---
title: Use environment variables in the configuration
description: You can use environment variable references in the config file to set values that need to be configurable during deployment. To do this, use: ${VAR} Where...
url: https://www.elastic.co/docs/reference/beats/winlogbeat/using-environ-vars
products:
  - Beats
  - Winlogbeat
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available
---

# Use environment variables in the configuration
You can use environment variable references in the config file to set values that need to be configurable during deployment. To do this, use:
`${VAR}`
Where `VAR` is the name of the environment variable.
Each variable reference is replaced at startup by the value of the environment variable. The replacement is case-sensitive and occurs before the YAML file is parsed. References to undefined variables are replaced by empty strings unless you specify a default value or custom error text.
To specify a default value, use:
`${VAR:default_value}`
Where `default_value` is the value to use if the environment variable is undefined.
To specify custom error text, use:
`${VAR:?error_text}`
Where `error_text` is custom text that will be prepended to the error message if the environment variable cannot be expanded.
If you need to use a special character in your configuration file, use `$` to escape the expansion. For example, you can escape `${` or `}` with `$${` or `$}`.
After changing the value of an environment variable, you need to restart Winlogbeat to pick up the new value.
<note>
  You can also specify environment variables when you override a config setting from the command line by using the `-E` option. For example:`-E name=${NAME}`
</note>


## Examples

Here are some examples of configurations that use environment variables and what each configuration looks like after replacement:

| Config source                                                  | Environment setting   | Config after replacement                                              |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `name: ${NAME}`                                                | `export NAME=elastic` | `name: elastic`                                                       |
| `name: ${NAME}`                                                | no setting            | `name:`                                                               |
| `name: ${NAME:beats}`                                          | no setting            | `name: beats`                                                         |
| `name: ${NAME:beats}`                                          | `export NAME=elastic` | `name: elastic`                                                       |
| `name: ${NAME:?You need to set the NAME environment variable}` | no setting            | None. Returns an error message that’s prepended with the custom text. |
| `name: ${NAME:?You need to set the NAME environment variable}` | `export NAME=elastic` | `name: elastic`                                                       |


## Specify complex objects in environment variables

You can specify complex objects, such as lists or dictionaries, in environment variables by using a JSON-like syntax.
As with JSON, dictionaries and lists are constructed using `{}` and `[]`. But unlike JSON, the syntax allows for trailing commas and slightly different string quotation rules. Strings can be unquoted, single-quoted, or double-quoted, as a convenience for simple settings and to make it easier for you to mix quotation usage in the shell. Arrays at the top-level do not require brackets (`[]`).
For example, the following environment variable is set to a list:
```yaml
ES_HOSTS="10.45.3.2:9220,10.45.3.1:9230"
```

You can reference this variable in the config file:
```yaml
output.elasticsearch:
  hosts: '${ES_HOSTS}'
```

When Winlogbeat loads the config file, it resolves the environment variable and replaces it with the specified list before reading the `hosts` setting.
<note>
  Do not use double-quotes (`"`) to wrap regular expressions, or the backslash (`\`) will be interpreted as an escape character.
</note>