Clearing

Remove environment variables from your sandbox. You can delete individual variables or clear all custom variables at once.

Overview

Clearing environment variables is useful for:

Removing sensitive data
Resetting configuration
Cleaning up temporary variables
Preparing sandbox for reuse

Deleting individual variables preserves other variables. System variables (like PATH, HOME) are typically preserved and cannot be deleted.

Delete Single Variable

Delete a specific environment variable:

Python
JavaScript

from hopx_ai import Sandbox

sandbox = Sandbox.create(template="code-interpreter")

# Set some variables
sandbox.env.set_all({
    "API_KEY": "sk-123",
    "DEBUG": "true",
    "TEMP_TOKEN": "temp-xyz"
})

# Delete a single variable
sandbox.env.delete("TEMP_TOKEN")
print("TEMP_TOKEN deleted")

# Verify deletion
env = sandbox.env.get_all()
print(f"TEMP_TOKEN exists: {'TEMP_TOKEN' in env}")
print(f"API_KEY still exists: {'API_KEY' in env}")

sandbox.kill()

import { Sandbox } from '@hopx-ai/sdk';

const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({ template: 'code-interpreter' });

// Set some variables
await sandbox.env.setAll({
  API_KEY: 'sk-123',
  DEBUG: 'true',
  TEMP_TOKEN: 'temp-xyz'
});

// Delete a single variable
await sandbox.env.delete('TEMP_TOKEN');
console.log('TEMP_TOKEN deleted');

// Verify deletion
const env = await sandbox.env.getAll();
console.log(`TEMP_TOKEN exists: ${'TEMP_TOKEN' in env}`);
console.log(`API_KEY still exists: ${'API_KEY' in env}`);

await sandbox.kill();

Delete Multiple Variables

Delete multiple variables one by one:

Python
JavaScript

from hopx_ai import Sandbox

sandbox = Sandbox.create(template="code-interpreter")

# Set multiple variables
sandbox.env.set_all({
    "API_KEY": "sk-123",
    "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://localhost/db",
    "DEBUG": "true",
    "TEMP_TOKEN": "temp-xyz",
    "OLD_CONFIG": "deprecated"
})

# Delete multiple variables
variables_to_delete = ["TEMP_TOKEN", "OLD_CONFIG", "DEBUG"]
for var in variables_to_delete:
    sandbox.env.delete(var)
    print(f"Deleted: {var}")

# Verify remaining variables
env = sandbox.env.get_all()
print(f"\nRemaining variables: {list(env.keys())}")

sandbox.kill()

import { Sandbox } from '@hopx-ai/sdk';

const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({ template: 'code-interpreter' });

// Set multiple variables
await sandbox.env.setAll({
  API_KEY: 'sk-123',
  DATABASE_URL: 'postgres://localhost/db',
  DEBUG: 'true',
  TEMP_TOKEN: 'temp-xyz',
  OLD_CONFIG: 'deprecated'
});

// Delete multiple variables
const variablesToDelete = ['TEMP_TOKEN', 'OLD_CONFIG', 'DEBUG'];
for (const varName of variablesToDelete) {
  await sandbox.env.delete(varName);
  console.log(`Deleted: ${varName}`);
}

// Verify remaining variables
const env = await sandbox.env.getAll();
console.log(`\nRemaining variables: ${Object.keys(env)}`);

await sandbox.kill();

Clear All Custom Variables

Clear all custom environment variables:

Python
JavaScript

from hopx_ai import Sandbox

sandbox = Sandbox.create(template="code-interpreter")

# Set custom variables
sandbox.env.set_all({
    "API_KEY": "sk-123",
    "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://localhost/db",
    "DEBUG": "true"
})

# Get current variables
before = sandbox.env.get_all()
print(f"Variables before: {len(before)}")

# Clear all custom variables (set empty dict)
sandbox.env.set_all({})

# Get variables after clearing
after = sandbox.env.get_all()
print(f"Variables after: {len(after)}")

# System variables may still exist
system_vars = ['PATH', 'HOME', 'USER', 'SHELL']
remaining = [v for v in after.keys() if v in system_vars]
print(f"System variables preserved: {remaining}")

sandbox.kill()

import { Sandbox } from '@hopx-ai/sdk';

const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({ template: 'code-interpreter' });

// Set custom variables
await sandbox.env.setAll({
  API_KEY: 'sk-123',
  DATABASE_URL: 'postgres://localhost/db',
  DEBUG: 'true'
});

// Get current variables
const before = await sandbox.env.getAll();
console.log(`Variables before: ${Object.keys(before).length}`);

// Clear all custom variables (set empty dict)
await sandbox.env.setAll({});

// Get variables after clearing
const after = await sandbox.env.getAll();
console.log(`Variables after: ${Object.keys(after).length}`);

// System variables may still exist
const systemVars = ['PATH', 'HOME', 'USER', 'SHELL'];
const remaining = Object.keys(after).filter(v => systemVars.includes(v));
console.log(`System variables preserved: ${remaining}`);

await sandbox.kill();

Clean Up Temporary Variables

Remove temporary or sensitive variables:

Python
JavaScript

from hopx_ai import Sandbox

sandbox = Sandbox.create(template="code-interpreter")

# Set up environment with temporary variables
sandbox.env.set_all({
    "API_KEY": "sk-prod-xyz",
    "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://localhost/db",
    "TEMP_TOKEN": "temp-abc123",
    "SESSION_ID": "session-xyz",
    "DEBUG": "true"
})

# Clean up temporary variables
temp_vars = ["TEMP_TOKEN", "SESSION_ID"]
for var in temp_vars:
    sandbox.env.delete(var)
    print(f"Cleaned up: {var}")

# Verify cleanup
env = sandbox.env.get_all()
print(f"\nRemaining variables: {list(env.keys())}")

# Production variables should still exist
print(f"API_KEY exists: {'API_KEY' in env}")
print(f"DATABASE_URL exists: {'DATABASE_URL' in env}")

sandbox.kill()

import { Sandbox } from '@hopx-ai/sdk';

const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({ template: 'code-interpreter' });

// Set up environment with temporary variables
await sandbox.env.setAll({
  API_KEY: 'sk-prod-xyz',
  DATABASE_URL: 'postgres://localhost/db',
  TEMP_TOKEN: 'temp-abc123',
  SESSION_ID: 'session-xyz',
  DEBUG: 'true'
});

// Clean up temporary variables
const tempVars = ['TEMP_TOKEN', 'SESSION_ID'];
for (const varName of tempVars) {
  await sandbox.env.delete(varName);
  console.log(`Cleaned up: ${varName}`);
}

// Verify cleanup
const env = await sandbox.env.getAll();
console.log(`\nRemaining variables: ${Object.keys(env)}`);

// Production variables should still exist
console.log(`API_KEY exists: ${'API_KEY' in env}`);
console.log(`DATABASE_URL exists: ${'DATABASE_URL' in env}`);

await sandbox.kill();

Complete Example

Here’s a complete example showing environment variable cleanup:

Python
JavaScript

from hopx_ai import Sandbox

sandbox = Sandbox.create(template="code-interpreter")

# Set up complete environment
print("🔧 Setting up environment...")
sandbox.env.set_all({
    "API_KEY": "sk-prod-xyz",
    "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://localhost/prod",
    "REDIS_URL": "redis://localhost:6379",
    "TEMP_TOKEN": "temp-abc123",
    "SESSION_ID": "session-xyz",
    "DEBUG": "true",
    "LOG_LEVEL": "info"
})

env = sandbox.env.get_all()
print(f"✅ Environment set up with {len(env)} variables\n")

# Use environment in code
print("💻 Using environment in code...")
result = sandbox.run_code('''
import os
print(f"API key: {os.getenv('API_KEY', 'not set')[:10]}...")
print(f"Database: {os.getenv('DATABASE_URL', 'not set')}")
print(f"Temp Token: {os.getenv('TEMP_TOKEN', 'not set')}")
''')
print(result.stdout)

# Clean up temporary variables
print("\n🧹 Cleaning up temporary variables...")
temp_vars = ["TEMP_TOKEN", "SESSION_ID"]
for var in temp_vars:
    sandbox.env.delete(var)
    print(f"  ✅ Deleted: {var}")

# Verify cleanup
print("\n📋 Final environment:")
final_env = sandbox.env.get_all()
for key in sorted(final_env.keys()):
    if key not in ['PATH', 'HOME', 'USER', 'SHELL', 'PWD']:
        if any(sensitive in key.upper() for sensitive in ['KEY', 'SECRET', 'PASSWORD']):
            print(f"  {key}=***MASKED***")
        else:
            print(f"  {key}={final_env[key]}")

sandbox.kill()

import { Sandbox } from '@hopx-ai/sdk';

const sandbox = await Sandbox.create({ template: 'code-interpreter' });

// Set up complete environment
console.log('🔧 Setting up environment...');
await sandbox.env.setAll({
  API_KEY: 'sk-prod-xyz',
  DATABASE_URL: 'postgres://localhost/prod',
  REDIS_URL: 'redis://localhost:6379',
  TEMP_TOKEN: 'temp-abc123',
  SESSION_ID: 'session-xyz',
  DEBUG: 'true',
  LOG_LEVEL: 'info'
});

const env = await sandbox.env.getAll();
console.log(`✅ Environment set up with ${Object.keys(env).length} variables\n`);

// Use environment in code
console.log('💻 Using environment in code...');
const result = await sandbox.runCode(`
import os
print(f"API key: {os.getenv('API_KEY', 'not set')[:10]}...")
print(f"Database: {os.getenv('DATABASE_URL', 'not set')}")
print(f"Temp Token: {os.getenv('TEMP_TOKEN', 'not set')}")
`);
console.log(result.stdout);

// Clean up temporary variables
console.log('\n🧹 Cleaning up temporary variables...');
const tempVars = ['TEMP_TOKEN', 'SESSION_ID'];
for (const varName of tempVars) {
  await sandbox.env.delete(varName);
  console.log(`  ✅ Deleted: ${varName}`);
}

// Verify cleanup
console.log('\n📋 Final environment:');
const finalEnv = await sandbox.env.getAll();
for (const key of Object.keys(finalEnv).sort()) {
  if (!['PATH', 'HOME', 'USER', 'SHELL', 'PWD'].includes(key)) {
    const isSensitive = ['KEY', 'SECRET', 'PASSWORD'].some(
      s => key.toUpperCase().includes(s)
    );
    if (isSensitive) {
      console.log(`  ${key}=***MASKED***`);
    } else {
      console.log(`  ${key}=${finalEnv[key]}`);
    }
  }
}

await sandbox.kill();

Best Practices

1. Delete Individual Variables

Use delete(key) to remove specific variables while preserving others.

2. Clean Up Temporaries

Regularly delete temporary variables (tokens, session IDs) to reduce security risk.

3. Clear Before Reuse

Clear all custom variables before reusing a sandbox for a different purpose.

4. Verify Deletion

Always verify variables are deleted using get_all() or get() after deletion.

5. Preserve System Variables

System variables (PATH, HOME, etc.) are typically preserved and cannot be deleted.

Getting Environment Variables - Retrieve environment variables
Setting Environment Variables - Set or replace variables
Updating Environment Variables - Update variables without replacing
SDK: sandbox.env.clear() - Python SDK method
API: DELETE /env - VM Agent API endpoint
CLI Environment Variables - Environment variables from CLI

Next Steps

Learn about Getting Environment Variables to retrieve variables
Explore Setting Environment Variables to configure your sandbox
Review Updating Environment Variables to modify existing variables

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Overview

Delete Single Variable

Delete Multiple Variables

Clear All Custom Variables

Clean Up Temporary Variables

Complete Example

Best Practices

Next Steps

​Overview

​Delete Single Variable

​Delete Multiple Variables

​Clear All Custom Variables

​Clean Up Temporary Variables

​Complete Example

​Best Practices

​Related

​Next Steps

Overview

Delete Single Variable

Delete Multiple Variables

Clear All Custom Variables

Clean Up Temporary Variables

Complete Example

Best Practices

Related

Next Steps