Environment Variable usage and lifetimes

Author: alan-null

development/environment-variables.ps1

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# Environment Variable Lifetimes
+
+# 1. Session ($env:VARIABLE)
+$env:MY_VAR = "value1"
+Write-Host $env:MY_VAR
+
+# 1.1. Environment variable with dynamic key
+$key = "MY_VAR"
+Set-Item "env:$key" "value2"
+
+# 2. Process-Level Inheritance
+#   when you set an environment variable in PowerShell,
+#   it is inherited by child processes (like dotnet run, git, or other spawned applications).
+
+# 3. Permanent Environment Variables (Registry)
+[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("MY_VAR", "value1", "User")
+Write-Host $env:MY_VAR
+
+# 4. Environment Variables in GitHubs Actions
+# Environment variables set during one step are not automatically available in subsequent steps in GitHub Actions.
+# To persist environment variables between steps, you need to explicitly use the GITHUB_ENV file.
+$value = "value1"
+echo "$key=$value" >> $env:GITHUB_ENV