Environments and variables

Run the same requests against staging and production by changing one selector.

An environment is a named set of variables. Requests reference them as {{name}}, so switching environment repoints the whole workspace at once.

Setting one up#

1. Open Workspace → Environments and create one.Name it after the deployment — Staging, Production, Local.
2. Add the variables the requests need.base_url almost always; then tokens, account ids, anything that differs between deployments.
3. Create the others with the same keys.Same names, different values. Requests then work against any of them untouched.
4. Select one from the environment picker.It applies to everything you send from then on.

Using a variable#

Write {{name}} anywhere in a URL, header or body. In the URL bar it renders as a pill; clicking the pill lets you set its value on the spot.

{{base_url}}/v1/charges
Authorization: Bearer {{token}}
{ "account": "{{account_id}}" }

Values that are generated#

Some variables are produced rather than looked up, which is how you get a unique value per send:

When a variable is missing#

An unresolved {{token}} is left visible in the request rather than replaced with nothing, and flagged. Blanking it would send a subtly wrong request, and the 401 that follows is very hard to explain.

Secrets#

• Mark a variable sensitive to mask it in the interface
• Values are encrypted at rest
• For credentials used by many requests, an auth profile is usually tidier than a variable

Frequently asked questions#

How do I use different URLs for staging and production?

Define a base_url variable in each environment with the appropriate host, write your request URLs as {{base_url}}/path, and switch environments with the selector.

Why is my variable not being substituted?

Check for spaces inside the braces — {{ name }} is not recognised, only {{name}} — and confirm the active environment actually defines that key.