Load Environment Variables from .env File in Bash

#!/bin/bash

# Source .env file if it exists
if [ -f ".env" ]; then
  echo "Loading environment variables from .env"
  export $(grep -v '^#' .env | xargs)
else
  echo ".env file not found, proceeding without it."
fi

# Example usage of a loaded variable
# echo "DATABASE_URL: $DATABASE_URL"

How it works: This script checks for the presence of a `.env` file in the current directory. If found, it reads each non-commented line (lines not starting with `#`), extracts key-value pairs, and exports them as environment variables using `export $(...)`. This makes the variables accessible to the current shell session or subsequent commands within the script, providing dynamic configuration for web projects.