mcloud-variables

name	mcloud-variables
description	Execute mcloud variables commands to list, get, set, and delete environment variables for a Cloud environment. Use when inspecting, reading, creating, updating, deleting, or exporting environment variables. Never pass --reveal unless the user explicitly requests secret values.
allowed-tools	Bash(mcloud variables*), Bash(mcloud environments*), Bash(jq*)

Cloud CLI: Variables Commands

Execute mcloud variables commands to inspect and manage environment variables for Cloud environments.

Constraints

• Never pass --reveal unless the user explicitly asks. Secret values appear in terminal scrollback, log aggregators, and process listings.
• Variable changes need a deploy to apply. set/delete don't rebuild or redeploy. Run mcloud environments redeploy <env> for a runtime variable, or mcloud environments trigger-build <env> for a build variable (a redeploy reuses the existing image and won't pick up build-variable changes).
• System variables can't be deleted, and delete requires --yes in non-interactive mode.
• Looking up or creating a variable by key requires --project and --environment (or the equivalent in active context). Referencing by ID (var_...) works without project/environment context.
• set and delete require mcloud CLI v0.1.10+.

Commands

variables list

List all environment variables for a Cloud environment.

mcloud variables list \
  --organization <org-id> \
  --project <project-id-or-handle> \
  --environment <environment-handle> \
  --json

Options:

• -o/--organization <id> — Organization ID (falls back to active context)
• -p/--project <id-or-handle> — Project ID or handle (falls back to active context)
• -e/--environment <handle> — Environment handle (falls back to active context)
• -t/--type <backend|storefront> — Which variable set to list (default: backend)
• --scope <build|runtime> — Filter by scope; repeatable (default: both scopes)
• --include-system — Include system variables Medusa auto-injects (default: false)
• --reveal — Print secret values in plaintext instead of masking (use only when explicitly asked)
• --dotenv — Output .env-formatted KEY=VALUE lines instead of a table
• --json — Output as JSON

variables get

Retrieve a single variable by its ID (var_...) or key.

# By key (requires project + environment context)
mcloud variables get ADMIN_CORS \
  --organization <org-id> \
  --project <project-id-or-handle> \
  --environment <environment-handle> \
  --json

# By ID (works without project/environment context)
mcloud variables get var_01XYZ --json

Arguments:

• variable — Variable ID (var_...) or key (required)

Options:

• -o/--organization <id>, -p/--project <id-or-handle>, -e/--environment <handle>
• -t/--type <backend|storefront> — Which variable set to read (default: backend)
• --reveal — Print secret value in plaintext (use only when explicitly asked)
• --json — Output as JSON

variables set

Create or update one or more variables. The CLI updates when you reference an existing key or a var_... ID, and creates otherwise.

# Single variable
mcloud variables set API_KEY pk_123 \
  --organization <org-id> \
  --project <project-id-or-handle> \
  --environment <environment-handle>

# Multiple at once
mcloud variables set -v API_KEY=pk_123 -v CLIENT_ID=my_app

# From a .env file
mcloud variables set --env-file .env

Arguments:

• variable — Variable ID (var_...) or key to set (omit when using --var/--env-file)
• value — Value to set (required when a variable argument is passed)

Options:

• -o/--organization <id>, -p/--project <id-or-handle>, -e/--environment <handle>
• -t/--type <backend|storefront> — Which variable set to write (default: backend)
• -v/--var <KEY=VALUE|ID=VALUE> — A variable to set; repeatable
• --env-file <path> — Set all variables from a .env file
• --secret, --no-secret — Mark as secret (default: false for new variables)
• --build, --no-build — Available at build time (default: false for new variables)
• --runtime, --no-runtime — Available at runtime (default: true for new variables)
• --json — Output as JSON

Redeploy (runtime) or trigger-build (build) afterward — see Constraints.

variables delete

Delete a variable by its ID (var_...) or key. Irreversible; system variables can't be deleted.

mcloud variables delete API_KEY \
  --organization <org-id> \
  --project <project-id-or-handle> \
  --environment <environment-handle> \
  --yes

Arguments:

• variable — Variable ID (var_...) or key to delete (required)

Options:

• -o/--organization <id>, -p/--project <id-or-handle>, -e/--environment <handle>
• -t/--type <backend|storefront> — Which variable set to delete from (default: backend)
• -y/--yes — Skip confirmation prompt (required in non-interactive mode)
• --json — Output as JSON

Variable Fields (JSON)

Field	Description
id	Variable ID (var_...)
key	Variable name (e.g. ADMIN_CORS)
value	Variable value (masked if is_secret and --reveal not passed)
is_secret	Whether the variable is treated as a secret
is_build	Available at build time
is_runtime	Available at runtime
environment_id	The environment ID this variable belongs to
source	user for user-set variables, system for auto-injected ones

Examples

# List all variables for the active environment
mcloud variables list --json

# List only runtime variables, including system ones
mcloud variables list --scope runtime --include-system --json

# List storefront variables
mcloud variables list --type storefront --json

# Get a variable by key (with active context)
mcloud variables get DATABASE_URL --json

# Get a variable by ID (no env context needed)
mcloud variables get var_01XYZ --json

# Set a single variable, then redeploy to apply (runtime)
mcloud variables set REDIS_URL redis://cache:6379
mcloud environments redeploy production

# Set a secret build-only variable, then trigger a build to apply
mcloud variables set STRIPE_SECRET_KEY sk_live_123 --secret --build --no-runtime
mcloud environments trigger-build production

# Set multiple variables from a .env file
mcloud variables set --env-file .env

# Delete a variable (irreversible — confirm before running)
mcloud variables delete OLD_FLAG --yes

# Only reveal secrets when user explicitly asks
mcloud variables get STRIPE_SECRET_KEY --reveal --json | jq -r '.value'

# Export all variables to a .env file (user must explicitly request --reveal)
mcloud variables list --reveal --dotenv > .env

# Check if a specific variable exists
mcloud variables list --json | jq '.[] | select(.key == "REDIS_URL")'