Environment Variables

ZombieNet SDK uses environment variables for configuration overrides, container images, and CI integration.

Container Images

Override default images for Docker and Kubernetes providers:

Variable	Default	Description
`POLKADOT_IMAGE`	`docker.io/parity/polkadot:latest`	Relay chain node image
`CUMULUS_IMAGE`	`docker.io/parity/polkadot-parachain:latest`	Parachain collator image
`MALUS_IMAGE`	`docker.io/paritypr/malus:latest`	Malus (malicious node) image
`COL_IMAGE`	`docker.io/paritypr/colander:latest`	Colander image

Example:

POLKADOT_IMAGE=docker.io/parity/polkadot:v1.5.0 zombie-cli spawn network.toml

Variable	Values	Default	Description
`ZOMBIE_PROVIDER`	`native`, `k8s`, `docker`	`docker`	Default provider when not specified

Example:

ZOMBIE_PROVIDER=native zombie-cli spawn network.toml

Variable	Description
`ZOMBIE_SPAWN_CONCURRENCY`	Override spawn concurrency (default: 100). Set to lower values for resource-constrained environments.
`ZOMBIE_NODE_SPAWN_TIMEOUT_SECONDS`	Override per-node spawn timeout in seconds

Example:

ZOMBIE_SPAWN_CONCURRENCY=10 zombie-cli spawn network.toml

Variable	Command	Description
`POLKADOT_SDK_PATH`	`reproduce`	Path to local polkadot-sdk workspace (required for reproduce)
`RUST_LOG`	All	Logging level (`debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`)

Variable	Description
`ZOMBIE_RM_TGZ_AFTER_EXTRACT`	Remove tgz archives after extraction (used for db snapshot extraction)

Environment variables can be referenced in TOML configuration files using {{VAR_NAME}} syntax:

[relaychain]
default_image = "{{POLKADOT_IMAGE}}"

[[relaychain.nodes]]
name = "alice"
image = "{{CUSTOM_NODE_IMAGE}}"

Any environment variable can be substituted. If the variable is not set, the placeholder remains unchanged.

For dynamic values from running nodes, use {{ZOMBIE:node_name:field}} syntax in node arguments:

[[relaychain.nodes]]
name = "bob"
args = ["--sync-target", "{{ZOMBIE:alice:multiaddr}}"]

Available fields:

Field	Aliases	Description
`multiaddr`	`multiAddress`	Node's libp2p multiaddress
`ws_uri`	`wsUri`	WebSocket RPC endpoint
`prometheus_uri`	`prometheusUri`	Prometheus metrics endpoint

When using token replacement, spawn concurrency is automatically set to 1 (serial) to ensure dependencies are resolved correctly.