Environment collection replace API strips equals sign at the end

[xEverth]

VS Code version: Code - Insiders 1.84.0-insider (35419fc, 2023-10-27T10:41:08.734Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.19045

Try applying these variables using the environment collection API:

TEST_KEY="SOMETHING"
TEST_KEY_2="SOMETHING="
TEST_KEY_3=SOMETHING=
TEST_KEY_4='SOMETHING='

Even though screenshot says they're applied as expected:

equal sign is stripped from the end when printing the value:

Original bug report

Type: <b>Bug</b>

<!-- Please fill in all XXX markers -->
# Behaviour
## Expected vs. Actual

Expected:
Environment keys are read correctly, both in powershell and in python

Actual
When the .env file is set in the Python extension configuration, if the keys have equals sign they are stripped out, whether they are quoted or not. This happens both if the .env file is the default ${workspaceFolder}/.env or if this is changed. When the environments variables are loaded by the extension, this may change the behaviour of programs which use os.getenv("KEY") to retrieve the values.

## Steps to reproduce:

1. Have a .env file with the following content:

TEST_KEY="SOMETHING"
TEST_KEY_2="SOMETHING="
TEST_KEY_3=SOMETHING=
TEST_KEY_4='SOMETHING='

2) Set the path to this .env file in the Python extension settings (Python:Env File)

3) Open a new terminal (Powershell/Windows)

4) Check the value of the environment variables with $env:PATH

5) See that the '=' character at the end is stripped

6) Open a python interpreter and attempt loading the environment file again (python-dotenv)

7) The equal signs are still stripped

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# Diagnostic data

-   Python version (& distribution if applicable, e.g. Anaconda): 3.11.0
-   Type of virtual environment used (e.g. conda, venv, virtualenv, etc.): Venv
-   Value of the `python.languageServer` setting: Pylance

<details>

<summary>Output for <code>Python</code> in the <code>Output</code> panel (<code>View</code>→<code>Output</code>, change the drop-down the upper-right of the <code>Output</code> panel to <code>Python</code>)
</summary>

<p>

From a python interpreter

from dotenv import load_dotenv; import os
with open(".env", "r") as f:
f.readlines()
os.getenv("TEST_KEY")
os.getenv("TEST_KEY_2")
os.getenv("TEST_KEY_3")
os.getenv("TEST_KEY_4")

This may print out SOMETHING in all 4 cases, without the = sign

Repeat after deactivating the environment variable loading from the Python extension and see the = sign for TEST_KEY_2, TEST_KEY_3 and TEST_KEY_4

</p>
</details>

<details>

<summary>User Settings</summary>

<p>

envFile: ""

venvPath: ""

venvFolders: ""

languageServer: "Pylance"

testing
• unittestEnabled: true

experiments
• optInto: ["pythonTerminalEnvVarActivation"]

</p>
</details>


Extension version: 2023.18.0
VS Code version: Code - Insiders 1.84.0-insider (35419fc016b8d3d5dbc59aa11a0be957b0897309, 2023-10-27T10:41:08.734Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.19045
Modes:

<details>
<summary>System Info</summary>

|Item|Value|
|---|---|
|CPUs|Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10875H CPU @ 2.30GHz (16 x 2304)|
|GPU Status|2d_canvas: enabled<br>canvas_oop_rasterization: enabled_on<br>direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok<br>gpu_compositing: enabled<br>multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on<br>opengl: enabled_on<br>rasterization: enabled<br>raw_draw: disabled_off_ok<br>video_decode: enabled<br>video_encode: enabled<br>vulkan: disabled_off<br>webgl: enabled<br>webgl2: enabled<br>webgpu: enabled|
|Load (avg)|undefined|
|Memory (System)|31.84GB (16.35GB free)|
|Process Argv|--log trace|
|Screen Reader|no|
|VM|0%|
</details>
<!-- generated by issue reporter -->

[karrtikr]

Thanks for the bug report! We investigate issues in order based on priority and severity, which includes the impact it has on your ability to use the extension to do productive work, and the number of people affected. If other users come forward and leave a comment demonstrating they are seeing/reproducing the problem then we will raise this issue's priority. Thanks for understanding and the patience!

[karrtikr]

Thanks, I'm able to reproduce it. Looks like an issue with environment collection API in VS Code itself, hence transferring.

[Tyriar]

This makes sense as we currently split on = and : so those characters won't work currently when applied via shell integration:

For pwsh:

vscode/src/vs/workbench/contrib/terminal/browser/media/shellIntegration.ps1

Lines 24 to 47 in 242755e

	if ($env:VSCODE_ENV_REPLACE) {
	$Split = $env:VSCODE_ENV_REPLACE.Split(":")
	foreach ($Item in $Split) {
	$Inner = $Item.Split('=')
	[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($Inner[0], $Inner[1].Replace('\x3a', ':'))
	}
	$env:VSCODE_ENV_REPLACE = $null
	}
	if ($env:VSCODE_ENV_PREPEND) {
	$Split = $env:VSCODE_ENV_PREPEND.Split(":")
	foreach ($Item in $Split) {
	$Inner = $Item.Split('=')
	[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($Inner[0], $Inner[1].Replace('\x3a', ':') + [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable($Inner[0]))
	}
	$env:VSCODE_ENV_PREPEND = $null
	}
	if ($env:VSCODE_ENV_APPEND) {
	$Split = $env:VSCODE_ENV_APPEND.Split(":")
	foreach ($Item in $Split) {
	$Inner = $Item.Split('=')
	[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($Inner[0], [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable($Inner[0]) + $Inner[1].Replace('\x3a', ':'))
	}
	$env:VSCODE_ENV_APPEND = $null
	}

[upascal]

I have this issue too. I noticed if I run my backend server (which takes a secret key from the .env file) in my system terminal it behaves as expected, but if I run it in the vscode terminal it truncates the key after the equals sign in the key. This broke my backend! Please fix this. Thanks.

[babiyvadim]

I face this issue too. Waiting for fixing. Thanks
As a potential workaround, you can run the command source .env directly from the terminal after every .env file changes for each terminal window

[maximiliank]

I am having the same issue when the project is setup for a C++ python extension with leak sanitizers. This requires to LD_PRELOAD the sanitizer library libasan.so and disable leak detection via ASAN_OPTIONS=detect_leaks=0. Unfortunately, in the terminal only ASAN_OPTIONS=detect_leaks remains which yields to a unusable terminal due to

bash: export: `=': not a valid identifier
AddressSanitizer: ERROR: expected '=' in ASAN_OPTIONS

See microsoft/vscode-python#22792 (comment)

[whusterj]

I am also experiencing this issue with a Django Secret key containing an '=' sign and would appreciate a fix. I can work around it, but it's not ideal since this runs counter to the expected behavior and how the source command behaves. Thank you.

[N3xus8]

This so frustrating. I had my code working perfectly I was testing the whole day and then suddenly it broke. I spent hours figuring it out.
I managed to debug it and found that the == signs in the .env variables were stripped out.
I was so confused why did it work earlier and then I realised that a new version of VS Code was installed today.
Did it break my code?Not 100% sure .
Anyway VS Code is awesome. But the lesson of the day : stable environment . Don't update it constantly.

[jaywfoster]

I'm facing the same issue. Here are some potential clues based on my project: it only occurs in the init constructor for a class. The class is located in a .py that is in a different folder than the .env. The error occurs when the code is invoked from an api endpoint but works fine otherwise. I tried making adjustments by setting the .env path explicitly but no luck. Please help.

[Dnny44]

I am also experiencing this issue with a Django Secret key containing an '=' sign and would appreciate a fix. I can work around it, but it's not ideal since this runs counter to the expected behavior and how the source command behaves. Thank you.

Can confirm that I am also seeing this behavior in the exact same situation.

VSCode Terminal - drops "="

Plain Terminal - returns correct

[Tyriar]

Verification steps:

• Create an extension that does: context.environmentVariableCollection.replace('TEST', 'FOO=')
• Debug the extension
• Activate it
• Open a powershell terminal
• Run $env:TEST, ensure that it prints FOO=
• Repeat the same in a bash terminal but run echo $TEST

[Tyriar]

This still had an issue for fish shell which should be fixed in #226980

To verify, repeat steps above but for fish.

[connor4312]

verified bash/fish/zsh