Using environment variables in "VM options" and "Program arguments"

intellij-idea, java

Solution

You can access environment variables using the brace-enclosed environment variable syntax. Example:

VM options: `-Dfoo=${MY_ENV_VAR}`

`MY_ENV_VAR` environment variable will be expanded properly.

Update: tested in IntelliJ IDEA 2017.1.2 and still working.

Problem

In my project configuration in IDEA, I have the following text fields: I would like to define some environment variables, and refer to them in the fields `"VM options"` and `"Program arguments"`. I tried with the following definitions for environment variables: ``` MY_FOLDER=/some/random/path MY_ARGUMENT=2 ``` and then in `"VM options"` I entered: -`Dfoo=$MY_FOLDER` and in program arguments I entered ``` $MY_ARGUMENT foo bar ``` However, the environment variables do not seem to be resolved prior to calling my class, i.e. if I inspect `args[0]` in Java, it holds the string value `$MY_ARGUMENT`, not `2`. Why? and how can I fix this?

Original source