How can I securely manage environment variables in Ruby?

How can I securely manage environment variables in Ruby?

You can use the dotenv gem to load environment variables from a .env file, keeping sensitive data out of your code.

What if I don't want to use a gem?

You can set environment variables directly in your shell or use a configuration management tool to handle them securely.

Are there any best practices for storing sensitive information?

Yes, avoid hardcoding sensitive data in your source code, use environment variables, and consider using a secrets management service.

Can you give an example of using dotenv?

Sure! First, install the gem with gem install dotenv. Then, create a .env file with your variables, like API_KEY=your_api_key, and load it in your Ruby script with require 'dotenv/load'.