-bash: export: `=': not a valid identifier

I faced the same error and did some research to only see that there could be different scenarios to this error. Let me share my findings.

Scenario 1: There cannot be spaces beside the = (equals) sign

$ export TEMP_ENV = example-value
-bash: export: `=': not a valid identifier
// this is the answer to the question

$ export TEMP_ENV =example-value
-bash: export: `=example-value': not a valid identifier

$ export TEMP_ENV= example-value
-bash: export: `example-value': not a valid identifier

Scenario 2: Object value assignment should not have spaces besides quotes

$ export TEMP_ENV={ "key" : "json example" } 
-bash: export: `:': not a valid identifier
-bash: export: `json example': not a valid identifier
-bash: export: `}': not a valid identifier

Scenario 3: List value assignment should not have spaces between values

$ export TEMP_ENV=[1,2 ,3 ]
-bash: export: `,3': not a valid identifier
-bash: export: `]': not a valid identifier

I'm sharing these, because I was stuck for a couple of hours trying to figure out a workaround. Hopefully, it will help someone in need.

You cannot put spaces around the = sign when you do:

export foo=bar

Remove the spaces you have and you should be good to go.

If you type:

export foo = bar

the shell will interpret that as a request to export three names: foo, = and bar. = isn't a valid variable name, so the command fails. The variable name, equals sign and it's value must not be separated by spaces for them to be processed as a simultaneous assignment and export.