This snippet will explain how to use environment variables to configure your environment. Blog post: http://dor.ky/laravel-homestead-add-enviroment-variables-to-nginx/
// Edit the website configuration name, by running the following command within the VM:
// $ sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/local.dev
// Within the location ~ \.php$ { block, update your configuration to resemble this:
// location ~ \.php$ {
// fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
// fastcgi_param LARAVEL_ENVIROMENT "dev";
// fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock;
// fastcgi_index index.php;
// include fastcgi_params;
// }
// Now restart Nginx
// $ sudo /etc/init.d/nginx restart
// Next, edit your bootstrap/start.php file and update the method to detect enviroment:
$env = $app->detectEnvironment(function(){
return getenv("LARAVEL_ENVIROMENT");
});