Unset an environment variable with GITHUB_ENV?

[lengau]

Why are you starting this discussion?

Question

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

Misc

Discussion Details

Is there a way to actually unset an environment variable (distinct from setting it to an empty string) using GITHUB_ENV? The documentation only shows how to set it.

[SjxSubham]

Currently, Github actions does n't provide a direct way to unset environment variable using GITHUB_ENV. The available methods are:
options that are currently available:

1. Set an empty string(doesn't actually unset):

echo "MY_VAR=" >> $GITHUB_ENV

3. Use different variable names in your workflow

4. If you really need unset behavior, you could:
   Use shell command to unset within a specific step:

- run: unset MY_VAR
shell: bash

or, Conditionally set variables based on your needs...

now see, Why thats matters:

cause

• script behaviour
• Environment cleanliness
• Inheritance in sub process

Btw, Github Actions team has acknowledged this limitation, and they are working on it ... and there are ongoing feature requests for proper unset functionality in GITHUB_ENV .

So, for now the best approach depends on your specific use case and whether you need the variable completely absent or just empty...

Sorry for the typo mistakes..!!

[geoarda]

Currently, GitHub Actions does not support fully unsetting an environment variable via GITHUB_ENV. Writing an empty string clears its value but the variable still exists.

Workarounds:

Set it empty in GITHUB_ENV:

echo "MY_VAR=" >> $GITHUB_ENV

Or unset in a shell step:

unset MY_VAR

Until GitHub adds native support, using unset in shell is the most reliable way to remove a variable.

[ASHFAQ-91]

As others have noted, using echo "MY_VAR=" >> $GITHUB_ENV only sets the variable to an empty string, it doesn't actually unset the variable (meaning it still exists, but is empty).

The most reliable way to truly unset an environment variable so that it's completely removed from the environment is to use the shell command unset within a specific step:

- name: Unset the variable
  run: unset MY_VAR
  shell: bash

Key Takeaway

• Setting to empty string (echo "MY_VAR=" >> $GITHUB_ENV) is good if you just need an empty value for subsequent steps.

Using unset MY_VAR is the way to completely remove the variable from the environment for the remainder of that specific step.

Unfortunately, there's no native way to use GITHUB_ENV to completely unset a variable for all subsequent steps at this time, though the GitHub Actions team has acknowledged this limitation.

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[lengau]

Well this should be a feature request I guess.