Get Variable
Get Variable
Section titled “Get Variable”Emit a stored value as the item.
What it does
Section titled “What it does”Reads a variable set earlier in the run (with Set Variable) and emits it as the item itself. Most of the time you do not need this node: {{ $run.name }} works in any input field, which is fewer nodes and fewer edges than fetching a value into one. Reach for Get Variable when a value has to become the item — because the node you are feeding reads its incoming items rather than a configured field. Handing a collected list to Split Out, or a stored object to an integration that maps over its input, both need a node rather than an expression.
When to use it
Section titled “When to use it”- When a stored value must be the item stream itself, not a value read inside a field.
- When feeding a collected list into a node that iterates over its input.
Inputs and settings
Section titled “Inputs and settings”| Setting | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name | Name of the variable to read. |
| Path | Optional dot path inside the value, for example page.next. Leave blank to emit the whole value. |
| Use A Fallback | Off by default: an unset variable fails the node, so an ordering mistake cannot pass unnoticed. On: the fallback below is emitted instead. |
| Fallback | The value emitted when the variable is not set and Use A Fallback is on. |
| Put Value In Field | Field the value is placed in when the value is not itself an object. Defaults to value. |
Outputs
Section titled “Outputs”- A list becomes a collection, so downstream nodes iterate it the way they iterate any other input.
- An object becomes the item directly.
- Anything else is wrapped in the field named by Put Value In Field (default
value), so it is still addressable.
Reading a variable that was never set
Section titled “Reading a variable that was never set”Fails, naming the variable, rather than emitting an empty value — unless Use A Fallback is on, which makes the intent explicit. Ordering between parallel branches is decided by how the graph is walked and is not visible on the canvas, so a quietly-empty read is exactly how that mistake would go unnoticed until something downstream produced nonsense. See the ordering note on Set Variable.
Dependencies and credentials
Section titled “Dependencies and credentials”- No credential or node dependency is required. The node runs entirely in the browser.
- Variables exist only while a workflow is running. Running this node on its own, outside an execution, has nothing to read and reports so.
Example workflow
Section titled “Example workflow”A Set Variable node earlier in the run appends each result to a list variable named results. Downstream, Get Variable with Name results emits that list as a collection, which a Split Out node then iterates one item at a time.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”- “Variable … has not been set at this point in the run.” The Set Variable node is not guaranteed to run before this one — often because it sits on a branch of its own. Move it upstream, or turn on Use A Fallback.
- “Path … does not exist inside variable …”: the dot path does not match the stored value’s shape. Check the path, or clear it to emit the whole value.
- “Variables only exist while a workflow is running.” Run the whole workflow rather than this node on its own.