diff --git a/config/env.js b/config/env.js
index 8e4a04faaf..d86994f441 100644
--- a/config/env.js
+++ b/config/env.js
@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
 const path = require('path');
 const fs = require('fs');
 
-if (process.env.FREECODECAMP_NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
-  const envPath = path.resolve(__dirname, '../.env');
-  if (!fs.existsSync(envPath)) {
-    throw Error('.env not found, please copy sample.env to .env.');
-  }
-  require('dotenv').config({ path: envPath });
+const envPath = path.resolve(__dirname, '../.env');
+if (!fs.existsSync(envPath)) {
+  throw Error('.env not found, please copy sample.env to .env.');
 }
+require('dotenv').config({ path: envPath });
 
 const {
   HOME_LOCATION: home,
diff --git a/tools/scripts/build/ensure-env.js b/tools/scripts/build/ensure-env.js
index 4fe5570c47..b7e8ec8ddf 100644
--- a/tools/scripts/build/ensure-env.js
+++ b/tools/scripts/build/ensure-env.js
@@ -1,14 +1,17 @@
 const fs = require('fs');
 const path = require('path');
+const debug = require('debug');
 
 const env = require('../../../config/env');
 
+const log = debug('fcc:ensure-env');
+
 const clientPath = path.resolve(__dirname, '../../../client');
 const globalConfigPath = path.resolve(__dirname, '../../../config');
 
 const { FREECODECAMP_NODE_ENV } = process.env;
 
-if (FREECODECAMP_NODE_ENV === 'production') {
+if (FREECODECAMP_NODE_ENV !== 'development') {
   const locationKeys = [
     'homeLocation',
     'apiLocation',
@@ -51,6 +54,8 @@ if (FREECODECAMP_NODE_ENV === 'production') {
 
   if (env['showUpcomingChanges'])
     throw Error("SHOW_UPCOMING_CHANGES should never be 'true' in production");
+} else {
+  log('Skipping environment variable checks in development');
 }
 
 fs.writeFileSync(`${clientPath}/config/env.json`, JSON.stringify(env));