> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nika.sh/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# env

> Contract, placement, related fields and source examples for this Nika YAML field.

[Language reference](/reference/language/overview) / `env`

## Meaning and placement

### → permits

Engine env names passed through to child processes · exact POSIX names, no globs · composed with the runner env floor, never inherited (spec/01-envelope.md §permits · NEP-0005). An interpolated entry passes the shape gate and is refused as a non-literal bound (NIKA-AUTH-007).

| Property        | Declaration                          |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| Requirement     | Optional in this object              |
| Schema location | `/properties/permits/properties/env` |
| type            | "array"                              |

**In the same object:** [exec](/reference/language/words/exec) · [fs](/reference/language/words/fs) · [net](/reference/language/words/net) · [tools](/reference/language/words/tools)

[Schema source (use the pointer above)](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/schemas/workflow.schema.json)

### exec

OS environment variables for THIS subprocess · a key→value map applied over the composed environment. Nothing is inherited — the ambient environment reaches a task only through `permits.env` (spec/01-envelope.md §permits).

| Property             | Declaration                  |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| Requirement          | Optional in this object      |
| Schema location      | `/$defs/exec/properties/env` |
| type                 | "object"                     |
| additionalProperties | \{"type": "string"}          |

**In the same object:** [capture](/reference/language/words/capture) · [command](/reference/language/words/command) · [cwd](/reference/language/words/cwd) · [decode](/reference/language/words/decode) · [shell](/reference/language/words/shell) · [stdin](/reference/language/words/stdin)

[Schema source (use the pointer above)](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/schemas/workflow.schema.json)

## Examples

No matching source-template occurrence is recorded in this projection. [Write a workflow](/guides/templates) or consult the schema declaration above.

## Contract and implementation

This page projects the named specification revision. Check [released engine status](/reference/status) and [the validation workflow](/guides/agent-authoring) before running a file. An optional field is not evidence that every engine supports every value.

Canonical identity: `language:word:env`. Spec revision: [`c5ebbb7b862b`](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/tree/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6).

[How documentation stays connected](/reference/knowledge-system).