Document all environment variables in environment-variables.md

[Copilot]

The environment variables documentation covered only ~12 of 93 variables used by azd. Many critical variables like AZURE_ENV_NAME, AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID, Dev Center variables, debug flags, and CI/CD integration variables were undocumented.

Changes

• docs/environment-variables.md: Documented all 93 environment variables, organized into 13 sections:

  • Core Azure variables (AZURE_ENV_NAME, AZURE_LOCATION, AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID, etc.)
  • Dev Center variables (AZURE_DEVCENTER_*)
  • General configuration (AZD_CONFIG_DIR, AZD_DEMO_MODE, AZD_CONTAINER_RUNTIME)
  • Alpha features (AZD_ALPHA_ENABLE_*)
  • External authentication (AZD_AUTH_*)
  • Tool configuration (path overrides for bicep, gh, pack, builder image)
  • Extension variables (AZD_EXT_TIMEOUT, AZD_SERVER, AZD_ACCESS_TOKEN)
  • Telemetry & tracing (AZURE_DEV_COLLECT_TELEMETRY, TRACEPARENT, TRACESTATE)
  • CI/CD variables (Azure Pipelines, GitHub Actions, general CI)
  • Terraform provider variables (ARM_*)
  • Console & terminal (NO_COLOR, TERM, BROWSER)
  • Debug variables (AZD_DEBUG_*) - marked with warning for internal use
  • Test variables (AZD_TEST_*) - marked with warning for test-only use

• AGENTS.md: Added maintenance guidelines for environment variable documentation under "Documentation Standards" to ensure future changes include documentation updates

Each variable includes description, usage context, and type information (boolean, path, URL, etc.).

Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Document environment variables comprehensively in environment-variables.md</issue_title>
<issue_description>## Summary

The current cli/azd/docs/environment-variables.md file only documents a subset of the environment variables used by azd. Many important variables are undocumented and should be added.

Current State

The file documents approximately 12 variables including tool path overrides and some configuration options.

Requested Updates

Update the documentation to include all environment variables used by azd, organized into logical sections:

• Core Azure Variables - Variables like AZURE_ENV_NAME, AZURE_LOCATION, AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID, etc.
• Debug Variables - AZD_DEBUG_* variables for troubleshooting
• Extension Variables - Variables for configuring azd extensions
• Telemetry & Tracing - Variables for telemetry configuration
• CI/CD Variables - Variables used in pipeline scenarios
• Tool Configuration - Tool path overrides and runtime configuration

Tasks

• Search the codebase for all environment variable usage (os.Getenv, os.LookupEnv, and constant definitions)
• Organize variables into logical sections
• Add descriptions and usage examples for each variable
• Document which variables are for user configuration vs internal/debug use
• Update cli/azd/docs/environment-variables.md with the comprehensive list
• Update AGENTS.md Copilot instructions to include guidance on keeping the environment variables documentation up-to-date when adding or modifying environment variable usage</issue_description>

<agent_instructions>Only perform the work that is in this issue. Do not do any extra work.</agent_instructions>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

• Fixes Document environment variables comprehensively in environment-variables.md #6652

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