Variables

Overview

Variables store values that you want to reuse in your automations, such as a host name, a channel name, an email address, or an API token. You define a value once and reference it in any action with {{variables.KEY}}. When the value changes, you only update the variable instead of every automation that uses it.

A variable is stored either as plain text or encrypted.

Variables: Variables page

Plain-text and encrypted variables

	Plain text	Encrypted
Use it for	Non-secret values, such as host names, channel names, email addresses, and tag names.	Secrets, such as API tokens, passwords, and keys.
View the value later	Yes, by opening Update.	No. The value cannot be viewed again after it is saved.
Change the value	Yes, with Update.	Yes, with Replace Value. You enter a new value, and the old value is not displayed.
Select as a credential	No	Yes (Slack Bot Credential, Bearer Token Credential)
Shown in step output and logs	Yes	No, the value is masked.
Conversion	Can be encrypted at any time. This is permanent.	Cannot be converted back to plain text.

The variables list never shows values, regardless of the variable type.

Caution

Encryption protects the value from being viewed in AIR, but anyone who can manage automations can still use the variable in an action. For example, a user could insert {{variables.API_TOKEN}} into an HTTP request body or an email and send it to a destination of their choice.

Grant the Manage Automations privilege only to people you trust with these secrets, and review the actions that reference encrypted variables.

Creating a variable

1. Go to Automations > Variables, and click Add Variable. The variable is created in the organization you are currently viewing. See Organizations and visibility.
2. Enter a Key, the name you use in expressions. The key must start with a letter or an underscore, can contain only letters, digits, and underscores, and can be up to 64 characters long, for example SLACK_TOKEN or HOST_NAME.
3. Enter the Value, up to 2048 bytes.
4. For secrets, turn on Store as Encrypted. This option is off by default. You can encrypt a plain-text variable later, but you cannot convert an encrypted variable back to plain text.
5. Click Save.

Variables: Add Variable dialog

Using a variable

In any action field that supports expressions, insert the variable with the variable picker, or type it directly:

https://{{variables.HOST_NAME}}/api/alerts

When the step runs, AIR replaces the expression with the variable’s value. This works for both plain-text and encrypted variables.

Variables: Using a variable in an action

Credential fields, such as Slack Bot Credential and Bearer Token Credential, only list the encrypted variables of the automation’s organization.

If the referenced variable does not exist when the step runs, the step fails.

Organizations and visibility

Variables belong to organizations in the same way as automations:

• Every variable belongs to exactly one organization, the one you are viewing when you create it.
• Only users of that organization can see, use, or change the variable. The Variables page lists the variables of the organization you are currently viewing; to see another organization’s variables, switch to that organization.
• An automation can only use the variables of its own organization.
• A key is unique within its organization, so {{variables.KEY}} always resolves to exactly one value. The same key can exist in several organizations, each with its own value.

When an organization is deleted, its variables are deleted with it.

Updating, encrypting, and deleting variables

• Update: changes the value of a plain-text variable.
• Encrypt: converts a plain-text variable to an encrypted one. This is permanent; the value cannot be viewed or converted back afterwards.
• Replace Value: sets a new value for an encrypted variable.
• Delete: removes the variable. Automation steps that reference its key fail until a variable with the same key is created again.

You cannot change the key or the organization of a variable. To rename a variable, create a new one and update the automations that use it.

Permissions

• View Automations: view the variables list.
• Manage Automations: create, update, encrypt, replace, and delete variables, and view the value of a plain-text variable.