Bruin CLI

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Variables ​

Variables are dynamic values provided during execution and injected into your asset code. They enable parameterized pipelines—processing data for specific date ranges, customer segments, or configurations without modifying code.

Overview ​

There are two types of variables in Bruin:

Referencing Variables in Assets ​

SQL Assets ​

Variables are accessible via the var namespace using Jinja templating:

bruin-sql
/* @bruin
name: analytics.daily_sales
type: duckdb.sql
@bruin */

SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE order_date >= '{{ start_date }}'
  AND order_date < '{{ end_date }}'
  AND segment = '{{ var.target_segment }}'

Python and R Assets ​

Built-in variables are exposed as environment variables (for example, BRUIN_START_DATE, BRUIN_PIPELINE, BRUIN_FULL_REFRESH, BRUIN_ASSET, BRUIN_THIS). Custom variables are available in the BRUIN_VARS environment variable as a JSON string:

python
"""@bruin
name: my_python_asset
@bruin"""

import os
import json

# Built-in variables
start_date = os.environ["BRUIN_START_DATE"]
end_date = os.environ["BRUIN_END_DATE"]
pipeline_name = os.environ["BRUIN_PIPELINE"]
asset_name = os.environ["BRUIN_ASSET"]
full_refresh = os.environ.get("BRUIN_FULL_REFRESH") == "1"

# Custom variables
vars = json.loads(os.environ.get("BRUIN_VARS", "{}"))
segment = vars.get("target_segment", "default")

Other built-in environment variables include BRUIN_START_DATETIME, BRUIN_START_TIMESTAMP, BRUIN_END_DATE, BRUIN_END_DATETIME, BRUIN_END_TIMESTAMP, BRUIN_EXECUTION_DATE, BRUIN_EXECUTION_DATETIME, BRUIN_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP, BRUIN_RUN_ID, and BRUIN_COMMIT_HASH.

YAML Assets (Sensor, Ingestr) ​

Variables can be used in the parameters field:

yaml
name: wait_for_table
type: bq.sensor.query
parameters:
  query: |
    SELECT COUNT(*) > 0
    FROM `{{ var.table }}`
    WHERE load_time > {{ start_datetime }}

NOTE

For YAML-style assets, variables can only be used in the value context of the parameters field.

Overriding Variables at Runtime ​

Override variable values using the --var flag during bruin run:

bash
# Override a simple string variable (use JSON quoting)
bruin run --var env='"prod"'

# Override with JSON for complex types
bruin run --var '{"users": ["alice", "charlie"]}'

# Multiple overrides
bruin run --var target_segment='"self_serve"' --var forecast_horizon_days=60