How to set environment variables in /etc/environment?

Question

I'm using Debian Jessie. I want to set some environment variables that will persist across reboots and work in non-shell environments.

I've set the following in /etc/environment:

SECRET_KEY=xxx

But then if I do the following, it produces nothing:

printenv SECRET_KEY

How do I set this environment variable and activate it?

Solution

After modifying the /etc/environment file you need to close the shell you are working with and log back in a new shell so that the file is read and applied by the PAM stack.