Purpose of Variables section in workflow properties

[Sanjana12]

Hi,

I came across in a previous thread that when we declare an instance variable in a workflow and execute the workflow, those values get stored in the variables section of the workflow properties. But why is that and what purpose does it serve?

[Rch_]

Hi @Sanjana12,

Yes, that’s correct — when you declare a workflow instance variable, its value appears in the Variables tab because it's stored as part of the workflow's runtime state.

This allows for a few key benefits:

• The variable retains its value across activities, even if the workflow is paused or restarted.

• You can inspect the variable values at any point in the workflow to better understand the data flow.

• Variables can be used and updated across activities to influence how the workflow behaves in later steps.

• You can also define variables manually in the Properties > Variables tab and use them just like instance variables within the workflow logic.

It’s a simple way to share and manage data across the entire workflow without needing to pass it explicitly between each activity.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

[Sanjana12]

Hi, can you please provide an example of the 4th point?

[Rch_]

Here you go:

Variables used:

• definedInProperties was created in the Properties > Variables tab.

• definedInJs was set using JavaScript in the workflow.

  

JavaScript code used:

Log output:

This shows that both types of variables — whether defined in the Properties tab or in JavaScript — are accessible and usable across the workflow.

Thanks,