How do I use Docker environment variable in ENTRYPOINT array?

docker dockerfile
Psycho Punch picture Psycho Punch · Jun 19, 2016 · Viewed 92.3k times · Source

If I set an environment variable, say ENV ADDRESSEE=world, and I want to use it in the entry point script concatenated into a fixed string like:

ENTRYPOINT ["./greeting", "--message", "Hello, world!"]

with world being the value of the environment varible, how do I do it? I tried using "Hello, $ADDRESSEE" but that doesn't seem to work, as it takes the $ADDRESSEE literally.

Answer

vitr picture vitr · Jun 19, 2016

You're using the exec form of ENTRYPOINT. Unlike the shell form, the exec form does not invoke a command shell. This means that normal shell processing does not happen. For example, ENTRYPOINT [ "echo", "$HOME" ] will not do variable substitution on $HOME. If you want shell processing then either use the shell form or execute a shell directly, for example: ENTRYPOINT [ "sh", "-c", "echo $HOME" ].
When using the exec form and executing a shell directly, as in the case for the shell form, it is the shell that is doing the environment variable expansion, not docker.(from Dockerfile reference)

In your case, I would use shell form

ENTRYPOINT ./greeting --message "Hello, $ADDRESSEE\!"

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