Can no longer use ENV vars for dropdown properties

Question & Answer
1

MY SETUP

I set up my workflows so that pretty much all changes to them are done through ENV variables. That way, I can glance through the ENV vars list and understand what I’ve changed from the step defaults. This made managing similar workflows a lot easier for me, as I didn’t have to click into each step of each workflow to ensure I didn’t forget to change something in one of the workflows. The ENV vars screen gives a sort of meta view that I can use to sanity check that everything is set properly, and further remind me of a project’s context.

WHAT HAPPENED

However, it appears that there’s been an update that forces dropdown properties specifically to no longer accept ENV variables. For instance, Git Clone step’s Fetch Tags, or Xcode Archive & Export for iOS step’s Distribution method. As a consequence, nearly every workflow I have is now broken.

QUESTION

So my question is, is this intended? Will being able to set it to variables come soon so I can just wait, or must I fix every workflow step now?

I understand that ensuring dropdown properties can only be the values provided can reduce user error due to a misspelling. However, it has made my experience on bitrise actively worse and I have to manually go through all the steps of all my workflows to fix it one by one. I’ve found other changes to be a minor inconvenience, like how clicking on Workflows opens up a list instead of just going into a workflow, or how I have to go to App Settings now to get to Files. But this case has actually caused issues.

2

Hi @repone

Thanks for reporting the issue.

We appreciate the detailed information you provided about your setup. It has given us excellent insight into your specific use case.

TLDR: This missing feature will soon be added to the new step configuration panel.

The good news:

  • We have released a quick update that allows viewing, but not setting, environment variables in dropdowns.
  • Rest assured, your existing workflows will continue functioning as intended, even if the environment variables aren’t currently showing up on the new UI. The YAML file remains the single source of truth, and any variables defined there are still being used correctly.

What’s next:

  • We’re working on restoring the original functionality that allows you to set environment variables directly on the UI.
  • In the meantime, you can continue using the YAML editor for your use case with the environment variables.
  • We’ll keep you updated once this functionality is rolled out.

We appreciate your patience and understanding. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions.

2 Likes
3

Hi @repone

We have added back that functionality, so you can once again use env vars in dropdowns from the UI.