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Environment Variables

Most YAML settings in atmos.yaml can also be defined by environment variables. This is helpful for local development, CI/CD pipelines, and environment-specific overrides.

Configuration Variables​

These environment variables configure Atmos behavior and can override settings in atmos.yaml.

ATMOS_CLI_CONFIG_PATH

Where to find atmos.yaml. Path to a folder where atmos.yaml CLI config file is located (e.g. /config).

ATMOS_CONFIG

Paths to specific configuration files (comma-separated). Equivalent to --config.

ATMOS_CONFIG_PATH

Paths to search for Atmos configuration (comma-separated). Equivalent to --config-path.

ATMOS_PROFILE

Activate configuration profiles (comma-separated). Equivalent to the --profile flag.

ATMOS_BASE_PATH

Base path to components and stacks folders.

  • YAML Path: base_path
ATMOS_CHDIR

Change the working directory before executing any command. Equivalent to --chdir.

ATMOS_VENDOR_BASE_PATH

Path to vendor configuration file or directory containing vendor files.

  • YAML Path: vendor.base_path

Version Management​

ATMOS_USE_VERSION

Specify which version of Atmos to use. If the running version doesn't match, Atmos automatically downloads and re-executes with the requested version. Equivalent to --use-version.

  • Example: ATMOS_USE_VERSION=1.160.0 atmos terraform plan
ATMOS_VERSION

Convenience alias for ATMOS_USE_VERSION.

ATMOS_VERSION_ENFORCEMENT

Version constraint enforcement mode. Controls behavior when version constraints are defined in atmos.yaml.

Terminal and Output Variables​

ATMOS_NO_COLOR

Disable colored output. Equivalent to --no-color.

NO_COLOR

Standard convention to disable colored output. Recognized alongside ATMOS_NO_COLOR.

ATMOS_FORCE_COLOR

Force TrueColor output even when terminal detection says otherwise. Equivalent to --force-color.

ATMOS_FORCE_TTY

Force TTY mode for terminal output. Equivalent to --force-tty.

ATMOS_REDIRECT_STDERR

Redirect stderr to a file. Equivalent to --redirect-stderr.

Component Variables​

ATMOS_COMPONENTS_TERRAFORM_COMMAND

The executable to be called by atmos when running Terraform commands.

  • YAML Path: components.terraform.command
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_TERRAFORM_BASE_PATH

Base path to Terraform components.

  • YAML Path: components.terraform.base_path
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_TERRAFORM_APPLY_AUTO_APPROVE

If set to true, auto-approve Terraform apply.

  • YAML Path: components.terraform.apply_auto_approve
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_TERRAFORM_DEPLOY_RUN_INIT

Run terraform init when executing atmos terraform deploy command.

  • YAML Path: components.terraform.deploy_run_init
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_TERRAFORM_INIT_RUN_RECONFIGURE

Run terraform init -reconfigure when executing atmos terraform commands.

  • YAML Path: components.terraform.init_run_reconfigure
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_TERRAFORM_INIT_PASS_VARS

Pass the generated varfile to terraform init using the --var-file flag.

  • YAML Path: components.terraform.init.pass_vars
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_TERRAFORM_PLAN_SKIP_PLANFILE

Skip writing the plan to a file by not passing the -out flag.

  • YAML Path: components.terraform.plan.skip_planfile
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_TERRAFORM_AUTO_GENERATE_BACKEND_FILE

If set to true, auto-generate Terraform backend config files.

  • YAML Path: components.terraform.auto_generate_backend_file
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_TERRAFORM_PLUGIN_CACHE

If set to true, enable Terraform provider plugin caching.

  • YAML Path: components.terraform.plugin_cache
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_TERRAFORM_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR

Custom directory for Terraform provider plugin cache. If not set, uses the XDG cache directory.

  • YAML Path: components.terraform.plugin_cache_dir
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_COMMAND

The executable to be called by atmos when running Helmfile commands.

  • YAML Path: components.helmfile.command
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_BASE_PATH

Path to helmfile components.

  • YAML Path: components.helmfile.base_path
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_USE_EKS

If set to true, download kubeconfig from EKS before executing atmos helmfile commands.

  • YAML Path: components.helmfile.use_eks
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_KUBECONFIG_PATH

Path to write the kubeconfig file.

  • YAML Path: components.helmfile.kubeconfig_path
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_HELM_AWS_PROFILE_PATTERN

Pattern for AWS profile to use when executing atmos helmfile commands.

  • YAML Path: components.helmfile.helm_aws_profile_pattern
ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_CLUSTER_NAME_PATTERN

Pattern for EKS cluster name to use when executing atmos helmfile commands.

  • YAML Path: components.helmfile.cluster_name_pattern

Stack Variables​

ATMOS_STACKS_BASE_PATH

Base path to Atmos stack manifests.

  • YAML Path: stacks.base_path
ATMOS_STACKS_INCLUDED_PATHS

List of paths to use as top-level stack manifests.

  • YAML Path: stacks.included_paths
ATMOS_STACKS_EXCLUDED_PATHS

List of paths to not consider as top-level stacks.

  • YAML Path: stacks.excluded_paths
ATMOS_STACKS_NAME_PATTERN

Stack name pattern to use as Atmos stack names.

  • YAML Path: stacks.name_pattern
ATMOS_STACKS_NAME_TEMPLATE

Stack name Golang template to use as Atmos stack names.

  • YAML Path: stacks.name_template

Workflow and Schema Variables​

ATMOS_WORKFLOWS_BASE_PATH

Base path to Atmos workflows.

  • YAML Path: workflows.base_path
ATMOS_SCHEMAS_JSONSCHEMA_BASE_PATH

Base path to JSON schemas for component validation.

  • YAML Path: schemas.jsonschema.base_path
ATMOS_SCHEMAS_OPA_BASE_PATH

Base path to OPA policies for component validation.

  • YAML Path: schemas.opa.base_path
ATMOS_SCHEMAS_ATMOS_MANIFEST

Path to JSON Schema to validate Atmos stack manifests.

  • YAML Path: schemas.atmos.manifest

Logging and Profiling Variables​

ATMOS_LOGS_FILE

The file to write Atmos logs to (/dev/stdout, /dev/stderr, /dev/null, or a file path).

  • YAML Path: logs.file
ATMOS_LOGS_LEVEL

Logs level: Trace, Debug, Info, Warning, Off.

  • YAML Path: logs.level
ATMOS_PROFILER_ENABLED

Enable or disable the pprof HTTP profiling server.

  • YAML Path: profiler.enabled
ATMOS_PROFILER_HOST

Host address for the profiling server.

  • YAML Path: profiler.host
ATMOS_PROFILER_PORT

Port for the profiling server.

  • YAML Path: profiler.port
ATMOS_PROFILE_FILE

Write profiling data to the specified file.

  • YAML Path: profiler.file
ATMOS_PROFILE_TYPE

Type of profile to collect: cpu, heap, allocs, goroutine, block, mutex, threadcreate, trace.

  • YAML Path: profiler.profile_type

Settings Variables​

ATMOS_SETTINGS_LIST_MERGE_STRATEGY

Specifies how lists are merged: replace, append, merge.

  • YAML Path: settings.list_merge_strategy
ATMOS_VERSION_CHECK_ENABLED

Enable/disable Atmos version checks for updates.

  • YAML Path: version.check.enabled

Authentication and Token Injection​

GITHUB_TOKEN / ATMOS_GITHUB_TOKEN

GitHub token for private module downloads and API access. ATMOS_GITHUB_TOKEN takes precedence over GITHUB_TOKEN. Automatically injected into Terraform environments when ATMOS_INJECT_GITHUB_TOKEN=true (default).

ATMOS_INJECT_GITHUB_TOKEN

Inject the GitHub token into component environments. Default: true. Set to false to prevent token injection.

GITHUB_USERNAME / GITHUB_ACTOR / ATMOS_GITHUB_USERNAME

GitHub username for OCI registry authentication to ghcr.io. GITHUB_ACTOR is automatically set in GitHub Actions.

  • YAML Path: settings.github_username
GITLAB_TOKEN / ATMOS_GITLAB_TOKEN

GitLab token for private module downloads.

ATMOS_INJECT_GITLAB_TOKEN

Inject the GitLab token into component environments.

BITBUCKET_TOKEN / ATMOS_BITBUCKET_TOKEN

App password for Bitbucket API requests and private module downloads.

ATMOS_INJECT_BITBUCKET_TOKEN

Inject the Bitbucket token into component environments.

ATMOS_BITBUCKET_USERNAME

Username for Bitbucket authentication.

AI Integration​

ATMOS_AI

Enable AI-powered analysis of command output. When true, command output is sent to the configured AI provider for analysis. Equivalent to the --ai flag. Requires AI configuration in atmos.yaml.

  • Example: ATMOS_AI=true atmos terraform plan vpc -s prod
ATMOS_SKILL

Specify one or more AI skills for domain-specific analysis context (comma-separated). Equivalent to the --skill flag. Requires ATMOS_AI=true or --ai flag. Each skill's system prompt is prepended to the AI analysis for deeper, domain-aware insights.

  • Example: ATMOS_AI=true ATMOS_SKILL=atmos-terraform,atmos-stacks atmos terraform plan vpc -s prod
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / ATMOS_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

API key for the Anthropic Claude AI provider.

OPENAI_API_KEY / ATMOS_OPENAI_API_KEY

API key for the OpenAI GPT AI provider.

GEMINI_API_KEY / ATMOS_GEMINI_API_KEY

API key for the Google Gemini AI provider.

XAI_API_KEY / ATMOS_XAI_API_KEY

API key for the xAI Grok AI provider.

ATMOS_AI_SEND_CONTEXT

Control whether stack configurations are sent to the AI provider for context-aware answers. Default: false.

Processing Flags​

ATMOS_PROCESS_TEMPLATES

Enable/disable Go template processing in Atmos manifests.

ATMOS_PROCESS_FUNCTIONS

Enable/disable YAML function processing in Atmos manifests.

ATMOS_SKIP

Skip processing specific Atmos YAML functions (comma-separated).

Terraform Integration​

ATMOS_SKIP_INIT

Skip terraform init before running commands.

ATMOS_INIT_PASS_VARS

Pass the generated varfile to terraform init.

ATMOS_APPEND_USER_AGENT

Customize the User-Agent string sent with Terraform requests.

ATMOS_AUTO_GENERATE_BACKEND_FILE

Override the auto_generate_backend_file setting from atmos.yaml.

ATMOS_INIT_RUN_RECONFIGURE

Override the init_run_reconfigure setting from atmos.yaml.

Atmos Pro​

ATMOS_PRO_BASE_URL

Atmos Pro API base URL.

ATMOS_PRO_ENDPOINT

Atmos Pro API endpoint.

ATMOS_PRO_WORKSPACE_ID

Atmos Pro workspace identifier. Not a secret.

ATMOS_PRO_TOKEN

Bearer token obtained via OIDC token exchange (advanced). See Pro authentication.

ATMOS_UPLOAD_STATUS

Upload plan status to Atmos Pro after Terraform commands.

Telemetry​

ATMOS_TELEMETRY_ENABLED

Enable anonymous telemetry reporting. Default: true.

ATMOS_TELEMETRY_TOKEN

Telemetry authentication token.

ATMOS_TELEMETRY_ENDPOINT

Custom telemetry endpoint URL.

Experimental Features​

ATMOS_EXPERIMENTAL

Control experimental command behavior. Options: silence, disable, warn (default), error.

Toolchain​

ATMOS_TOOL_VERSIONS

Path to a tool-versions file for version pinning.

ATMOS_TOOLCHAIN_PATH

Directory where Atmos installs managed tools.

XDG Base Directories​

ATMOS_XDG_CACHE_HOME / XDG_CACHE_HOME

Override the cache directory. Default: ~/.cache.

ATMOS_XDG_DATA_HOME / XDG_DATA_HOME

Override the data directory. Default: ~/.local/share.

ATMOS_XDG_CONFIG_HOME / XDG_CONFIG_HOME

Override the config directory. Default: ~/.config.

Git Operations​

ATMOS_REPO_PATH

Path to the cloned target repository for describe affected.

ATMOS_REF

Git reference for comparison in describe affected.

ATMOS_SHA

Git commit SHA for comparison in describe affected.

ATMOS_SSH_KEY

Path to SSH private key for Git operations.

ATMOS_SSH_KEY_PASSWORD

SSH key encryption password.

ATMOS_CLONE_TARGET_REF

Clone target Git reference for comparison operations.

ATMOS_INCLUDE_DEPENDENTS

Include dependent components in describe affected output.

Context Variables​

Some commands spawn interactive shells with environment variables set to provide context. These are set by Atmos, not by users:

ATMOS_COMPONENT
The name of the active component.
ATMOS_SHELL_WORKING_DIR
The directory from which native commands should be run.
ATMOS_SHLVL
The depth of Atmos shell nesting. When present, indicates shell was spawned by Atmos.
ATMOS_STACK
The name of the active stack.
ATMOS_TERRAFORM_WORKSPACE
The name of the Terraform workspace in which Terraform commands should be run.
PS1
When a custom shell prompt has been configured, the prompt is set via PS1.
TF_CLI_ARGS_*
Terraform CLI arguments to be passed to Terraform commands.

See Also​