From b39ecaed717c1fa723d0482d710266c84a0823f0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Chrilleweb <christian.munknissen@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2026 21:01:48 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] fix: add .env.schema to default env candidates

---
 .changeset/spicy-experts-own.md                     |  5 +++++
 packages/cli/src/config/constants.ts                |  1 +
 .../cli/test/unit/services/envDiscovery.test.ts     | 13 +++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 19 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 .changeset/spicy-experts-own.md

diff --git a/.changeset/spicy-experts-own.md b/.changeset/spicy-experts-own.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a1157da0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/spicy-experts-own.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'dotenv-diff': patch
+---
+
+add .env.schema to default env candidates
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/constants.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/constants.ts
index 376f11a5..a59832c8 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/constants.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/constants.ts
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ export const DEFAULT_ENV_CANDIDATES = [
   '.env.local',
   '.env.production',
   '.env.development',
+  '.env.schema',
 ] as const;
 
 /**
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/unit/services/envDiscovery.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/unit/services/envDiscovery.test.ts
index 2da0428f..8dfd2864 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/unit/services/envDiscovery.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/unit/services/envDiscovery.test.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,19 @@ describe('discoverEnvFiles', () => {
     expect(result.primaryEnv).toBe('.env.development');
   });
 
+  it('uses .env.schema when it is the only available env file', () => {
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(cwd, '.env.schema'), '');
+
+    const result = discoverEnvFiles({
+      cwd,
+      envFlag: null,
+      exampleFlag: null,
+    });
+
+    expect(result.envFiles).toEqual(['.env.schema']);
+    expect(result.primaryEnv).toBe('.env.schema');
+  });
+
   it('handles --env flag and finds matching example via suffix', () => {
     fs.writeFileSync(path.join(cwd, '.env.prod'), '');
     fs.writeFileSync(path.join(cwd, '.env.example.prod'), '');