Set

Set an environment variable.

Syntax

$ vela env set <key> [--public] -t <target>

$ vela env set STRIPE_SECRET_KEY -t production   # prompts, without echo
$ vela env set WHATSAPP_MODE --public -t preview # prompts, with echo
$ vela env set VELASTACK_API_KEY -t all          # every server the app is deployed to
$ vela env set STRIPE_SECRET_KEY                 # asks which environment first

The value is always prompted for, never taken as an argument, so it cannot land in shell history. A secret is typed without echo; a public value with echo, so the prompt tells you which kind you are setting. The key has to be a valid environment variable name.

Options

• --public - Readable back with vela env get and in vela env list. Without it the value is secret: written, never read back. PUBLIC_* keys are public regardless, since SvelteKit ships them to the browser.
• -t, --target <target> - local, all, preview, preview:<branch>, production or a bound target. Asked for when missing; required in CI.

Setting a key again with or without --public moves it between the two.

What happens next

On a server the instance is restarted so the value takes effect; -t all and -t preview restart every instance the layer reaches, on every bound server. Two exceptions, each said aloud: a key the app imports from $env/static is baked at build time, so the command says “redeploy to apply” instead; and the PocketBase superuser credentials wait for a vela deploy, which is what reconciles them with the database.

Locally the value is written to .env; restart vela dev to pick it up.