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bug: envvars.update() throws "ReferenceError: name is not defined" outside a task context #4264
Description
Env Info
System:
OS: macOS 26.5.2
CPU: (15) arm64 Apple M5 Pro
Memory: 2.33 GB / 48.00 GB
Shell: 5.9 - /bin/zsh
Binaries:
Node: 24.7.0 - /Users/patrick/.nvm/versions/node/v24.7.0/bin/node
npm: 11.5.1 - /Users/patrick/.nvm/versions/node/v24.7.0/bin/npm
pnpm: 11.1.1 - /opt/homebrew/bin/pnpm
Description
Calling envvars.update(projectRef, slug, name, params) from outside a task run (a plain Node script / CI deploy step) always throws ReferenceError: name is not defined. envvars.create, del, retrieve, and list all work fine from the same context.
SDK version
@trigger.dev/sdk 4.5.0. The code path looks unchanged in the published dist, so 4.5.x is likely affected too — please confirm on the latest.
Reproduction
import { envvars } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
// TRIGGER_ACCESS_TOKEN set in env; NOT running inside a task
await envvars.update("proj_xxx", "staging", "MY_VAR", { value: "hello" });ReferenceError: name is not defined
at Module.update (@trigger.dev/sdk/src/v3/envvars.ts:343:5)
Root cause
update(projectRefOrName, slugOrParams, nameOrRequestOptions, params, requestOptions) — the non-task-context branch resolves the name as:
$name = name; // ❌ there is no `name` parameter here; the positional param is `nameOrRequestOptions`Unlike del/retrieve (whose third positional parameter is literally named name), update's third parameter is nameOrRequestOptions, so name is not in scope and the call throws. The in-task-context branch is correct.
For reference, the compiled dist/commonjs/v3/envvars.js update() non-task branch:
$projectRef = projectRefOrName;
$slug = slugOrParams;
$name = name; // <- undefined reference
$params = params;Suggested fix
$name = nameOrRequestOptions;(matching how $projectRef / $slug / $params are resolved from the positional args in the same branch).
Impact / workaround
envvars.update() is unusable from the management-API path (e.g. updating an env var from a deploy script). Workaround: envvars.del() followed by envvars.create(). create, del, retrieve, and list are unaffected.
Activity
[-]envvars.update() throws "ReferenceError: name is not defined" outside a task context[/-][+]bug: envvars.update() throws "ReferenceError: name is not defined" outside a task context[/+]itzzdev09 commentedon Aug 28, 2026
Confirming on the latest as asked — still broken on
@trigger.dev/sdk@4.5.13:create()from the same script reaches the network layer (AuthenticationError: Invalid API keywith a dummy token), so the failure is specific toupdate()and happens before any request is made.The line is in the non-task branch of
update()in the publisheddist/commonjs/v3/envvars.js:The third parameter is
nameOrRequestOptions, sonameresolves to nothing and throws. It should be:typeof nameOrRequestOptions === "string"is probably worth asserting there too, since that branch has already established the 4-arg form.Why only this path: the other methods never reference a bare
name, and inside a task run thetaskContext.ctxbranch is taken instead, which assigns$namefrom real parameters. So it only surfaces outside a task, which matches the report exactly. (In a browser this would silently pick upwindow.namerather than throwing — Node has no such global, which is why it's a hard error here.)One other thing worth a look while that function is open — the first task-context branch assigns both from the same argument:
$projectReftakingslugOrParamslooks unintended given the parameter names, though I haven't exercised that path so I can't say what the intended behaviour is.claxman commentedon Sep 7, 2026
Ran
tsx --evalwithupdate("proj_x","dev","FOO",{value:"bar"})againstpackages/trigger-sdk/src/v3/envvars.tson 0a23814. It threwReferenceError: name is not definedat line 341 ($name = name!) before any request. Taking this.