variable create --key flag cannot handle values containing ${} (Cobra StringToStringVar limitation)

[Raymondhou0917]

Bug Description

When using variable create --key to set environment variables containing Zeabur variable references like ${POSTGRESQL.POSTGRES_CONNECTION_STRING}, the value gets truncated or emptied.

Steps to Reproduce

npx zeabur@latest variable create \
  --id <service-id> \
  --key 'DATABASE_URL=${POSTGRESQL.POSTGRES_CONNECTION_STRING}' \
  -i=false --json

Expected: DATABASE_URL set to ${POSTGRESQL.POSTGRES_CONNECTION_STRING}
Actual: DATABASE_URL set to empty string ""

Even with single quotes, the value is lost. The same issue affects variable update.

Root Cause

The --key flag uses Cobra's StringToStringVarP which parses KEY=VALUE pairs using an internal CSV parser. This parser cannot handle values containing ${}, commas, or other special characters.

Source: /internal/cmd/variable/create/create.go

cmd.Flags().StringToStringVarP(&opts.keys, "key", "k", nil, "Key value pair of the variable")

Suggested Fix

Switch from StringToStringVarP to StringArrayVarP, then manually split each entry on the first = only (similar to how Helm handles --set flags). This preserves arbitrary characters in values.

// Before
cmd.Flags().StringToStringVarP(&opts.keys, "key", "k", nil, "...")

// After
var rawKeys []string
cmd.Flags().StringArrayVarP(&rawKeys, "key", "k", nil, "...")
// Then in Run: split each on first "=" 
for _, kv := range rawKeys {
    parts := strings.SplitN(kv, "=", 2)
    key, value := parts[0], parts[1]
}

Alternatively, support --env-file for loading variables from a file.

Workaround

Use GraphQL API updateEnvironmentVariable(serviceID, environmentID, data: Map!) mutation directly, passing the value via JSON (no shell escaping issues).

Environment

• CLI version: 0.14.0
• OS: macOS (Apple Silicon)
• Shell: zsh