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atmos env

Output environment variables from the env section of atmos.yaml in various formats suitable for shell evaluation, .env files, JSON consumption, or GitHub Actions workflows.

atmos env --help

Usage​

atmos env [--format bash|json|dotenv|github] [--output <file>]

How It Works​

The atmos env command reads the env section from your atmos.yaml configuration (including any active profiles) and outputs the environment variables in your chosen format. This is useful for:

  • Exporting Atmos-configured environment variables to your shell
  • Generating .env files for other tools
  • Integrating with CI/CD pipelines, especially GitHub Actions
  • Inspecting what environment variables Atmos will set

Examples​

Shell Evaluation​

Load environment variables into your current shell:

# Load env vars into current shell
eval $(atmos env)

# Now tools like Terraform can use GITHUB_TOKEN, TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR, etc.
terraform init

Using with Profiles​

Profiles are automatically applied when specified:

# Use CI profile
eval $(atmos env --profile ci)

# Or via environment variable
ATMOS_PROFILE=ci eval $(atmos env)

GitHub Actions Integration​

Write environment variables directly to GitHub Actions:

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install Atmos
        uses: cloudposse/github-action-atmos@v2

      - name: Export Atmos environment
        run: atmos env --format github

      - name: Use environment variables
        run: |
          echo "GitHub token available for private modules"
          terraform init

The --format github option automatically writes to the $GITHUB_ENV file. You can also specify a custom output file:

# Write to custom file
atmos env --format github --output /tmp/my-env

# In GitHub Actions, use the default $GITHUB_ENV
atmos env --format github

Generate .env File​

Create a .env file for tools that support it:

atmos env --format dotenv --output .env

JSON Output​

Get environment variables as JSON for programmatic use:

atmos env --format json | jq .GITHUB_TOKEN

Output Formats​

FormatOutput ExampleUse Case
bash (default)export KEY='value'Shell evaluation with eval $(atmos env)
dotenvKEY='value'.env files for Docker, direnv, etc.
json{"KEY": "value"}Programmatic consumption with jq, scripts
githubKEY=valueGitHub Actions $GITHUB_ENV file

Format Details​

bash (default): Shell export statements with proper escaping for single quotes.

export GITHUB_TOKEN='ghp_xxxx'
export TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR='/tmp/terraform-plugin-cache'

dotenv: Standard .env file format.

GITHUB_TOKEN='ghp_xxxx'
TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR='/tmp/terraform-plugin-cache'

json: JSON object for programmatic use.

{
  "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_xxxx",
  "TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR": "/tmp/terraform-plugin-cache"
}

github: GitHub Actions environment file format. Multiline values use heredoc syntax.

GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxxx
TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR=/tmp/terraform-plugin-cache

Flags​

--format, -f

Output format for the environment variables. Default: bash.

  • bash (default): Prints export KEY='value' lines suitable for shell evaluation
  • dotenv: Prints KEY='value' lines in dotenv format
  • json: Prints a JSON object of environment variables
  • github: Prints KEY=value lines for GitHub Actions $GITHUB_ENV file
--output, -o

Output file path. When specified, writes to the file instead of stdout.

For --format github, if --output is not specified, the command reads the GITHUB_ENV environment variable and writes to that file. If GITHUB_ENV is not set, an error is returned.

For other formats, if --output is not specified, output goes to stdout.

Configuration​

Environment variables are configured in the env section of atmos.yaml:

atmos.yaml

env:
  # Dynamic values using YAML functions
  GITHUB_TOKEN: !exec gh auth token

  # Static values
  AWS_SDK_LOAD_CONFIG: "true"
  TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR: /tmp/terraform-plugin-cache

Configure Environment Variables

Learn how to define global environment variables in your atmos.yaml using static values, YAML functions, and shell expansion.

Learn More

Notes​

  • Environment variables are sorted alphabetically in the output for deterministic results
  • The github format appends to the output file (doesn't overwrite), following GitHub Actions conventions
  • Shell escaping is applied for bash and dotenv formats (single quotes with ' escaped as '\'')
  • Profile merging happens automatically - use --profile or ATMOS_PROFILE to select a profile
  • This command only outputs global env from atmos.yaml, not component-level env from stacks

See Also​