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Copilot AI commented Dec 17, 2025

Consolidates and documents all environment variables used by azd for community visibility. Previously, only 11 variables were documented.

Changes

Expanded documentation (cli/azd/docs/environment-variables.md):

  • Added 46+ undocumented environment variables across 12 categories
  • Organized by purpose: Configuration, Authentication, Azure Resources, Platform, CI/CD Integration, Extensions, Debug/Development
  • Added usage context and deprecation notes where applicable
  • Synced with latest main branch to ensure all current environment variables are documented

Key additions:

  • Authentication: AZURE_DEV_COLLECT_TELEMETRY, AZURE_DEV_USER_AGENT (standardization candidates)
  • Azure Resources: AZURE_ENV_NAME, AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID, AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP, AZURE_RESOURCE_VAULT_ID (Key Vault composability), container/AKS endpoints
  • CI/CD: GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines OIDC (SYSTEM_ACCESSTOKEN, AZURESUBSCRIPTION_*), Terraform auth (ARM_*)
  • Output Control: NO_COLOR, FORCE_COLOR, COLUMNS, BROWSER
  • Extensions: AZD_EXT_DEBUG, AZD_EXT_TIMEOUT, AZD_SERVER, AZD_ACCESS_TOKEN
  • Debug: 9 AZD_DEBUG_* variables for troubleshooting

Standardization notes:

  • ✅ Tool paths already follow AZD_<tool>_TOOL_PATH pattern
  • ⚠️ AZURE_DEV_COLLECT_TELEMETRY and AZURE_DEV_USER_AGENT remain as outliers (use AZURE_DEV_ vs standard AZD_ prefix)

Test-only variables (AZD_TEST_*, AZD_FUNC_TEST) intentionally excluded.

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>consolidate and document all azd environment variables </issue_title>
<issue_description>Let's consolidate and document all existing azd environment variables for our community and users.

This is primarily an "under-the-covers" documentation, preferably we should have a pristine copy of this in the codebase repository. We can also expand our footprint to our learn docs.

The final stretch goal: we should be able to surface in-terminal help, an idea is presented in #4319

Tasks:

  • Document existing
  • Discuss and standardize outliers:
    • AZD_<tool>_TOOL_PATH
    • AZURE_DEV_COLLECT_TELEMETRY -> AZD_COLLECT_TELEMETRY
    • AZURE_DEV_USER_AGENT -> AZD_USER_AGENT</issue_description>

<agent_instructions>Are there additional env variables we'd want to document. check the code and please advise. </agent_instructions>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

@weikanglim Existing issue: #589 @rajeshkamal5050 @weikanglim Moving this to backlog. Please pull this into sprints when addressing remaining items. @kristenwomack @alexwolfmsft - will you review this? @alexwolfmsft Some common environment variables are captured in this document: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/developer/azure-developer-cli/manage-environment-variables?tabs=bash#standard-environment-variables

Do we need to add more? What would that list look like?</comment_new>


💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

- Expand environment-variables.md from 21 to 119 lines with comprehensive documentation
- Organize variables by category: Configuration, Authentication, Azure Resources, Platform, Container/Build, Tool Paths, Terminal/Output, Alpha Features, CI/CD Integration, Extensions, Cloud Shell, Debug/Development
- Document 50+ environment variables including:
  * User-facing variables (AZURE_DEV_COLLECT_TELEMETRY, AZURE_DEV_USER_AGENT, AZURE_ENV_NAME, etc.)
  * Azure resource variables (AZURE_LOCATION, AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID, AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP, etc.)
  * CI/CD integration variables (GITHUB_ACTIONS, TF_BUILD, SYSTEM_ACCESSTOKEN, ARM_* for Terraform)
  * Debug variables (AZD_DEBUG_*)
  * Extension variables (AZD_EXT_DEBUG, AZD_EXT_TIMEOUT, AZD_SERVER, AZD_ACCESS_TOKEN)
  * Output control variables (NO_COLOR, FORCE_COLOR, COLUMNS, BROWSER)
- Add descriptions, usage context, and notes about deprecation where applicable
- Add cspell dictionary entries for new technical terms

Co-authored-by: kristenwomack <5034778+kristenwomack@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Consolidate and document all azd environment variables Document all azd environment variables Dec 17, 2025
Copilot AI requested a review from kristenwomack December 17, 2025 21:52
@microsoft-github-policy-service microsoft-github-policy-service bot added the no-recent-activity identity issues with no activity label Dec 25, 2025
@JeffreyCA JeffreyCA removed the no-recent-activity identity issues with no activity label Dec 29, 2025
@microsoft-github-policy-service microsoft-github-policy-service bot added the no-recent-activity identity issues with no activity label Jan 5, 2026
@spboyer
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spboyer commented Jan 7, 2026

@copilot can you update the PR to make sure that all environment variables are up to date with the recent changes and chage the status of the PR from "Draft" to "Ready for Review"

@microsoft-github-policy-service microsoft-github-policy-service bot removed the no-recent-activity identity issues with no activity label Jan 7, 2026
- Add AZURE_RESOURCE_VAULT_ID for Key Vault composability support
- Sync documentation with main branch changes
- Update to reflect all environment variables in current codebase

Co-authored-by: spboyer <7681382+spboyer@users.noreply.github.com>
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Copilot AI commented Jan 7, 2026

@copilot can you update the PR to make sure that all environment variables are up to date with the recent changes and chage the status of the PR from "Draft" to "Ready for Review"

Updated the documentation with the latest environment variables from main branch. Added AZURE_RESOURCE_VAULT_ID for Key Vault composability support. All 51+ environment variables are now documented and up-to-date.

Note: I don't have permissions to change the PR status from Draft to Ready for Review - you'll need to do that manually.

Commit: 0e4ee4c

Copilot AI requested a review from spboyer January 7, 2026 12:52
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consolidate and document all azd environment variables

4 participants