CI Output Variables

The ci.output section configures output variables that are written for use in downstream CI jobs. On GitHub Actions, these are written to $GITHUB_OUTPUT. On GitLab CI, they create dotenv artifacts.

Experimental

Configuration

atmos.yaml

ci:
  output:
    enabled: true
    variables:
      - has_changes
      - has_additions
      - has_destructions
      - artifact_key
      - plan_summary

ci.output.enabled

Write plan/apply results as key-value pairs for use in downstream jobs.

Default: true

ci.output.variables

List of native CI variables to output. This whitelist controls which built-in variables are written. Terraform outputs (prefixed with output_) are always included regardless of this setting.

Default: All available variables

Available Variables

Plan Variables

Variable	Type	Description
has_changes	true/false	Whether the plan has any changes
has_additions	true/false	Whether the plan creates resources
has_destructions	true/false	Whether the plan destroys resources
plan_summary	string	Human-readable plan summary (e.g., "3 to add, 1 to change")
artifact_key	string	Planfile storage key (when storage is configured)

Aggregate Multi-component Plan Variables

Graph-backed multi-component plan runs in CI write aggregate output variables once after all components finish. These variables are available for --all, --components, and --query plan runs.

Variable	Type	Description
has_changes	true/false	Whether any component has changes
has_errors	true/false	Whether any component failed
exit_code	0, 1, or 2	Aggregate exit code: 1 for any failure, 2 for changes without failures, 0 for no changes
resources_to_create	number	Total resources to create across successful changed components
resources_to_change	number	Total resources to update across successful changed components
resources_to_replace	number	Total resources to replace across successful changed components
resources_to_destroy	number	Total resources to destroy across successful changed components
components_total	number	Total components in the graph run
components_succeeded	number	Components that completed without errors
components_failed	number	Components that failed
components_changed	number	Successful components with changes
components_no_changes	number	Successful components with no changes
components_skipped	number	Components skipped because dependencies failed or were skipped
summary	Markdown	Full aggregate job summary body
command	string	Always plan for aggregate plan output
stack	string	Requested stack, or all when not scoped to one stack
component	string	Always aggregate for aggregate plan output

Apply/Deploy Variables

Variable	Type	Description
success	true/false	Whether the operation succeeded
output_*	varies	All terraform outputs, prefixed with output_

Terraform Outputs

After a successful apply or deploy, all terraform outputs are exported with the output_ prefix. Nested outputs are flattened using dot notation.

For example, a terraform output vpc_id = "vpc-123" becomes output_vpc_id=vpc-123.

tip

Terraform output_* variables bypass the ci.output.variables whitelist — they are always included when output is enabled.

Usage in GitHub Actions

jobs:
  plan:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      has_changes: ${{ steps.plan.outputs.has_changes }}
    steps:
      - name: Terraform Plan
        id: plan
        run: atmos terraform plan vpc -s prod

  apply:
    needs: plan
    if: ${{ needs.plan.outputs.has_changes == 'true' }}
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: atmos terraform deploy vpc -s prod

Related

• CI Configuration - Full configuration reference
• Native CI Overview - Feature overview