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Remove environment variables from flow, solution and environment

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Posted on by HAKHBIZ

I have a flow in a solution with some environment variables like SharePoint site url and list name. I removed this environment variable from the flow and make it hardcoded because my target environment is not allowing dataverse from a DLP policy. I removed the environment variable also from the environment. When I try to turn on the flow I got this error:

Turn on failed. Failed to find environment variables with schema name(s) 'myCompany_SharePoint_Herstelplannen, myCompany_Lijst_Aannemers, myCompany_Inhoudstype_Inbehandeling, myCompany_Inhoudstype_Uitvoerenopdracht'. Create environment variables with those names or use different environment variables.

I exported the solution and check my flow xml, and searched for the environment variable names. I see them in the definition -> parameters section. It looks like the flow is still having a reference to the environment variables while it is not using it anymore. How can I remove these environment variable reference from the flow? This is a flow with the classic designer.

"definition": {
      "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/providers/Microsoft.Logic/schemas/2016-06-01/workflowdefinition.json#",
      "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
      "parameters": {
        "$connections": {
          "defaultValue": {},
          "type": "Object"
        },
        "$authentication": {
          "defaultValue": {},
          "type": "SecureObject"
        },
        "SharePoint_Herstelplannen (myCompany_SharePoint_Herstelplannen)": {
          "defaultValue": "https://myCompany.sharepoint.com/teams/Herstelplannen",
          "type": "String",
          "metadata": {
            "schemaName": "myCompany_SharePoint_Herstelplannen"
          }
        },
        "Lijst_Aannemers (myCompany_Lijst_Aannemers)": {
          "defaultValue": "239cffab-42a6-4071-8f38-db5b4fc97d72",
          "type": "String",
          "metadata": {
            "schemaName": "myCompany_Lijst_Aannemers"
          }
        },
        "Inhoudstype_Inbehandeling (myCompany_Inhoudstype_Inbehandeling)": {
          "defaultValue": "0x0100EAAED366DB0D944A9A6B125E6FF2B5F60030EF27C20E16F545B72165C686076D6D",
          "type": "String",
          "metadata": {
            "schemaName": "myCompany_Inhoudstype_Inbehandeling"
          }
        },
        "Inhoudstype_Uitvoerenopdracht (myCompany_Inhoudstype_Uitvoerenopdracht)": {
          "defaultValue": "0x01000845E561AB893446A36120C9E1232BF300446CC96DF20B96468B58C4228E9215E2",
          "type": "String",
          "metadata": {
            "schemaName": "myCompany_Inhoudstype_Uitvoerenopdracht"
          }
        }
      }

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Building flows

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Vish WR 3,306 on at

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@HAKHBIZ

What’s actually happening (accurate version)

In solution-aware flows (classic designer):

Environment variables are not just in definition. parameters

They are also referenced in:

connectionReferences

definition. parameters → metadata.schemaName

solution component dependency layer (Dataverse)

So even if you:

remove them from actions

delete them from parameters

Power Automate can STILL detect dependency → and block activation

Option 1 (Clean rebuild — actually works)

Create a brand new flow (do NOT copy existing)

Build it manually from scratch

Add actions fresh (especially SharePoint connectors)

Enter hardcoded values directly

Ensure:

No dynamic content from environment variables

Save → Turn ON

Then delete the old flow from the solution

Option 2 Edit Solution Package (advance)

Export Solution as Unmanaged

Unzip

Open /Workflows/<flowname>.json

Locate "parameters": {

Delete ALL environment variable blocks, e.g.:

"SharePoint_Herstelplannen (myCompany_SharePoint_Herstelplannen)": { ... }

Keep only:

"$connections"

"$authentication"

Save → zip → re-import solution (overwrite)

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11manish 2,387 on at

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Your issue occurs because:

Environment variable references still exist in the flow’s definition parameters

Best solution:

Recreate the flow (clean and safest)

Alternative:

Recreate environment variables temporarily to unblock

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Valantis 5,364 on at

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Hi @HAKHBIZ,

The classic designer does not give you a way to remove orphaned entries from the parameters section of the flow definition through the UI. Even when you remove all usages of an environment variable from the flow actions, the parameter entry stays in the definition and the flow still registers a dependency on it at turn-on time.

The confirmed fix is to edit the solution zip directly:

1. Export the solution as unmanaged
2. Open the zip and find the flow definition JSON file under the Workflows folder
3. In the definition > parameters section, remove all four environment variable entries (the ones with the schemaName metadata)
4. Keep only the $connections and $authentication entries
5. Also check the solution's customizations.xml or the environment variable definition files in the solution and remove any dependency references pointing to those schema names
6. Re-zip the solution and import it back
7. Try turning on the flow

One thing to double check before editing search the entire flow JSON not just the parameters section for any of the four schema names. If any action is still referencing them via a @parameters() expression, that also needs to be replaced with the hardcoded value.

Also worth knowing: the Microsoft docs confirm that when you remove an environment variable reference in the designer, the recommended approach is to remove it and re-add it rather than just editing the field. The UI does not always clean up the parameters section automatically.

Best regards,

Valantis

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