--- title: "Environment variables (MICROMANAGER_*, CONDUCTOR_*)" description: "The environment variables microManager sets for scripts, terminals and agents, their Conductor-compatible CONDUCTOR_* names, and how ports are reserved." url: "https://micromanager.win/docs/environment-variables" updated: "2026-11-08" --- # Environment variables microManager gives every script, terminal and agent in a workspace the same set of variables: the workspace’s name, id and path, the repository’s path and default branch, and the first of ten reserved ports. Each also exists under its Conductor name, such as CONDUCTOR_PORT, with the meaning it had in Conductor, so existing scripts keep working. Updated 8 November 2026 ## Which variables does microManager set? | Variable | Conductor-compatible name | Value | Example | | ----------------------------- | -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | `MICROMANAGER` | None | Always 1, so a script can tell it is running inside microManager. | `1` | | `MICROMANAGER_WORKSPACE_NAME` | `CONDUCTOR_WORKSPACE_NAME` | The workspace’s folder name, a city such as lisbon. It stays the same when you rename the workspace or its branch. **CONDUCTOR_WORKSPACE_NAME:** The workspace’s name the way Conductor gave it to scripts: lowercase, spaces as hyphens, other punctuation left out. It changes when you rename the workspace, as in Conductor. | `lisbon`, `fix-login-bug` | | `MICROMANAGER_WORKSPACE_ID` | `CONDUCTOR_WORKSPACE_ID` | The workspace’s unique id. | `8f14e45f-ceea-467f-a0e7-4f3b7d9c1a2b` | | `MICROMANAGER_WORKSPACE_PATH` | `CONDUCTOR_WORKSPACE_PATH` | Absolute path of the workspace’s git worktree. | `~/micromanager/workspaces/my-app/lisbon` | | `MICROMANAGER_ROOT_PATH` | `CONDUCTOR_ROOT_PATH` | Absolute path of the repository’s main checkout, where files to copy come from. | `~/code/my-app` | | `MICROMANAGER_DEFAULT_BRANCH` | `CONDUCTOR_DEFAULT_BRANCH` | The repository’s default branch. **CONDUCTOR_DEFAULT_BRANCH:** The branch the workspace merges into (its target branch), as in Conductor. | `main`, `release/2.0` | | `MICROMANAGER_PORT` | `CONDUCTOR_PORT` | The first of ten ports reserved for this workspace (PORT to PORT+9). Each workspace gets the lowest free multiple of 10 from 51000 up. | `51000` | | `MICROMANAGER_IS_LOCAL` | `CONDUCTOR_IS_LOCAL` | Always 1: workspaces run on your own computer. | `1` | ## Who gets these variables? The setup, run and archive scripts, every terminal you open in the workspace, and every agent session. They are added to the environment of your login shell, so everything else on your `PATH` is there too. ## Can a repository add variables of its own? Yes, in an `[environment_variables]` table of its settings files, as in Conductor; a file’s `[environment_variables.local]` table, for local workspaces (every microManager workspace is one), wins over its shared table. They reach the same scripts, terminals and agents, and never replace the variables above. [Scripts](https://micromanager.win/docs/scripts) has an example. ## How do the Conductor-compatible names work? With **Conductor-compatible environment** on in Settings → General (it is on by default), each variable in the second column is set too, with the meaning it had in Conductor. Most hold the same value as their `MICROMANAGER_*` twin. Two differ: `CONDUCTOR_WORKSPACE_NAME` is built from the workspace’s name, as Conductor built it, so a Docker Compose project or database a Conductor script named after it keeps its name in an imported workspace; and `CONDUCTOR_DEFAULT_BRANCH` is the workspace’s target branch. Use `MICROMANAGER_WORKSPACE_NAME` for a name that never changes. Imported workspaces get a new block of ports, so `CONDUCTOR_PORT` differs from the one Conductor gave them. Conductor’s cloud and API variables, such as `CONDUCTOR_API_KEY` and `CONDUCTOR_SESSION_ID`, are not set: microManager has no cloud or Conductor API. Turn the setting off if you have finished moving your scripts to the new names. ## How are ports reserved? Each active workspace gets a block of ten ports. `MICROMANAGER_PORT` is the first, a multiple of 10 from 51000 up that no other active workspace holds, so `$MICROMANAGER_PORT` to `$((MICROMANAGER_PORT + 9))` are yours. Archiving a workspace frees its block for the next one. ```sh # Start each workspace's dev server on its own port pnpm dev --port "$MICROMANAGER_PORT" # A second service on the next reserved port pnpm storybook --port "$((MICROMANAGER_PORT + 1))" # Copy something from the main checkout that files-to-copy does not cover cp -R "$MICROMANAGER_ROOT_PATH/fixtures/large" ./fixtures/large ``` ## How can a script tell it is running in microManager? ```sh if [ "${MICROMANAGER:-}" = 1 ]; then echo "running in microManager workspace $MICROMANAGER_WORKSPACE_NAME" fi ``` ## Where to go next - [Scripts](https://micromanager.win/docs/scripts) - [Repository settings](https://micromanager.win/docs/repository-settings) - [Migrating from Conductor](https://micromanager.win/migrate-from-conductor)