Set, list, and import environment variables using Netlify CLI (netlify env:set / env:list / env:import)
domain: netlify.com · 10 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
Auth: Requires netlify login (or NETLIFY_AUTH_TOKEN) and a linked site (netlify link) since env commands operate at the site level.
Log in and link the CLI to your site: netlify login && netlify link (or use NETLIFY_AUTH_TOKEN for non-interactive use)
Set a variable for all contexts/scopes: netlify env:set VAR_NAME value
Set a variable for a specific deploy context and scope: netlify env:set VAR_NAME value --context production --scope functions
Mark a variable as secret (write-only, cannot be read back): netlify env:set API_KEY value --secret
Bulk-import variables from a .env file, merging with existing ones: netlify env:import .env
Bulk-import and wipe out all existing variables first: netlify env:import .env --replace-existing
List all variables (masked) in the default context/scope: netlify env:list
List variables for a specific context/scope, or export them: netlify env:list --context production --scope functions and netlify env:list --plain --context production > .env
Official docs: https://cli.netlify.com/commands/env/ ; https://docs.netlify.com/build/environment-variables/get-started/
Known gotchas
Values set in netlify.toml [context.*.environment] always override values set via the CLI/UI/API, and toml-declared vars automatically get only the Builds and Post-processing scopes (scopes cannot be set for them)
Netlify's build system does NOT auto-load .env files during builds/deploys — only netlify env:import or netlify dev (local) reads .env files; you must explicitly import for production builds
The Netlify CLI can only manage site-level environment variables, not shared team-level variables (site variables also take precedence over shared team variables of the same key/scope)
Deploy contexts accepted by --context are production, deploy-preview, branch-deploy, dev, or branch:<branch-name>; env:import with contextual values ignores any scope changes for keys that already exist
Any environment variable change requires a new build/deploy to actually take effect on the live site; secrets marked --secret cannot be read back via env:list/env:get, only overwritten or deleted
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