Variables

glidesh supports variable interpolation using ${var-name} syntax. Variables can be defined in inventory files and plans, and are available in all module parameters and templates.

Defining Variables

In the inventory

// Global variables
vars {
    deploy-user "deploy"
    app-dir "/opt/myapp"
}

group "web" {
    // Group-level variables
    vars {
        http-port 8080
    }
    host "web-1" "10.0.0.1" user="deploy"
}

In the plan

plan "deploy" {
    target "web"

    vars {
        app-image "registry.example.com/myapp:v2"
    }

    step "Deploy" {
        container "myapp" {
            image "${app-image}"
        }
    }
}

Merge Order

When the same variable is defined at multiple levels, the most specific value wins:

Inventory global vars → Group vars → Host properties → Plan vars

Built-in host variables are injected last and cannot be overridden.

Built-in Host Variables

These variables are automatically available in all interpolations — no need to define them:

Variable	Description
${host.name}	Host name from inventory
${host.address}	Host address (IP or hostname)
${host.user}	SSH user for this host
${host.port}	SSH port for this host

Example

step "Tag host" {
    shell "echo 'Configuring ${host.name} at ${host.address}'"
}

step "Fetch backup" {
    file "backups/${host.name}-dump.sql" {
        src "/var/backups/db.sql"
        fetch #true
    }
}

Interpolation

Variable substitution is simple string replacement — no expressions, conditionals, or filters. The syntax is ${var-name} where var-name matches a key from any vars block or a built-in host variable.

Undefined variables are left as-is (the literal ${var-name} string remains).