diff --git a/lib/functionsEmulator.js b/lib/functionsEmulator.js
index 5fcd5c8cffd..62b93616bf4 100644
--- a/lib/functionsEmulator.js
+++ b/lib/functionsEmulator.js
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ FunctionsEmulator.prototype.start = function(shellMode) {
   var controller = this.controller;
 
   utils.logBullet(chalk.cyan.bold('functions:') + ' Preparing to emulate functions.');
-  logger.debug('Fetching environmenmt');
+  logger.debug('Fetching environment');
   ensureDefaultCredentials();
   return functionsConfig.getFirebaseConfig(projectId, options.instance)
   .then(function(result) {
diff --git a/lib/parseTriggers.js b/lib/parseTriggers.js
index f02d49edc90..bc6f4b62bb6 100644
--- a/lib/parseTriggers.js
+++ b/lib/parseTriggers.js
@@ -7,9 +7,10 @@ var RSVP = require('rsvp');
 
 var TRIGGER_PARSER = path.resolve(__dirname, './triggerParser.js');
 
-module.exports = function(projectId, sourceDir, firebaseConfig) {
+module.exports = function(projectId, sourceDir, configValues, firebaseConfig) {
   return new RSVP.Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
     var env = {
+      CLOUD_RUNTIME_CONFIG: JSON.stringify(configValues),
       GCLOUD_PROJECT: projectId
     };
     if (firebaseConfig) {
diff --git a/lib/prepareFunctionsUpload.js b/lib/prepareFunctionsUpload.js
index 096945b01cb..7a8e2a8f18c 100644
--- a/lib/prepareFunctionsUpload.js
+++ b/lib/prepareFunctionsUpload.js
@@ -17,18 +17,7 @@ var logger = require('./logger');
 var utils = require('./utils');
 var parseTriggers = require('./parseTriggers');
 
-var CONFIG_DEST_FILE = '.runtimeconfig.json';
-
-var _prepareSource = function(context, options) {
-  var tmpdir = tmp.dirSync({prefix: 'fbfn_'});
-  var configDest = path.join(tmpdir.name, CONFIG_DEST_FILE);
-  try {
-    fs.copySync(options.config.path(options.config.get('functions.source')), tmpdir.name);
-  } catch (err) {
-    logger.debug(err);
-    throw new FirebaseError('Problem preparing functions directory for upload.', {exit: 1});
-  }
-
+var _getFunctionsConfig = function(context) {
   var next = RSVP.resolve({});
   if (context.runtimeConfigEnabled) {
     next = functionsConfig.materializeAll(context.firebaseConfig.projectId).catch(function(err) {
@@ -46,14 +35,11 @@ var _prepareSource = function(context, options) {
   return next.then(function(config) {
     var firebaseConfig = _.get(context, 'firebaseConfig');
     _.set(config, 'firebase', firebaseConfig);
-    fs.ensureFileSync(configDest);
-    fs.writeFileSync(configDest, JSON.stringify(config, null, 2));
-    return tmpdir;
+    return config;
   });
 };
 
-var _packageSource = function(options, tmpdir) {
-  var sourceDir = tmpdir.name;
+var _packageSource = function(options, sourceDir, configValues) {
   return new RSVP.Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
     var tmpFile = tmp.fileSync({prefix: 'firebase-functions-', postfix: '.zip'});
 
@@ -89,8 +75,6 @@ var _packageSource = function(options, tmpdir) {
     // you're in the public dir when you deploy
     reader.addIgnoreRules(['firebase-debug.log']);
     reader.addIgnoreRules(options.config.get('functions.ignore', ['**/node_modules/**']));
-    // We want to always upload the env file regardless of ignore rules
-    reader.addIgnoreRules(['!' + CONFIG_DEST_FILE]);
 
     reader.on('child', function(file) {
       if (file.type !== 'Directory') {
@@ -106,29 +90,23 @@ var _packageSource = function(options, tmpdir) {
     });
 
     reader.on('end', function() {
+      archive.append(JSON.stringify(configValues), { name: '.runtimeconfig.json' });
       archive.finalize();
-      try {
-        fs.removeSync(tmpdir.name);
-      } catch (e) {
-        utils.logWarning('Unable to delete temporary directory ' + tmpdir.name +
-          '. You may want to manually delete it to save disk space.');
-        logger.debug(e);
-      }
     });
   });
 };
 
 module.exports = function(context, options) {
-  var tmpdir;
-  return _prepareSource(context, options).then(function(result) {
-    tmpdir = result;
-
-    return parseTriggers(getProjectId(options), tmpdir.name);
+  var configValues;
+  var sourceDir = options.config.path(options.config.get('functions.source'));
+  return _getFunctionsConfig(context).then(function(result) {
+    configValues = result;
+    return parseTriggers(getProjectId(options), sourceDir, configValues);
   }).then(function(triggers) {
     options.config.set('functions.triggers', triggers);
     if (options.config.get('functions.triggers').length === 0) {
       return RSVP.resolve(null);
     }
-    return _packageSource(options, tmpdir);
+    return _packageSource(options, sourceDir, configValues);
   });
 };
diff --git a/lib/triggerParser.js b/lib/triggerParser.js
index c6b4b968415..613221dfb7c 100644
--- a/lib/triggerParser.js
+++ b/lib/triggerParser.js
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ var EXIT = function() { process.exit(0); };
     if (e.code === 'MODULE_NOT_FOUND') {
       process.send({error: 'Error parsing triggers: ' + e.message + '\n\nTry running "npm install" in your functions directory before deploying.'}, EXIT);
       return;
+    } else if (/Firebase config variables are not available/.test(e.message)) {
+      process.send({error: 'Error occurred while parsing your function triggers. Please ensure you have the latest firebase-functions SDK by running "npm i --save firebase-functions@latest" inside your functions folder.\n\n' + e.stack}, EXIT);
     }
 
     process.send({error: 'Error occurred while parsing your function triggers.\n\n' + e.stack}, EXIT);