Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[joseph.maniaci]

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So to be clear, when I execute bitbake my-recipe -e | grep "MY_VAR'", it is present.

If I make it as far as the do_compile() step, I can also capture the 'export' command and see that it is present.

However, at the do_configure() step, it, as well as a bunch of other stuff is missing.

Is this intentional? A bug? Documented somewhere?

Thanks,
Joe

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Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[Alexander Kanavin]

You are not showing anything useful about your configuration and
environment and recipe that needs the variable. What is the variable?
Where is it being set? Where is it being exported? How did you
determine that it is present in one task but absent in another? What
is the 'bunch of other stuff'?

The answer to your question is that it is almost certainly a
mis-configuration in your local build.

Alex

On Wed, 16 Jul 2025 at 23:20, joseph.maniaci via
lists.yoctoproject.org
<joseph.maniaci=seagate.com@lists.yoctoproject.org> wrote:
>
> So to be clear, when I execute bitbake my-recipe -e | grep "MY_VAR'", it is present.
>
> If I make it as far as the do_compile() step, I can also capture the 'export' command and see that it is present.
>
> However, at the do_configure() step, it, as well as a bunch of other stuff is missing.
>
> Is this intentional? A bug? Documented somewhere?
>
> Thanks,
> Joe
>
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Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[joseph.maniaci]

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So in experimenting, I learned that if I did a 'export ABC=3' in my environment followed by a 'bitbake whatever', the ABC environment variable would persist all the way to the do_compile(). However, what I found weird is that it is not present in the do_configure() step.

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Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[joseph.maniaci]

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So in experimenting, I learned that if I did a 'export ABC=3' in my environment followed by a 'bitbake whatever', the ABC environment variable would persist all the way to the do_compile(). However, what I found weird is that it is not present in the do_configure() step.

To confirm it was present, period, I can see it in 'bitbake whatever -e'. I can, in the do_compile() step, execute 'export > do_compile.out', examine the file and see 'export ABC=3'. I can, in the do_configure() step, execute 'export > do_configure.out', examine the file and see that it isn't there.

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Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[Quentin Schulz]

Hi Joseph,

On 7/17/25 6:24 PM, joseph.maniaci via lists.yoctoproject.org wrote:
> So in experimenting, I learned that if I did a 'export ABC=3' in my environment followed by a 'bitbake whatever', the ABC environment variable would persist all the way to the do_compile(). However, what I found weird is that it is not present in the do_configure() step.
> 

You need to allow environment variables to be passed through to bitbake. 
This is done via BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH/BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS 
variable in your local.conf for example.

So you would have something like

BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS="ABC"

I believe.

I'm surprised though that the variable is found by bitbake at all.

Cheers,
Quentin

Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[joseph.maniaci]

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Ah, I'm using a script to do this in a repeatable fashion, so I forgot that the last thing it does is

export BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS="$BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS ABC"

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Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[Gyorgy Sarvari]

On 7/17/25 18:48, joseph.maniaci via lists.yoctoproject.org wrote:
> Ah, I'm using a script to do this in a repeatable fashion, so I forgot
> that the last thing it does is
>  
> export BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS="$BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS
> ABC"    
>

This makes the variable available in the bitbake datastore (e.g. you can
reference it in recipes, or you can use d.getVar("ABC") in python), but
it won't make it available automatically as an environment variable. To
have it as an env var you are expected to export it, with "export ABC"
in the recipe, either in a task to make it available in that specific
task, or outside of tasks, to make it available in all tasks. (Or in a
global config file, like local.conf for example, to make  it available
for all tasks globally as env var)

Since you mention that it is available in the compile step, I wonder if
you have an explicit "export ABC" in the do_compile task.

Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[joseph.maniaci]

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I must have at some point because after double checking the output of 'export' of do_compile, I no longer see it there as well....sorry for wasting your guys' time on this one.

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Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[joseph.maniaci]

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Okay, maybe one more question for the next poor soul that has the same-ish issue

Why does this work:

*** Prior to bitbake ***

export ABC="AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
export BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS="$BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS ABC"

*** bitbake recipe ***
....
do_configure () {
export ABC=${ABC} && cmake_do_configure } <<<--- Obviously referencing and seeing ${ABC}
....

CMAKE configures and compiles successfully

but this doesn't

*** bitbake recipe ***
....
do_configure () {
cmake_do_configure <<<---  ${ABC} doesn't make it to cmake
}
....

*** cmakelists.txt ***

if ( NOT DEFINED ENV{ABC})
message (FATAL_ERROR "Undefined environmental variable: ABC \n " )
endif ()

*** bitbake output ***
....
| DEBUG: Executing shell function do_configure
....

*** cmake output ***
| CMake Error at CMakeLists.txt:12 (message):
|   Undefined environmental variable: ABC

Even doing something like the following makes it visible to CMAKE

SOME_VAR = "${ABC}"
do_configure () {
export ABC=${SOME_VAR} && cmake_do_configure
}

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Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[Gyorgy Sarvari]

On 7/17/25 20:16, joseph.maniaci via lists.yoctoproject.org wrote:
> Okay, maybe one more question for the next poor soul that has the
> same-ish issue
>  
> Why does this work:
>  
> *** Prior to bitbake ***
>  
> export ABC="AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
> export BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS="$BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS ABC"
>  
> *** bitbake recipe ***
> ....
> do_configure () {
>     export ABC=${ABC} && cmake_do_configure } <<<--- Obviously
> referencing and seeing ${ABC}
> ....
>  
> CMAKE configures and compiles successfully
>  
> but this doesn't

Because of the extra export you added.

Adding ABC to BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS will make the ${ABC} variable
available in the recipes - but only in the recipes, and not as an
environment variable.

When you write inside a task 'export ABC="${ABC}"' - this looks like
pure shell, a self-referencing tautological assignment: seems like it
says "create an env var called ABC and set it to the value of the ABC
env var"

But it's something else.

It goes through the bitbake parser first, and by the time it is
executed, it becomes 'export ABC="AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"' - the
original ${ABC} is nowhere to be found, because it's a bitbake variable
(just like SRC_URI, for example), not an env var, it was substituted
with the literal value of ${ABC}. And before executing that export
statement, the ABC env var doesn't exist in the build environment at all.

>  
> *** bitbake recipe ***
> ....
> do_configure () {
>     cmake_do_configure <<<---  ${ABC} doesn't make it to cmake
> }
> ....
>  
> *** cmakelists.txt ***
>  
> if( NOTDEFINEDENV{ABC})
>     message(FATAL_ERROR "Undefined environmental variable: ABC\n")
> endif()
>  
> *** bitbake output ***
> ....
> | DEBUG: Executing shell function do_configure
> ....
>  
> *** cmake output ***
> | CMake Error at CMakeLists.txt:12 (message): |   Undefined
> environmental variable: ABC
>  
>  
>  
> Even doing something like the following makes it visible to CMAKE
>  
> SOME_VAR = "${ABC}" do_configure () {   export ABC=${SOME_VAR} &&
> cmake_do_configure }
>  
>  
>
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Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[joseph.maniaci]

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On Fri, Jul 18, 2025 at 01:43 AM, Gyorgy Sarvari wrote:

> 
> It goes through the bitbake parser first, and by the time it is
> executed, it becomes 'export ABC="AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"' - the
> original ${ABC} is nowhere to be found, because it's a bitbake variable
> (just like SRC_URI, for example), not an env var, it was substituted
> with the literal value of ${ABC}. And before executing that export
> statement, the ABC env var doesn't exist in the build environment at all.

Man, considering the quantity of search results telling users to use BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS to accomplish what I'm doing, that really feels like something that should be highlighted in red, and bolded, in the documentation ( https://docs.yoctoproject.org/bitbake/bitbake-user-manual/bitbake-user-manual-ref-variables.html#term-BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS ). Not to mention all of the CMAKE gotchas I've come across.

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Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[joseph.maniaci]

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Thank you so much though for that clarification, I'll definitely never forget that one.

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Re: [yocto] Environmental variable present in do_compile() {}, bitbake recipe -e, but is missing from do_configure() {} #bitbake

[Quentin Schulz]

Hi Joseph,

On 7/18/25 5:16 PM, joseph.maniaci via lists.yoctoproject.org wrote:
> On Fri, Jul 18, 2025 at 01:43 AM, Gyorgy Sarvari wrote:
> 
>>
>> It goes through the bitbake parser first, and by the time it is
>> executed, it becomes 'export ABC="AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"' - the
>> original ${ABC} is nowhere to be found, because it's a bitbake variable
>> (just like SRC_URI, for example), not an env var, it was substituted
>> with the literal value of ${ABC}. And before executing that export
>> statement, the ABC env var doesn't exist in the build environment at all.
> 
> Man, considering the quantity of search results telling users to use BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS to accomplish what I'm doing, that really feels like something that should be highlighted in red, and bolded, in the documentation ( https://docs.yoctoproject.org/bitbake/bitbake-user-manual/bitbake-user-manual-ref-variables.html#term-BB_ENV_PASSTHROUGH_ADDITIONS ). Not to mention all of the CMAKE gotchas I've come across.
> 

Don't hesitate to send patches for the docs :)

The more time one spends working with BitBake the more difficult it is 
to write documentation with the "beginner" eye, so this kind of feedback 
and contribution is very much welcome!

Cheers,
Quentin