adding-an-env-var.md

Adding an Environment Variable

If your Python code requires a new environment variable (e.g. MY_NEW_API_KEY), you must explicitly plumb it through the deployment pipeline so it is injected into the AWS ECS Fargate container.

Follow these 4 steps to add a new environment variable:

1. Update Bamboo CI/CD Deployment Script

The CI/CD pipeline reads variables from the Bamboo UI and exports them for Terraform.

File: terraform/scripts/bamboo/deploy-application.sh

Add your variable to the top documentation block and export it:

# | bamboo_MY_NEW_API_KEY           | No       | default_value                  |

# ... later in the file ...
[ -n "$bamboo_MY_NEW_API_KEY" ] && export TF_VAR_my_new_api_key="$bamboo_MY_NEW_API_KEY"

2. Add the Variable to the Root Terraform

Terraform needs to know this variable exists so it can pass it to the application module.

File: terraform/application/variables.tf

variable "my_new_api_key" {
  description = "API key for external service"
  type        = string
  default     = ""
}

File: terraform/application/main.tf Pass it into the module "application" block:

module "application" {
  # ... existing vars ...
  my_new_api_key = var.my_new_api_key
}

3. Add the Variable to the Application Module

The application module receives the variable and injects it into the ECS task.

File: terraform/modules/application/variables.tf

variable "my_new_api_key" {
  description = "API key for external service"
  type        = string
}

File: terraform/modules/application/mcp-server.tf Map it into the environment array of the container_definitions block:

      environment = [
        # ... existing env vars ...
        {
          name  = "MY_NEW_API_KEY"
          value = var.my_new_api_key
        }
      ]

4. Configure the Variable in Bamboo UI

Finally, go to your Bamboo Deployment Project (e.g., SIT environment) and add the variable under the Variables tab so the deployment script can read it.

• Name: MY_NEW_API_KEY
• Value: your-secret-value