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)

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