Feature Request: New Environment Variable for "args"

I’m not sure if there’s a reason this was not created in the first place, but we want to pass Conan args from environment variables for CI.

CONAN_ARGS=<project_name>:shared=True, boost:shared=True

We’re implementing this on our own, but would like to see it land in CPT.

We want this because it’s not suitable for us to create conan profiles which go into as much detail as defining the options for projects and their dependencies. I did try creating project-specific profiles in the project folder, which include() global profiles. It wasn’t terrible, but it added to the directory pollution problem, hides information from the person reading the Jenkinsfile, and becomes harder to maintain at scale. There are of course advantages to the project-specific-profiles, and maybe we end up going back to that. However, it still seems like a reasonable feature to request.

[solvingj]

One of the most brilliant parts of CPT is the flexibility in where users can specify. In CI web portal, CI specific files, or build.py (shared between CI). We have used all three for different things at different times. Environment variables in CI files are more declarative and much more clear than reading through conditionals when you want an option on only one CI. I want to only do things in build.py when logic or options are shared across CI, or I need the power of python.

[solvingj]

Oh, funny, it did exist and was removed. that explains why i kinda thought i remembered it 😃