Variables

Variables are the environment variables your service sees, both while it builds and while it runs. Values are hidden in the UI until you reveal them.

Add variables

Open a service and go to Variables. Press New Variable, type a name and a value, and save.

To add many at once, paste your .env content into the name field. Every KEY=value line becomes its own row. The Raw Editor shows all variables as text, which is the quickest way to edit a lot of them or copy them somewhere else.

Changes are staged. Press Deploy on the changes bar to roll them out. See Staged changes.

References

A value can point at a value that lives somewhere else. Type $ in the value field and pick from the list:

DATABASE_URL=${Postgres.UNBIND_DATABASE_URL_PRIVATE}

You never copy a password, and the value stays correct if the database's address or password changes.

References can be mixed with text, and a value can hold more than one:

REDIS_URL=redis://default:${Redis.DATABASE_PASSWORD}@${Redis.UNBIND_HOST_PRIVATE}:${Redis.UNBIND_PORT_PRIVATE}/0

What you can reference

Another service in the same project: any of its variables, plus its addresses.
Team and project variables: values you keep in one place for many services.

Every service offers these, under Provided by Unbind:

Key	What it holds
`UNBIND_URL_PRIVATE`	Address other services use to reach it, from inside your instance
`UNBIND_HOST_PRIVATE`, `UNBIND_PORT_PRIVATE`	The same, as separate host and port
`UNBIND_URL_PUBLIC`	Its public URL, if it has a domain
`UNBIND_HOST_PUBLIC`, `UNBIND_PORT_PUBLIC`	The same, as separate host and port

Databases offer UNBIND_DATABASE_URL_PRIVATE and UNBIND_DATABASE_URL_PUBLIC instead of the URL keys. A service with several ports gets one key per port, like UNBIND_URL_PUBLIC_8080.

When a referenced value changes

Services that reference it are redeployed, so they pick up the new value. You see them under Affected Services before you confirm.

If a reference cannot be resolved, for example because the other service was deleted, the text is kept as it is and the variable is marked: Couldn't resolve a reference, kept as literal text.

Team and project variables

Set these under Settings > Variables of a team or a project. They are a place to keep a value once, like an API key that five services need.

Shared variables are not injected automatically

A service only sees a team or project variable if one of its own variables references it, like SENTRY_DSN=${Project.SENTRY_DSN}. This keeps every service's environment explicit.

Protected variables

Some variables are managed by Unbind and show a lock, like a database's username and password. They can be read and referenced, but not changed or deleted.

Who can see values

People with the viewer role see variable names but not values. Editors and admins see both.