Overview

You can pass environment variables (env vars) between jobs via workspaces.

In this article, we will showcase how to do so, with a sample configuration.

Prerequisites

This solution requires that the jobs are in the same workflow.
This is because workspaces can only be shared between jobs in the same workflow.

The solution requires an execution environment with Bash available, as we rely on the BASH_ENV env var.

Sample Configuration

version: 2.1

executors:
  basic:
    docker:
      - image: cimg/base:current
    resource_class: small

jobs:
  create-env-var:
    executor: basic
    steps:
      - run: |
          echo "export FOO=BAR" >> $BASH_ENV
      - run: |
          # verify; optional step
          printenv FOO
      - run: |
          cp $BASH_ENV bash.env
      - persist_to_workspace:
          root: .
          paths:
            - bash.env
  load-env-var:
    executor: basic
    steps:
      - attach_workspace:
          at: .
      - run: |
          cat bash.env >> $BASH_ENV
      - run: |
          # verify; this should print 'BAR'
          printenv FOO

workflows:
  main:
    jobs:
      - create-env-var
      - load-env-var:
          requires:
            - create-env-var