diff --git a/de/heat-templates/scripts/instance_boot.sh b/de/heat-templates/scripts/instance_boot.sh
index 09d916b..7a6d8da 100644
--- a/de/heat-templates/scripts/instance_boot.sh
+++ b/de/heat-templates/scripts/instance_boot.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -x
+# allow access to the local variables from prepare-metadata.py
+set -a
 
 #
 # Variables in this block are passed from heat template
@@ -402,9 +404,6 @@
         download_bundles
         workaround_default_forward_policy
         ;;
-    os_only)
-        echo "OS is installed"
-        ;;
     *)
         echo "Usage: $0 {ucp|master|worker}"
         exit 1
diff --git a/de/heat-templates/scripts/prepare-metadata.py b/de/heat-templates/scripts/prepare-metadata.py
index cd592c4..70924ca 100644
--- a/de/heat-templates/scripts/prepare-metadata.py
+++ b/de/heat-templates/scripts/prepare-metadata.py
@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@
 
 """Prepare metadata python module
 
-The module is aimed to prepare system files files (networking configs etc)
+The module is aimed to prepare system files (networking configs etc)
 based on lab metadata.
+Shell environment variables can be used in the metadata as Jinja2 variables.
 
 Example:
   python prepare-metadata --metadata-file '/etc/lab-metadata.yaml'
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@
   - path: '/tmp/123.yaml'
     content: |
       foo: bar
+      bee: {{ PUBLIC_INTERFACE_IP }}
 
 Attributes:
   metadata-file - The file with metadata
@@ -39,20 +41,14 @@
 __version__ = '1.0'
 
 import argparse
+import jinja2
 import os
 import yaml
-import logging
 import netifaces
 import sys
 
-LOG = logging.getLogger(__name__)
-
 
 def main():
-    logging.basicConfig(
-        format='%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s'
-    )
-    LOG.setLevel(logging.INFO)
 
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
         description=('Render system files based on metadata')
@@ -66,17 +62,17 @@
     )
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
-    with open(args.metadata_file) as f:
-        metadata = yaml.safe_load(f)
+    metadata = yaml.safe_load(render_template(args.metadata_file))
+
     if not metadata:
-        LOG.info("The metadata is empty")
+        print("The metadata is empty")
         return
     node_meta = get_node_metadata(metadata)
     if node_meta is not None:
-        LOG.info(f"Processing node_metadata: {node_meta}")
+        print(f"Processing node_metadata: {node_meta}")
         create_files(node_meta.get('write_files', []))
     else:
-        LOG.error("No matches to MACs for node_metadata found")
+        print("No matches to MACs for node_metadata found")
 
 def get_interface_mac(iface_name):
     mac = None
@@ -104,9 +100,27 @@
             f.write(content)
         os.chmod(path, permissions)
 
+def render_template(file_path):
+    """Render a Jinja2 template file
+
+    In the template:
+      {{ SOME_ENV_NAME }} : Insert an environment variable into the template
+
+    :param file_path: str, path to the jinja2 template
+    """
+    print("Reading template {0}".format(file_path))
+
+    path, filename = os.path.split(file_path)
+    environment = jinja2.Environment(
+        loader=jinja2.FileSystemLoader([path, os.path.dirname(path)],
+                                       followlinks=True))
+    template = environment.get_template(filename).render(os.environ)
+
+    return template
+
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     try:
         main()
     except Exception as e:
-        LOG.exception(f"Failed to apply image layout: {e}")
+        print(f"Failed to apply image layout: {e}")
         sys.exit(1)