feat(env-vars): add support for basic environment variables (#84)

* feat(env-vars): add support for basic environment variables

* [cleanup]

Author: seanforyou23

.gitignore

@@ -4,3 +4,6 @@ yarn-error.log
 stats.json
 coverage
 storybook-static
+.DS_Store
+.idea
+.env

README.md

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ Install development/build dependencies
 Start the development server
 `npm run start:dev`
 
-Run a production build
+Run a production build (outputs to "dist" dir)
 `npm run build`
 
 Run the test suite
@@ -39,6 +39,12 @@ Launch a tool to inspect the bundle size
 Start the express server (run a production build first)
 `npm run start`
 
+Start storybook component explorer
+`npm run storybook`
+
+Build storybook component explorer as standalone app (outputs to "storybook-static" dir)
+`npm run build:storybook`
+
 ## Configurations
 * [TypeScript Config](./tsconfig.json)
 * [Webpack Config](./webpack.common.js)
@@ -83,3 +89,14 @@ body {
 * To keep our code formatting in check, we use [prettier](https://github.com/prettier/prettier)
 * To keep our code logic and test coverage in check, we use [jest](https://github.com/facebook/jest)
 * To ensure code styles remain consistent, we use [eslint](https://eslint.org/)
+* To provide a place to showcase custom components, we integrate with [storybook](https://storybook.js.org/)
+
+## Multi environment configuration
+This project uses [dotenv-webpack](https://www.npmjs.com/package/dotenv-webpack) for exposing environment variables to your code. Either export them at the system level like `export MY_ENV_VAR=http://dev.myendpoint.com && npm run start:dev` or simply drop a `.env` file in the root that contains your key-value pairs like below:
+
+```sh
+ENV_1=http://1.myendpoint.com
+ENV_2=http://2.myendpoint.com
+```
+
+With that in place, you can use the values in your code like `console.log(process.env.ENV_1);`