variable.md

variable (var) – instance variables

Lists, sets and deletes n8n variables – key and value pairs your workflows read as $vars.<key>.

Needs a licensed n8n. On the Community edition every var command fails with n8n's license message, as shown below. The success output on this page is taken from 8cli's source; it was not run for these docs. See Community and Enterprise n8n.

Subcommand	What it does
var list	List all variables
var set	Create a variable, or replace it
var delete	Delete a variable by key

None of the var commands honour --dry.

var list

8cli var list

No options.

Output: an array of { id, key, value }.

On Community:

8cli var list

{
  "error": "Your license does not allow for feat:variables. To enable feat:variables, please upgrade to a license that supports this feature.",
  "code": "ERR_VARIABLE_LIST"
}

Errors: ERR_VARIABLE_LIST.

var set

Creates a variable. If one with the same key exists, 8cli deletes it first and then creates a new one, so the variable gets a new id. It is not an in-place update: for a moment the key does not exist, and if the create fails, the old value is gone.

8cli var set <key> <value>

No options.

Output: { id, key, value } of the new variable.

On Community:

8cli var set REGION eu-west-1

{
  "error": "Your license does not allow for feat:variables. To enable feat:variables, please upgrade to a license that supports this feature.",
  "code": "ERR_VARIABLE_SET"
}

Errors: ERR_VARIABLE_SET.

var delete

Deletes the variable with this key (not ID).

8cli var delete <key>

No options.

Output: { key, deleted: true }.

On Community:

8cli var delete REGION

{
  "error": "Your license does not allow for feat:variables. To enable feat:variables, please upgrade to a license that supports this feature.",
  "code": "ERR_VARIABLE_DELETE"
}

Errors: ERR_VARIABLE_NOT_FOUND (no variable with that key), ERR_VARIABLE_DELETE.