Article | Stuart Elcocks | 21/04/2023

Setting environment variables

Environment variables can be set in two different ways.

1. Target the environmentvariablevalues entity. If you target this entity then a value must already be set for the environment definition.

2. Target the environmentvariabledefinitions entity. In this entity, if a custom value hasn't been set, then you can update the default value.

Target the environmentvariablevalues entity

As an example lets say we have an environment variable called new_TestVariable which doesn't have a current value set.

You can set the value of new_TestVariable with the following template.

{
      "targetenvironment": "[variables('dynamicsCredentials')]",
      "type": "drm.crmbaseentity/environmentvariablevalues",
      "apiVersion": "2023-01-09",
      "name": "DEMO_Environment_Variables",
      "properties": {
        "data": [
          {
            "environmentvariablevalueid": "634b1a5e-0775-4de0-8cdd-9a5fdb4ac21f",
            "schemaname": "new_TestVariable",
            "value": "Hello Drm Current Value"
          }
        ]
      }
    }

In this example, the environmentvariablevalueid is a unique, randomly generated id. This id is used across all environments where this template is deployed and is utilized after the initial deployment. During the initial deployment, the schemaname value is used to identify the appropriate environment variable.

Warning

If the developers have already assigned a value to the environment variable new_TestVariable, then the "environmentvariablevalueid" must be identified in order to override it.

Target the environmentvariabledefinitions entity

Instead of creating/updating a 'current value' for an environment variable, you can update the default value.

This is what your template would look like. To update a default value for an environment variable the resource type needs to be drm.crmbaseentity/environmentvariabledefinitions.

{
      "targetenvironment": "[variables('dynamicsCredentials')]",
      "type": "drm.crmbaseentity/environmentvariabledefinitions",
      "apiVersion": "2023-01-09",
      "name": "DEMO_Environment_Variables",
      "properties": {
        "data": [
          {
            "environmentvariabledefinitionid": "8301c397-42e0-46d3-9dd5-db5a4833499d",
            "schemaname": "new_TestVariable",
            "defaultvalue": "Hello Drm Default Value"
          }
        ]
      }
    }

You will need to identify the environmentvariabledefinitionid for the env variable new_TestVariable to ensure the default value is updated correctly.