Manage Environment Variables

Environment variables let you pass configuration and secrets to your application without hardcoding them in your source code. Each environment in Phemeral has its own set of environment variables.

How Environment Variables Work

• Environment variables are encrypted at rest.
• Variables are baked in at build time when a deployment is created. If you change an environment variable, you need to create a new deployment for the change to take effect.

Add Environment Variables

During Project Creation

When you create a new project, you can optionally add environment variables to the Development environment. Enter key-value pairs on the project creation form.

After Project Creation

1. Navigate to your project in the dashboard.
2. Open the environment where you want to add variables.
3. In the Environment Variables section, add your key-value pairs.
4. Save the changes.

Key Format Requirements

Environment variable keys must match the following pattern:

• Start with a letter (a-z, A-Z) or underscore (_).
• Contain only letters, digits (0-9), and underscores.
• Examples: DATABASE_URL, SECRET_KEY, _INTERNAL_FLAG, API_KEY_V2.

Variable values must be non-empty strings.

If you add a variable with a key that already exists on the environment, the duplicate is skipped — the existing value is retained.

View a Variable's Value

Environment variable values are hidden by default. To view a specific variable's value:

1. Open the environment in the dashboard.
2. In the Environment Variables section, click the reveal control next to the variable you want to inspect.

Delete Environment Variables

1. Open the environment in the dashboard.
2. In the Environment Variables section, select the variable(s) you want to remove.
3. Confirm deletion.

Future deployments will not include the deleted variable.

Redeploying After Changes

If you add, change, or remove a variable, you need to trigger a new deployment for the change to take effect:

• With GitHub CD: Push a commit to the mapped branch.
• Without GitHub CD: Create a new deployment from the dashboard.