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Project Variables are named values, scoped to a single project, that you can reference from any step in any flow. Use them for things you’d otherwise paste into a dozen steps: an API key, a webhook URL, a Slack channel ID, a feature flag. Unlike step output, a variable’s value isn’t tied to a single flow run. It stays the same until you change it, and it stays out of your flow’s steps, so rotating a key means editing it once instead of hunting through every flow that uses it.
If you’re storing credentials for a specific piece (Slack, Stripe, Google Sheets, etc.), create a connection for that piece instead. Variables are for plain values you want to reuse, not for piece authentication.

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Creating a variable

  1. Go to Variables in the left sidebar, or open the Variables tab in a step’s Data Selector while editing a flow.
  2. Click New variable.
  3. Enter a Name. Names can only contain letters, numbers, and underscores (e.g. STRIPE_PROD, SLACK_CHANNEL_ID).
  4. Enter the Value and click Create.
Creating a project variable

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Referencing a variable in a flow

Insert {{variables['NAME']}} into any step input. The easiest way is from the Data Selector: open the Variables tab and click the variable you want, it’s inserted at your cursor automatically. Inserting a variable from the Data Selector You can also copy a variable’s reference from the Variables page: open the row’s menu and click Copy reference.

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Rotating a value

A variable’s value is encrypted at rest and never displayed in the variables list or the edit dialog. To change it, open the variable and click Rotate value, then enter the new value. Members with write access (Editor or Admin) can retrieve the plaintext through the reveal endpoint (POST /v1/variables/:id/reveal) with their signed-in session. API keys cannot reveal a value. On platforms with audit logs enabled, each reveal is recorded as a VARIABLE_VALUE_REVEALED event.

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Deleting a variable

Deleting a variable doesn’t touch the flows that reference it. Any step still referencing {{variables['NAME']}} will fail at runtime the next time it runs.
Before deleting a variable, search your flows for its reference and remove or replace those steps first.

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Managing variables from your backend

Use the Variables API with a platform API key to create, list, update, and delete variables in any project of your platform. This is how you store per-tenant secrets when you embed Activepieces.

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Permissions

Reading and writing variables are separate permissions (READ_VARIABLE, WRITE_VARIABLE) tied to your project role, same as any other resource. A member with read-only access can use existing variables in flows but can’t create, edit, or delete them.