are **simple, efficient, and genuinely useful for the people using them.** prajwalfullstack prajwalfullstack Hi Im a full stack developer, a vibe coded MVP to Market ready product, I'm here to help Costea Adrian Costea Adrian Embedded Engineer specilizing in perception systems. Latest project was a adas camera calibration system.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The app works on my computer but not after deploy. Is it env vars?

Very likely. This is the #1 cause of 'works locally, breaks in production'. Check that all environment variables from your .env file are set in your hosting platform.

I set the env vars but it still doesn't work. What else could it be?

Make sure you redeployed after adding them. Also check that the variable names match exactly (case-sensitive) and that any framework-required prefixes are included.

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