Environment variables in Google Cloud Functions are used to store non-sensitive configuration data that can be accessed by the function at runtime. They provide a way to separate code from configuration, making it easier to manage and update configurations independently of the code.
To use them effectively, you should define environment variables in the cloud functions settings or through the command line interface during deployment. You can then access these variables within your function using process.env.VARIABLE_NAME syntax in Node.js or os.environ[‘VARIABLE_NAME’] in Python.
Remember not to store sensitive information like API keys or passwords as environment variables. Instead, use Secret Manager for such data. Also, avoid hardcoding values into your function’s code, instead use environment variables which makes your code more flexible and maintainable.
