DV Environment Variable Manager

Preview-first Dataverse environment variable value management inside VS Code.

DV Environment Variable Manager is a focused utility from DV ForgeLab for reviewing, creating, updating, removing, importing, and exporting Dataverse environment variable current values without leaving VS Code.

Built around a preview-first workflow, all changes are staged locally before being applied to Dataverse, helping administrators review environment configuration changes before execution.

Features

Environment Variable Visibility

Connect to Dataverse environments using Azure CLI authentication
Load environment variable definitions
Load environment variable current values
View configured and default-backed variables
Display variable type information
Display managed value indicators

Definition Artifacts

Export environment variable definitions and current values to JSON
Import environment variable current values from JSON
Stage imported differences locally before apply
Skip unchanged values, missing definitions, and unsupported secret values
Use JSON artifacts for repeatable configuration reconstruction workflows

Preview-First Administration

Create current values for environment variables using definition defaults
Update existing current values
Remove current values where permitted by Dataverse
Stage changes locally before execution
Review pending changes
Preview mutations before applying

Validation & Safety

Production environment visual indicators
Managed value protection
Number validation
Yes / No value validation
JSON validation
Preview-before-apply workflow

Operational Awareness

Configured vs Using Default status indicators
Environment-aware DEV / TEST / PROD visual cues
Refresh and reload environment variable state
Managed solution awareness

JSON Definition Artifacts

DV Environment Variable Manager supports JSON definition artifacts for controlled environment variable reconstruction.

Example:

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "kind": "dv-forgelab.environment-variable-definitions",
  "variables": [
    {
      "schemaName": "new_apiendpoint",
      "displayName": "API Endpoint",
      "type": "Text",
      "defaultValue": "https://api.contoso.com",
      "currentValue": "https://api-uat.contoso.com"
    }
  ]
}

Imported definitions do not update Dataverse immediately. Matching variables are staged as pending changes and must still be reviewed through the preview-first apply workflow.

Shared DV ForgeLab Environment Settings

DV Environment Variable Manager supports the shared DV ForgeLab environment setting:

"dvForgeLab.environments": [
  {
    "name": "DEV",
    "url": "https://org.crm6.dynamics.com",
    "tenantId": "optional-tenant-id"
  }
]

This setting can be reused by DV ForgeLab utilities. The legacy dvEnvironmentVariableManager.environments setting remains supported as a fallback.

Command

DV Environment Variable Manager: Open

Typical Workflow

Connect to Dataverse
        ↓
Load Environment Variables
        ↓
Create / Edit / Remove / Import Current Values
        ↓
Review Pending Changes
        ↓
Preview Changes
        ↓
Apply to Dataverse

Scope

DV Environment Variable Manager focuses on environment variable value administration.

It intentionally does not provide:

Environment variable definition creation
Environment variable definition deletion
Secret value management
Solution management
Connection reference management
ALM deployment automation
Environment promotion workflows
Automatic configuration remediation

For investigation, operational analysis, comparison, and troubleshooting workflows, see DV Quick Run.

Preview-First Philosophy

DV Environment Variable Manager follows the DV ForgeLab preview-first invariant.

Environment variable changes are staged locally, validated, previewed, and explicitly applied by the user. Dataverse configuration is never changed without a preview and confirmation step.

DV ForgeLab Utilities

DV Environment Variable Manager is part of the growing DV ForgeLab utility family:

DV Attribute Factory
DV Choice Editor
DV Environment Variable Manager
DV Quick Run

Each utility focuses on a specific Dataverse administration or investigation scenario while maintaining a consistent VS Code experience.

Built by DV ForgeLab.