How to Configure Environment Variables on DigitalOcean App Platform

Navigate to the Apps section at https://cloud.digitalocean.com/apps. Select your existing app from the list or create a new one by clicking Create App. Ensure you have the correct app selected before proceeding to configure environment variables.

When creating a new app, scroll to the App-level environment variables section on the Create an App screen. Click Add environment variable and enter a Key (e.g., NODE_ENV) and Value (e.g., production). Select a Scope from the dropdown—use RUN_TIME for runtime access or BUILD_TIME for build-only access. Toggle Encrypt to hide sensitive values from build, deployment, and application logs. Click Save or Create App to apply the variables.

In the Apps section, click your app, then select the Settings tab. Click the target component (e.g., Web Service, Worker, or Static Site) from the component list. In the Environment VariablesEdit, then Add environment variable. Fill in the Key (e.g., DATABASE_URL) and Value (e.g., postgres://user:pass@host:port/db). Select Scope as RUN_TIME for runtime access, toggle Encrypt for sensitive data, and click Save. The component will automatically redeploy with the new variables.

In the Apps section, click your app, then the Settings tab. Scroll to App-Level Environment Variables and click Edit. Click Add environment variable and enter a Key (e.g., APP_ENV) and Value (e.g., staging). Select a Scope and toggle Encrypt if the value is sensitive. Click Save. These variables are immediately accessible to all components at both build and runtime without requiring a full app redeploy.

Bindable variables allow environment variables to reference dynamic app-specific values provided by DigitalOcean. Follow steps 3 or 4, but set the Value to a bindable expression using the syntax ${BINDABLE_NAME}. Common app-wide bindables include ${APP_URL} (e.g., https://my-app.ondigitalocean.app), ${APP_DOMAIN} (application's primary domain), and ${APP_ID} (application's unique ID). For managed databases, use component-specific bindables like ${postgres-db.HOSTNAME}, ${postgres-db.PORT}, ${postgres-db.DATABASE}, ${postgres-db.USERNAME}, and ${postgres-db.PASSWORD}. These values are automatically resolved at build and runtime. Example: set Key to URL and Value to ${APP_URL}.

For advanced configurations, edit your app's app.yaml specification file to define build-time environment variables. Add an envs section to your service or component with scope: BUILD_TIME. Example structure:

services: - name: my-service envs: - key: BUILD_VAR value: build-value scope: BUILD_TIME

Build-time variables are available only during the build phase and are useful for build tools, compilers, or dependency managers. These variables are not available at runtime.

If you are deploying a Dockerfile-based application, environment variables are only available at build time if you set them using the --build-arg option before deploying. Use the Docker CLI to pass build arguments: docker build --build-arg EXAMPLE=your-value -t my-image .. In your Dockerfile, reference the argument with ARG EXAMPLE and use it in build commands. When deploying to App Platform, ensure these arguments are configured in your app spec or passed during the build process.

For any environment variable containing sensitive information (API keys, database passwords, tokens), toggle the Encrypt option when adding or editing the variable. This hides the variable value from all build logs, deployment logs, and application logs, protecting sensitive data from accidental exposure. Encrypted variables are decrypted only when the application accesses them at runtime. Always encrypt database credentials, API keys, and authentication tokens.

After adding or modifying environment variables, verify they are correctly set by opening the Console tab in your app's settings. Run the command printenv | grep KEY_NAME to check if a specific variable is available at runtime, replacing KEY_NAME with your variable name. For example, printenv | grep NODE_ENV will display the value of the NODE_ENV variable. If the variable does not appear, check that it is set at the correct level (app-level or component-level) and that the scope is RUN_TIME.

Changes to environment variables trigger automatic redeployments of affected components, which typically take 5-10 minutes to complete. Monitor the deployment progress in the Deployments tab of your app. If a deployment fails or variables do not take effect after the deployment completes, manually trigger a redeploy by clicking the Redeploy button on the component. Check application logs in the Logs tab to identify any errors related to missing or incorrect variable values.