Creating custom environment variables from the user interface¶

Security considerations for custom variables¶

Custom environment variables aren’t encrypted, and aren’t a substitute for secure credentials. Custom environment variables can be exposed in your application’s Drupal watchdog log. Acquia recommends you do not include sensitive items, like the following examples, in a custom variable:

• SSL certificates
• SSH keys
• Login credentials
• API credentials

Adding a custom variable¶

Using the Acquia Cloud interface, complete the following steps to add a custom environment variable:

1. Sign in to Acquia Cloud, and then select your application.

2. Select the environment to which you want to add a variable.

3. In the left menu, click Variables, and then click Add Environment Variable.

   

4. Add the information for your variable:

   • Name - Example: Drupal_API_URL
   • Value - Example: http://mydrupalsite.com/api

5. Click Add to add the variable, or click Cancel to discard your changes.

After your environment restarts, an item will appear in the task log and the new variable will be included in the Environment Variables list.

Editing a custom variable¶

If you have a problem or need to update an existing custom variable, you can edit them from the Variables page, using the following procedure:

1. Sign in to Acquia Cloud, and then select your application.
2. In the left menu, click Variables.
3. Find the variable that you want to change, and then click its Edit link.
4. Replace the information in the Value text box with your updated data.
5. Click Update.

After your environment restarts, an item will appear in the task log and the variable’s new value will be displayed in the Environment Variables list.

Calling a custom variable¶

Custom environment variables are available in both the $_ENV and $_SERVER superglobals. To call a custom variable, add the following code to your settings.php file, modifying variable_name to meet your application’s needs:

$myVariable = $_ENV['variable_name'] ?? getenv('variable_name');

Removing a custom variable¶

To remove a custom environment variable from use, complete the following steps:

1. Sign in to Acquia Cloud, and then select your application.
2. In the left menu, click Variables.
3. Find the variable that you want to delete, and then click its Remove link.
4. Click Update.

After your environment restarts, an item will appear in the task log and Acquia Cloud will remove the variable from the Environment Variables list.

Filtering for specific variables¶

If you need to locate a specific custom environment variable, use the Filter Variables field in the upper-right corner of the webpage to filter your displayed variables based on your entered text.

Custom variables in the Acquia Cloud API¶

The Acquia Cloud API provides endpoints for working with custom environment variables, including the following: