Remove environment variables

Remove environment variables from an environment in a single atomic request.

This operation only deletes keys by name. Keys in the payload that exist are removed; keys that are not present are ignored, since their absence already matches the requested state. To replace or update values, use setEnvironmentVariables instead. The whole operation is atomic: if any part fails the environment is left unchanged.

Duplicate keys in the payload collapse to a single removal. Values are never read or returned.

Required Permissions

Your root key must have one of the following permissions:

environment.*.remove_environment_variables (for any environment)
environment.<environment_id>.remove_environment_variables (for a specific environment)

POST

environments.removeEnvironmentVariables

Python (SDK)

from unkey.py import Unkey


with Unkey(
    root_key="<YOUR_BEARER_TOKEN_HERE>",
) as unkey:

    res = unkey.environments.remove_environment_variables(project="payments", app="payments-api", environment="production", variables=[
        "LOG_LEVEL",
        "DEBUG_MODE",
    ])

    # Handle response
    print(res)

import { Unkey } from "@unkey/api";

const unkey = new Unkey({
  rootKey: process.env["UNKEY_ROOT_KEY"] ?? "",
});

async function run() {
  const result = await unkey.environments.removeEnvironmentVariables({
    project: "payments",
    app: "payments-api",
    environment: "production",
    variables: [
      "LOG_LEVEL",
      "DEBUG_MODE",
    ],
  });

  console.log(result);
}

run();

package main

import(
	"context"
	"os"
	unkey "github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2"
	"github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2/models/components"
	"log"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    s := unkey.New(
        unkey.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("UNKEY_ROOT_KEY")),
    )

    res, err := s.Environments.RemoveEnvironmentVariables(ctx, components.V2EnvironmentsRemoveEnvironmentVariablesRequestBody{
        Project: "payments",
        App: "payments-api",
        Environment: "production",
        Variables: []string{
            "LOG_LEVEL",
            "DEBUG_MODE",
        },
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2EnvironmentsRemoveEnvironmentVariablesResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.unkey.com/v2/environments.removeEnvironmentVariables \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "app": "payments-api",
  "environment": "production",
  "project": "payments",
  "variables": [
    "LOG_LEVEL",
    "DEBUG_MODE"
  ]
}
'

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({
    app: 'payments-api',
    environment: 'production',
    project: 'payments',
    variables: ['LOG_LEVEL', 'DEBUG_MODE']
  })
};

fetch('https://api.unkey.com/v2/environments.removeEnvironmentVariables', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.unkey.com/v2/environments.removeEnvironmentVariables",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
    'app' => 'payments-api',
    'environment' => 'production',
    'project' => 'payments',
    'variables' => [
        'LOG_LEVEL',
        'DEBUG_MODE'
    ]
  ]),
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type: application/json"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.unkey.com/v2/environments.removeEnvironmentVariables")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"project\": \"payments\",\n  \"variables\": [\n    \"LOG_LEVEL\",\n    \"DEBUG_MODE\"\n  ]\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.unkey.com/v2/environments.removeEnvironmentVariables")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"project\": \"payments\",\n  \"variables\": [\n    \"LOG_LEVEL\",\n    \"DEBUG_MODE\"\n  ]\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": {}
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found",
    "errors": [
      {
        "location": "body.permissions[0].name",
        "message": "Must be at least 3 characters long",
        "fix": "Ensure the name uses only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

Authorizations

Authorization

string

header

required

Unkey uses bearer tokens for authentication. Public integrations use root keys, while the dashboard proxy uses short-lived JWTs. To authenticate, include the token in the Authorization header of each request:

Authorization: Bearer unkey_123

Root keys have specific permissions attached to them, controlling what operations they can perform. Legacy permissions use tuple strings like api.*.create_key; resource permissions use Unkey Resource Names plus actions, like unkey:v1:ws_123:keyspaces/*#create_key. Security best practices:

Keep root keys secure and never expose them in client-side code
Use different root keys for different environments
Rotate keys periodically, especially after team member departures
Create keys with minimal necessary permissions following least privilege principle
Monitor key usage with audit logs.

Body

application/json

project

string

required

Identifies a resource by either its unique ID or its slug. Accepts a prefixed ID (such as 'proj_' or 'app_') or a slug.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Example:

"proj_1234abcd"

app

string

required

Identifies a resource by either its unique ID or its slug. Accepts a prefixed ID (such as 'proj_' or 'app_') or a slug.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Example:

"proj_1234abcd"

environment

string

required

Identifies a resource by either its unique ID or its slug. Accepts a prefixed ID (such as 'proj_' or 'app_') or a slug.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Example:

"proj_1234abcd"

variables

string[]

required

The names of the variables to remove. Keys that exist are deleted; keys that are not present are ignored, since their absence already matches the requested state.

Duplicate keys collapse to a single removal. The whole operation is atomic: if any part fails the environment is left unchanged. Limited to 50 variables per request.

Required array length: 1 - 50 elements

The name of a variable to remove. Must be a POSIX shell name: letters, digits, and underscores only, and must not start with a digit.

Required string length: 1 - 256

Pattern: ^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*$

Response

Successfully removed the environment variables.

meta

object

required

Metadata object included in every API response. This provides context about the request and is essential for debugging, audit trails, and support inquiries. The requestId is particularly important when troubleshooting issues with the Unkey support team.

Show child attributes

data

object

required

Empty response object by design. A successful response indicates this operation was successfully executed.

Last modified on July 22, 2026

Set environment variablesCreate or update environment variables for an environment in a single atomic request. By default this is an upsert: each variable in the payload is created if new or fully overwritten if the key already exists, and any variable not in the payload is left untouched. This lets you change one variable without re-sending the others, which matters for write-only secrets you can no longer read back. Set `prune: true` to make it a full replace instead: after upserting, every variable not in the payload is deleted. Sending `prune: true` with an empty `variables` list resets the environment by deleting every variable. Each variable is written exactly as sent, never merged, so omitted optional fields fall back to their defaults rather than the previous value. Values are always encrypted at rest. Set `kind: recoverable` to allow a value to be read back; it defaults to `writeonly`, which can never be read back through the API. **Required Permissions** Your root key must have one of the following permissions: - `environment.*.set_environment_variables` (for any environment) - `environment.<environment_id>.set_environment_variables` (for a specific environment)

⌘I

Python (SDK)

from unkey.py import Unkey


with Unkey(
    root_key="<YOUR_BEARER_TOKEN_HERE>",
) as unkey:

    res = unkey.environments.remove_environment_variables(project="payments", app="payments-api", environment="production", variables=[
        "LOG_LEVEL",
        "DEBUG_MODE",
    ])

    # Handle response
    print(res)

import { Unkey } from "@unkey/api";

const unkey = new Unkey({
  rootKey: process.env["UNKEY_ROOT_KEY"] ?? "",
});

async function run() {
  const result = await unkey.environments.removeEnvironmentVariables({
    project: "payments",
    app: "payments-api",
    environment: "production",
    variables: [
      "LOG_LEVEL",
      "DEBUG_MODE",
    ],
  });

  console.log(result);
}

run();

package main

import(
	"context"
	"os"
	unkey "github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2"
	"github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2/models/components"
	"log"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    s := unkey.New(
        unkey.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("UNKEY_ROOT_KEY")),
    )

    res, err := s.Environments.RemoveEnvironmentVariables(ctx, components.V2EnvironmentsRemoveEnvironmentVariablesRequestBody{
        Project: "payments",
        App: "payments-api",
        Environment: "production",
        Variables: []string{
            "LOG_LEVEL",
            "DEBUG_MODE",
        },
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2EnvironmentsRemoveEnvironmentVariablesResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.unkey.com/v2/environments.removeEnvironmentVariables \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "app": "payments-api",
  "environment": "production",
  "project": "payments",
  "variables": [
    "LOG_LEVEL",
    "DEBUG_MODE"
  ]
}
'

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({
    app: 'payments-api',
    environment: 'production',
    project: 'payments',
    variables: ['LOG_LEVEL', 'DEBUG_MODE']
  })
};

fetch('https://api.unkey.com/v2/environments.removeEnvironmentVariables', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.unkey.com/v2/environments.removeEnvironmentVariables",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
    'app' => 'payments-api',
    'environment' => 'production',
    'project' => 'payments',
    'variables' => [
        'LOG_LEVEL',
        'DEBUG_MODE'
    ]
  ]),
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type: application/json"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.unkey.com/v2/environments.removeEnvironmentVariables")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"project\": \"payments\",\n  \"variables\": [\n    \"LOG_LEVEL\",\n    \"DEBUG_MODE\"\n  ]\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.unkey.com/v2/environments.removeEnvironmentVariables")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"project\": \"payments\",\n  \"variables\": [\n    \"LOG_LEVEL\",\n    \"DEBUG_MODE\"\n  ]\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": {}
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found",
    "errors": [
      {
        "location": "body.permissions[0].name",
        "message": "Must be at least 3 characters long",
        "fix": "Ensure the name uses only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}