Variable type lost when defining outputs for a job

[sr1dar]

Hello,
Strings get lost when I try to use a variable from previous Job:

Job 1:

I run a python script which has the following code:

  import os,json
  env_file = os.getenv('GITHUB_ENV')
  with open(env_file, "a") as myfile:
  myfile.write("MY_VAR="+json.dumps(output_list))

I need this variable in another Job, Followed (https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-jobs/defining-outputs-for-jobs)

Job 2:

Printing the above variable I set:

The strings get converted into variables
As a result when I try to print the list in a python shell, Get the following error:

[airtower-luna]

That's because you run the variable through the shell without escaping in the echo command. The shell then interprets the " as shell syntax, and in the end it's gone from the output.

For the job that creates the output, you could simply use the set-output command directly from Python, so it doesn't go through the shell:

import json
# set output_list somehow
print(f'::set-output name=test::{json.dumps(output_list)}')

And you even get a simpler workflow as a bonus. 😸

For the receiving job it depends what you actually want to do with it. If you need to insert it directly into a shell command (and not via env or something), you could even run the JSON through shlex.quote() before writing it to the output.

[sr1dar]

Does the job! I didn't know I could use set-output in python, Thank you so much!