How to pass environment variables?

Passing environment variables in Azure Pipelines allows you to configure your scripts and tasks dynamically. Here’s how you can set and use environment variables in your Azure Pipelines YAML configuration:

Method 1: Define Environment Variables in the YAML Pipeline

You can define environment variables directly in your YAML pipeline. Here’s an example:

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

variables:
  MY_VARIABLE: 'Hello, World!'
  ANOTHER_VARIABLE: 'Azure DevOps'

steps:
- script: |
    echo "Variable 1: $MY_VARIABLE"
    echo "Variable 2: $ANOTHER_VARIABLE"
  displayName: 'Print Environment Variables'

Explanation

• variables: This section defines environment variables that can be accessed throughout the pipeline.
• script: The script block uses the defined variables. In Bash, you access variables using the $ prefix.

Method 2: Pass Environment Variables to a Script

If you want to pass environment variables specifically to a shell script, you can do so in the script step:

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
- script: |
    export MY_VARIABLE='Hello from script'
    ./my_script.sh
  displayName: 'Run Script with Environment Variable'

In Your Shell Script

In your shell script (my_script.sh), you can access the environment variable like this:

#!/bin/bash

echo "Inside the script: $MY_VARIABLE"

Method 3: Using Pipeline Variables as Environment Variables

You can also pass pipeline variables as environment variables to your scripts:

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

variables:
  MY_VARIABLE: 'Hello from Pipeline'

steps:
- script: |
    echo "Variable from pipeline: $MY_VARIABLE"
  displayName: 'Print Pipeline Variable'

Method 4: Using Azure DevOps Secrets

If you need to pass sensitive information (like API keys), you can use Azure DevOps secrets. Here’s how:

1. Define a Secret: Go to your Azure DevOps project, navigate to "Pipelines" > "Library," and create a new variable group. Add your secret variable and mark it as a secret.

2. Reference the Secret in Your Pipeline:

trigger:
- main

pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

variables:
- group: my-variable-group  # Reference the variable group containing secrets

steps:
- script: |
    echo "My secret variable: $MY_SECRET_VARIABLE"
  displayName: 'Print Secret Variable'

Summary

By using these methods, you can effectively pass and manage environment variables in Azure Pipelines. This allows for greater flexibility and security in your CI/CD processes.

If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask!