👋🏼 @jak6jak

The “bindable environment variables” are available for use in the app config. You’ll still need to add the actual environment variables to your app/component config, but you can use the templates as part of the values.

For example, if you have an app with a Node.js Service component and a database component, you can add an environment variable to the service component with:

• Key: DATABASE_URL
• Value: ${db.DATABASE_URL}

${db.DATABASE_URL} will be replaced by the database connection string before it is passed to the Node.js app. Then, in your code, you can use it just like a regular environment variable like so:

mongoose.connect(process.env.DATABASE_URL, {useNewUrlParser: true});

The db in ${db.DATABASE_URL} must match the database component’s name, so if it’s different, you’ll need to replace it. You can find the component’s name in the control panel under Apps -> Components -> Info.

If you haven’t connected a database to your app yet, see How to Manage Databases in App Platform.