Composer 2.2.9 + (laravel/framework or illuminate/support) + anything that requires cakephp/core = calls to env() go to CakePHP env() instead of Illuminate\Support\env()

[AlbinoDrought]

See other comment here: composer/composer#10617 (comment)

If you're having issues with env() returning unexpected values recently, or putenv() seeming to not work, this is probably why.

To ensure you don't experience this, mark your application as conflicting with cakephp/core in composer.json:

    "conflict": {
        "cakephp/core": "*"
    }

Cheers!