Docker variables scope - docker

Question

I want to know where can I see the variables I have defined. For example, I have three files:
.env
BLA=1
docker-compose.xml
IS_ONE=${BLA}
Dockerfile
RUN echo "$BLA" >> file.txt
I want to know the relation, for example:
Do I need the variable defined in all files? or there a relation like
docker-compose.xml can only see .evn variables?
Dockerfile can only see docker-compose.xml variables?
And, where do I need to declare a variable to use in a bash script automatically triggered in Dockerfile (if it's possible), or use later in the console of the container.

Answer 1

Lots of examples here: https://docs.docker.com/compose/environment-variables/
If you need to customize docker-compose itself then .env file is used.
For example, I want to include build id in my container name, my .env file would have
BUILD_ID=20
and docker-compose.yml would have
containername: "foo-${BUILD_ID}"
If I want to pass environment vars into container when it runs, I use
environment:
- FOO_VAR=bar
If I want to pass in multiple environment vars into container,
docker-compose.yml would have
env_file: my_container_env
is the easy way if the values of the FOO_VAR are going to be dynamically generated.
Whether to use set env values in docker-compose directly or use file depends on:
Are the values dynamic? If yes, use file and populate correct values
in the file with some script (like jenkins could set my BUILD_ID in
my .env file)
Are they 'secret'? If yes, use file and don't checkin the .env or my_container_env file into the repo - you have to manage those files
separately