Please clarify how to use .ENV

[fool]

This is our best resource on environment variable usage:

[Support Guide] Using environment variables on Netlify correctly

Last reviewed: August 2023 The preferred way to use environment variables in Netlify is to set them in our environment - be that in the Environment Variables settings UI (on the site’s “Build & Deploy settings” page), or via netlify.toml. You’ll want to choose the right pattern to meet your needs. Setting variables in our UI may be considered a bit more secure, since only people with access to the Netlify admin UI for your site can see them, rather than “anyone who can clone your repo!”. Thes…

It doesn’t start from a “dotenv” setup, and that may be problematic; you may want to review this stackoverflow post on that exact topic for a slightly different approach:

dotenv preventing build in production