Save token to a file using Netlify function

Support
1

Hi. I’m wanting to either cache a token used for a third-party API or write it to a file, using a Netlify function. Is this possible? I don’t think it’s possible to update an env variable via a function, is it?

2

I think it is:

If you expand the build_settings object, there’s an env object which you can programmatically update.

3

Ah, thank you. I wasn’t aware of this. I’ll check it out.

4

But, hold on, this would mean I’d need to keep rebuilding the app to update the token, right?

5

I suppose that depends on the purpose of the env variable. If it’s used by your front-end: yes. If it’s only used by your functions: not so much.

6

Thanks for this. It works with a few caveats:

  • You have to re-save all of your env variables or you lose them.
  • When using netlify dev in the CLI, you have to quit and restart netlify dev for the new env variable to take effect.
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7

That’s quite useful information, thanks for reporting back!

1 Like