Use environment variables in your API call

Integrations can define environment variables that are available when the app’s code executes. They are useful when you have data like an OAuth client ID and secret that you don’t want to commit to source control. Environment variables can also be used as a way to toggle between a staging and production environment during app development and this would be recommended instead of the use of an independent integration for staging purposes.

Environment variables are defined on a per-version basis. Much like in local development environments such as the one in the Platform CLI, environment variables store key and value pairs outside of your app’s API calls. Instead of hardcoding critical, secret values into your API authentication, trigger, and action calls, it’s best to add them as environment variables in your integration, then reference the environment variable in your API calls.

If using OAuth v2 Authentication, the client ID and client secret fields are reserved environment variables. You’ll need to use custom variable names for any other variables.

1. Add environment variables

To add environment variables:

• Log into the Platform UI.
• Select your integration.
• In the Build section in the left sidebar, click Advanced . There you can add your environment variables including a key and a value for each.
• Click Add to include additional environment variables, or click the x icon to remove variables if needed.
• Once you’ve completed adding a key and value, click Save.

2. Reference environment variables

Use environment variables in Zapier’s API call forms or in custom code

Use environment variables in any Zapier integration API call through the form’s Show Options link, selecting Request Body, URL Params or HTTP Headers as your API expects. Reference the environment variable you’ve configured under Advanced, in the form with the following text, replacing YOUR_KEY with your actual key: {{process.env.YOUR_KEY}} Zapier will then replace that variable with the value for that key from your Advanced settings and will use the correct value every time if you change it in the future. You can also reference environment variables in custom code if you switch your API call to code mode.

3. Change environment variables

You can change environment variable values, but not the original keys

It is possible to change your environment variables in a new version of your integration, or when switching from dev to production endpoints for the release of your integration to the public.

To change an environment variable:

1. Log into the Platform UI.
2. Select your integration.
3. In the Build section in the left sidebar, click Advanced.
4. Edit the text in the Values column with the new variable values. You cannot edit the Key. If you need to change a key and its value, first delete the old key, then add a new one instead.

4. Use environment variables for staging and production versions

We strongly recommend against the use of an independent integration for staging purposes. By utilising version control and environment variables instead, the deployment, integration and user management processes (eg. migration) will be significantly improved for your integration. It also helps Developer Support establish exactly what you’re working on and identifying relevant logs.

It is conventional to reserve one version for testing/staging and one version for production, setting the applicable environment variables under Advanced in each.

If you want to be able to work with both environments in development in one version, one approach is the following:

• Set environment variables for both domains you want to call
• Set another environment variable for the domain you want to work with. For example, key: ENVFLAG / value: staging

• Throughout the app, in Code Mode, check the value of the latter variable and conditionally reference the corresponding domain environment variable.

For example:

let domain;

if (process.env.ENVFLAG === "staging") {
  domain = process.env.STAGING
} else {
  domain = process.env.PRODUCTION
}

const options = {
  url: domain // conditional, depending on envFlag
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    // headers
  },
  body: {
    // body
  }
}

Thus, during development, you can toggle the value of one environment variable to conditionally call the corresponding domain.

However, once a version is pushed to production, the variables are fixed, so in the case of a public app make sure to set the flag environment variable accordingly before promoting.

5. Allow users to select an environment

Certain apps need to allow users to select the domain during authentication. To do so, create an input field in the authentication form, allowing the user to pick which domain they want their connection to interact with.

Reference the user’s selection with {{bundle.authData.env_url}} throughout the integration to conditionally call the corresponding domain.