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Function Signature

async function maybeSecretDate(
  key: string
): Promise<Date | undefined>

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Parameters

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key
string
required
The environment variable name that points to the secret file path

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Returns

Promise<Date | undefined> - A Date object from the secret file, or undefined if not found

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How It Works

This is the optional variant of secretDate. It reads secrets from the filesystem without throwing errors when the file is missing:
  1. Checks if the environment variable key contains a file path
  2. If no path is set, defaults to /run/secrets/{key}
  3. Reads the file contents and parses it as a Date
  4. Returns undefined if the secret file doesn’t exist (instead of throwing)
  5. Still throws an error if the file exists but contains an invalid date

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Difference from secretDate

  • maybeSecretDate: Returns undefined when the secret file is missing
  • secretDate: Throws an error when the secret file is missing (unless a fallback is provided)
Use maybeSecretDate for truly optional date secrets where absence is a valid state.

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Example

import { maybeSecretDate } from "@nore/load-env"

// Returns undefined if the secret doesn't exist
export const EXPIRES_AT = await maybeSecretDate("EXPIRES_AT")

if (EXPIRES_AT) {
  console.log(`Expires on ${EXPIRES_AT.toISOString()}`)
} else {
  console.log("No expiration date set")
}

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Error Handling

Returns undefined if:
  • The secret file doesn’t exist
  • The file is empty
Throws an error if:
  • The file exists but cannot be parsed as a valid Date

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