Environment Variables

Environment variables allow you to add secrets and configuration values that will be available in your sandbox. You can configure environment variables at two levels:

• Global Environment: Variables that apply to all your repositories
• Repository-Specific Environment: Variables scoped to individual repositories

Repository-specific variables take precedence over global variables when both define the same key. This allows you to set common defaults globally while overriding them per repository as needed.

Common Use Cases

Environment variables are perfect for:

• API Keys: Store credentials for third-party services
• Database URLs: Connection strings for databases
• Feature Flags: Toggle features on/off
• Configuration Values: Any settings that vary between environments
• Webhook URLs: Endpoints for external services
• SDK Keys: Authentication for various SDKs

Adding Environment Variables

Variable names must begin with a letter or underscore and may include only letters, numbers, and underscores. Terragon points out invalid or duplicate names before you can save. Use the visibility control beside a value only when you need to inspect it, then hide it again.

Importing from .env File

You can import multiple environment variables from a .env file in one step:

Terragon shows a line-specific error when pasted content is not valid .env format, so you can correct the source before importing.

Example .env Format

# API Keys
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_api_key

# Database Configuration
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

# Feature Flags
ENABLE_NEW_FEATURE=true
DEBUG_MODE=false

# External Services
WEBHOOK_URL=https://api.example.com/webhook
SLACK_TOKEN=xoxb-...

Default Environment Variables

Terragon automatically sets the following environment variables in your sandbox:

Using Environment Variables

In Setup Scripts

Environment variables are automatically available in your terragon-setup.sh script:

#!/bin/bash
echo "API Key: $MY_API_KEY"
echo "Database URL: $DATABASE_URL"

# Configure application with environment variables
export NODE_ENV=production
export API_ENDPOINT=$API_URL

In Your Code

Access environment variables as you normally would in your application:

// Node.js/JavaScript
const apiKey = process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY;
const dbUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL;

# Python
import os
api_key = os.environ.get('OPENAI_API_KEY')
db_url = os.environ.get('DATABASE_URL')

# Shell scripts
echo "Using API key: $OPENAI_API_KEY"
psql "$DATABASE_URL"