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feat: Reorganize environment variables documentation for clarity#2515

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jancurn wants to merge 2 commits intomasterfrom
claude/clarify-env-vars-docs-nrFCt
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feat: Reorganize environment variables documentation for clarity#2515
jancurn wants to merge 2 commits intomasterfrom
claude/clarify-env-vars-docs-nrFCt

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@jancurn jancurn commented May 8, 2026

Summary

Restructured the environment variables documentation to improve organization and clarity by distinguishing between system and custom environment variables, and reorganizing sections for better logical flow.

Key Changes

  • Reorganized introduction: Changed from "two ways to set up" to "two sources" of environment variables (system vs. custom), with clearer distinction between them
  • New "System environment variables" section: Added prominent info box clarifying that system variables are run-time only and not available during build, even with the build process option enabled
  • New "Custom environment variables" section: Grouped the two setup methods (actor.json and Apify Console) under a parent section with shared precedence rules
  • Restructured subsections: Converted "Set up environment variables in..." sections to subsections (###) under the new Custom environment variables parent
  • Reordered content: Moved "Use the Configuration class" section before "Access environment variables" for better logical flow (convenience method before raw access)
  • Enhanced "Build-time environment variables" section:
    • Clarified that build variables apply only to builds, not runs
    • Added explicit instructions to enable the build process option
    • Added caution box explaining that only user-defined variables (not system variables) are passed to builds
    • Moved the "Variables set during the build" note to the end with additional context about build freezing
  • Minor formatting: Changed "Environment Variable" to "Environment variable" in table header for consistency

Notable Details

The changes maintain all existing content while improving the document structure to make it clearer that:

  1. System variables are automatically provided by Apify and are run-time only
  2. Custom variables are user-defined and can optionally be passed to builds
  3. The Configuration class is the recommended approach for accessing configuration
  4. Raw environment variable access is still available as an alternative

https://claude.ai/code/session_0121d3Sgy1UxMnpVZzBEQCNA

claude added 2 commits May 8, 2026 13:55
Make explicit that system env vars apply only to Actor runs, not builds.
Document that "Apply environment variables also to the build process"
forwards only user-defined variables, never the Apify system ones.
Move the actor.json and Apify Console setup sections plus the
Configuration class section under a new "Custom environment variables"
heading, separating user-defined variables from system ones.
@jancurn jancurn changed the title Reorganize environment variables documentation for clarity feat: Reorganize environment variables documentation for clarity May 8, 2026
@jancurn jancurn added t-docs Issues owned by technical writing team. adhoc Ad-hoc unplanned task added during the sprint. and removed t-docs Issues owned by technical writing team. labels May 8, 2026
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3 participants