Loads environment variables from .env file
- Weekly Downloads
- 129.9M
- Bundle (gzip)
- 30.3 KB
- Updated
- Vulns
- 0
Comparison guide
Side-by-side NPM package comparison

Smallest Bundle
Env-cmd
16.2 KB gzipped
Most Popular
Dotenv
129.9M weekly downloads
Best Maintained
Dotenv
80/100 maintenance score
Highest Quality
Dotenv
50/100 quality score
Overall Pick
Dotenv
Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality
Loads environment variables from .env file
Executes a command using the environment variables in an env file
Choosing between Dotenv and Env-cmd? Here's a data-driven comparison based on real npm data — downloads, bundle size, health scores, and more — to help you decide which package fits your project best.
Dotenv leads with 129.9M weekly downloads — roughly 78.8x more. Env-cmd has 1.6M weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.
Env-cmd has the smallest gzipped bundle at 16.2 KB. Dotenv comes in at 30.3 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.
Dotenv has an overall health score of 79/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Env-cmd has an overall health score of 67/100 (good), with strong security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.
Choose Dotenv if you value massive community and ecosystem, strong security track record. Choose Env-cmd if you value large community support, strong security track record.
Both Dotenv and Env-cmd are solid choices for JavaScript development. Dotenv has the edge in overall health score (79/100), while each package brings unique strengths to the table. Evaluate them based on your project's priorities — whether that's community size, bundle efficiency, or maintenance activity — and choose the one that aligns best with your requirements.
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