Introduction

Paradime is an AI-powered analytics workspace that consolidates your entire data workflow into one unified platform. With features like DinoAI co-pilot for SQL generation, Paradime Bolt for production-grade dbt™ orchestration, and Paradime Radar for monitoring with column-level lineage, teams achieve 50-83% productivity gains and 20%+ warehouse cost reductions. Paradime eliminates tool sprawl by integrating seamlessly with Looker, Tableau, and your modern data stack.

What Are Environment Variables in Paradime Bolt?

Understanding Bolt Schedule Environment Variables

Environment variables in Paradime Bolt are configuration settings that allow you to customize dbt™ and Python data pipelines in production without hardcoding sensitive information. These variables enable you to manage secrets, database connections, and runtime settings securely across different environments.

Think of environment variables as secure containers for your configuration data. Instead of writing your database password directly into your code (where it could be exposed in version control), you store it as an environment variable that gets injected at runtime.

Key Benefits of Using Environment Variables

• Security: Keep sensitive credentials like API keys and passwords out of version control

• Flexibility: Use different configurations for production versus staging schedules

• Efficiency: Manage settings centrally without duplicating code

• Compliance: Meet GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC2 requirements for credential management

How to Configure Environment Variables in Paradime Bolt

Step-by-Step Configuration Process

Setting up environment variables in Paradime Bolt is straightforward:

1. From any page in the Paradime application, click Settings

2. Navigate to Workspaces > Environment Variables

3. In the Bolt Schedules section, click Add New

4. Enter your Key name (e.g., DB_PASSWORD, API_KEY)

5. Enter the corresponding Value

6. Click the Save icon (💾)

7. Variables are now available in command settings of your Bolt Schedules

Accessing Environment Variables in Bolt Schedules

Once configured, environment variables can be referenced in your Bolt schedule commands using the standard syntax for your execution environment. These variables inject dynamically at runtime, ensuring secure credential management.

Important Note: Only workspace administrators can add, edit, or remove environment variables. If you need access, contact your workspace admin.

Bulk Upload Environment Variables

When to Use Bulk Upload

Bulk upload is ideal for teams managing multiple environment variables simultaneously or migrating configurations from other platforms. This feature streamlines the onboarding process and reduces manual configuration errors—especially valuable when moving from dbt Cloud™ or other orchestration tools.

CSV File Preparation Requirements

Your CSV file must follow specific formatting guidelines:

• Include a header row with columns "Key" and "Value"

• Avoid punctuation in the header (except commas separating columns)

• Key and Value columns should NOT contain spaces

• Example format:

Bulk Upload Process

1. Click Settings from any page in Paradime

2. Navigate to Workspaces > Environment Variables

3. In the Bolt Schedules section, click Bulk Upload

4. Drag and drop your CSV file or click to select

5. Review the variables to be uploaded

6. Confirm the upload

Environment Variable Overrides for Individual Schedules

Global Defaults vs Schedule-Level Overrides

Paradime Bolt uses a hierarchical configuration system where globally configured variables serve as default values for all schedules. Individual schedules can override these defaults without duplicating the entire configuration—a powerful feature for managing multiple environments efficiently.

Implementing Schedule-Level Overrides

1. Navigate to the Bolt UI and select your schedule

2. Access the schedule's environment variable settings

3. Add or modify variables specific to that schedule

4. If no override is set, the schedule uses the global default value

Use Cases for Overrides

• Production vs Staging: Use different database connections or schemas

• Testing: Apply different parameter values for test schedules

• Multi-tenant: Configure customer-specific settings per schedule

• Performance tuning: Adjust warehouse sizes based on schedule requirements

Best Practices for Environment Variables in Data Pipelines

Security Best Practices

• Never hardcode credentials in profiles.yml or Git-tracked files

• Use Paradime's environment variable system for all sensitive values

• Implement the least privilege principle with different credentials for dev and prod

• Rotate secrets immediately if accidentally committed to version control

• Don't share secrets via email, Slack, or shared documents

Configuration Management Best Practices

• Follow the Twelve-Factor App methodology by separating configuration from code

• Use descriptive, consistent naming conventions (e.g., PROD_DB_PASSWORD, STAGE_DB_PASSWORD)

• Document all environment variables and their purposes

• Implement audit trails for variable access and modifications

• Conduct regular reviews to remove unused variables

Organizational Best Practices

• Restrict admin access: Only workspace administrators can configure environment variables

• Create a centralized documentation of all variables and their use cases

• Establish a change management process for variable updates

• Test changes in staging before applying to production schedules

• Maintain separate variable sets for different environments

Common Use Cases for Bolt Environment Variables

Database Connection Management

Configure database credentials that vary between environments:

• Snowflake account identifiers, warehouses, and schemas

• BigQuery project IDs and service account credentials

• Redshift cluster endpoints and authentication

API Integration Credentials

Manage third-party service integrations:

• Google Sheets API client IDs

• Jira and Linear API tokens

• Slack webhook URLs for notifications

• PagerDuty and DataDog integration keys

Environment-Specific Settings

Customize behavior across development, staging, and production:

• Schema prefixes (dev_, stage_, prod_)

• Data retention policies

• Sampling rates for development queries

• Feature flags for gradual rollouts

Troubleshooting Environment Variables

Common Issues and Solutions

• Variable not found: Verify the key name matches exactly (case-sensitive)

• Permission errors: Ensure you have admin access to configure variables

• Override not working: Check that schedule-level override is properly saved

• Bulk upload fails: Validate CSV format matches required structure

Bolt Schedules vs Code IDE Variables

Environment variables configured for Bolt Schedules are only available in production jobs. For development environment variables in the Code IDE, use the separate Code IDE Environment Variables configuration. This separation ensures your development and production environments remain properly isolated.

Migrating to Paradime Bolt Environment Variables

From dbt Cloud and Other Platforms

Teams migrating from dbt Cloud™ or other orchestration platforms can use Paradime's bulk upload feature to transfer environment variables efficiently. Export your existing variables to CSV format matching Paradime's requirements.

Migration Checklist

• Audit all existing environment variables across platforms

• Identify sensitive credentials requiring rotation during migration

• Prepare CSV file with proper formatting

• Test variables in a staging schedule before production deployment

• Update documentation with new variable locations

• Decommission old variable storage systems

Monitoring and Maintaining Environment Variables

Regular Maintenance Tasks

• Conduct quarterly reviews of all configured variables

• Remove deprecated or unused variables

• Update credentials according to rotation policies

• Verify all schedules use appropriate variable overrides

• Document changes in your configuration management system

Integration with Paradime Radar

Leverage Paradime Radar's monitoring capabilities to track the impact of environment variable changes on your data pipelines. Real-time alerts through PagerDuty, DataDog, or Slack notify teams of failures related to misconfigured variables, enabling rapid response to configuration issues.

Conclusion

Environment variables in Paradime Bolt provide a secure, flexible foundation for managing your data pipeline configurations. By keeping sensitive credentials out of version control, enabling environment-specific configurations, and supporting bulk management workflows, Paradime Bolt helps teams maintain security compliance while improving operational efficiency.

Start by configuring your most critical credentials as environment variables, then gradually expand to include all configuration settings that vary between environments. Use the bulk upload feature for efficient migrations, implement schedule-level overrides for environment-specific behavior, and establish regular maintenance practices to keep your variable configuration clean and secure.

With proper environment variable management, you'll achieve the security and flexibility needed to scale your data operations confidently across development, staging, and production environments.