Control / params · All operations
Set parameters
Variables, parameters, context, configuration.
Status
- In arcform
A feature, not a step
It lives in how a Protocol runs. src/manifest.rs in arcform at fc62d6f
- Shape of the result
- not a data operation
- Level
- not a step
Variants
- List the engine's catalogue
List what the engine or project holds, such as functions, keywords, extensions, plugins or stored jobs, as a table.
- Ask for a parameter value
Expose a typed input on a reusable component or app, such as a checkbox, a number or a file picker, whose answer becomes a variable.
- Set up credentials and connections
Store secrets, obtain tokens and define connections that later steps use to reach a service.
- Pass parameters to a query
Write a query with placeholders and supply their values when it runs.
- Read run and system information
Read built-in values about the current run or machine, such as the run date, processing window, user or version.
- Set a variable from data
Take a value computed from a table or query, such as a cell, a row or a count, and hold it as a variable.
- Change an engine setting
Change, restore or list the configuration options of the engine or session, such as the default schema, an extension or a seed.
- Read variables into a table
Turn the current variables or parameters into rows or columns of a table.
Set an operator's parameters
Read, copy or apply the settings of another operator or model, such as a learner's hyperparameters.
Other step options
Options that shape a single step, such as naming its input and output or giving it a schema.
Set a variable
Give a named variable a value, or compute one from other variables, for later steps to read.
What other tools call it
Meridian's classification; an independent blind rating agreed on 86.2% of 312 rows (exact class, version 2).
Alteryx Designer (3)
Actionread 2026-09-27Update a tool's configuration with values from interface questions when run as app or macro
JSON Schemaread 2026-09-27Define a JSON schema for structured output from the Prompt tool
LLM Overrideread 2026-09-27Choose and configure the LLM provider connection the workflow's AI tools use
Apache DataFusion (2)
Apache Hop (7)
Get System Inforead 2026-09-27Add system values such as dates, host name, pipeline name and run ids as fields
Get variablesread 2026-09-27Put variable values into fields of new or existing rows
Metadata inputread 2026-09-27Read the metadata objects defined in the current project as rows
Plugin Catalogread 2026-09-27List the installed transforms, actions and metadata types from the plugin registry
Set Variablesread 2026-09-27Set variables from the fields of a row, at a chosen scope
Set password encoderread 2026-09-27Switch the process-wide two-way password encoder from inside a workflow
Set variablesread 2026-09-27Set variables at a chosen scope, from values or a properties file
Apache NiFi (4)
Connection, credential and cache services (family)read 2026-09-2766 services: connection pools, credentials, SSL contexts, OAuth2, Kerberos, caches, proxies, file resources
Parameter Providers (family)read 2026-09-278 components that fetch parameters from secret stores, databases, environment variables and files
RecordSinkServiceLookupread 2026-09-27Select a record sink service at run time from an attribute
Schema registry and schema reference services (family)read 2026-09-2711 services that supply record schemas: Avro, JSON, Confluent, Apicurio, AWS Glue, database table
Apache SeaTunnel (2)
Common Optionsread 2026-09-27Options shared by all transforms: name the input dataset and the output dataset of a step
Multi-Table Transform in SeaTunnelread 2026-09-27Apply any transform per table of a multi-table stream, matched by table name pattern
Azure Data Factory (3)
Append Variableread 2026-09-27Add a value to an existing array variable
Set Pipeline Return Valueread 2026-09-27Return key-value pairs from a child pipeline to the pipeline that called it
Set Variableread 2026-09-27Set the value of an existing variable
Bruin (4)
Built-in Variablesread 2026-09-27Run-window and run-context values injected into the Jinja context, such as start_date
Custom Variablesread 2026-09-27User-defined pipeline variables available to templates
Date Filters (family)read 2026-09-2713 Jinja filters on template dates: add_years, add_months, add_days, truncate_month, date_format, …
Interval Modifiersread 2026-09-27Shift the start or end of the processing window to catch late or early data
dbt-utils (2)
get_query_results_as_dictread 2026-09-27Run a SQL query at compile time and return its result columns as a dictionary
get_single_valueread 2026-09-27Run a SQL query at compile time and return its single value, with a default
DuckDB (24)
CREATE SECRETread 2026-09-27Store credentials for a remote service, scoped to a path
LOAD / INSTALLread 2026-09-27Install and load an extension
PREPARE, EXECUTE, and DEALLOCATEread 2026-09-27Compile a statement with parameters and run it with values
Prepared Statements (clause)read 2026-09-27Parameters in a query, positional or named
SET / RESETread 2026-09-27Change or restore a configuration option
SET VARIABLEread 2026-09-27Hold a value in a named variable for later statements
USEread 2026-09-27Choose the default database and schema
Utility Functions (family)read 2026-09-27The functions documented on the Utility Functions page
duckdb_extensionsread 2026-09-27duckdb_extensions table function
duckdb_functionsread 2026-09-27duckdb_functions table function
duckdb_keywordsread 2026-09-27duckdb_keywords table function
duckdb_optimizersread 2026-09-27duckdb_optimizers table function
duckdb_prepared_statementsread 2026-09-27duckdb_prepared_statements table function
duckdb_secret_typesread 2026-09-27duckdb_secret_types table function
duckdb_secretsread 2026-09-27duckdb_secrets table function
duckdb_settingsread 2026-09-27duckdb_settings table function
duckdb_variablesread 2026-09-27duckdb_variables table function
icu_calendar_namesread 2026-09-27icu_calendar_names table function
pg_timezone_namesread 2026-09-27pg_timezone_names table function
pragma_collationsread 2026-09-27pragma_collations table function
pragma_platformread 2026-09-27pragma_platform table function
pragma_user_agentread 2026-09-27pragma_user_agent table function
pragma_versionread 2026-09-27pragma_version table function
which_secretread 2026-09-27which_secret table function
Duckle (1)
Set Run Variableread 2026-09-25compute a value by SQL during the run and expose it as a run variable
EasyMorph (5)
Parameter tableread 2026-09-27Emit one row with each project parameter's value as a column
Project metadataread 2026-09-27List an EasyMorph project's connectors, parameters, modules, tables and actions as a table
Shared memoryread 2026-09-27Remember, recall, list, forget or increment values in a shared key-value store
System informationread 2026-09-27Emit one row of runtime facts: Windows account, free RAM, machine name, UTC offset, run ID
Uploaded filesread 2026-09-27List the files supplied through the workflow's file-upload parameters
Ibis (2)
Argumentread 2026-09-27Named, typed placeholder for a lambda or deferred-function argument
ScalarParameterread 2026-09-27Typed placeholder whose value is supplied when the query is executed
KNIME Analytics Platform (46)
Boolean Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog checkbox; outputs a boolean or integer flow variable
Column Filter Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog column picker; outputs the table reduced to the chosen columns
Column Selection Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog single-column picker; outputs the column name as a flow variable
Create File/Folder Variablesread 2026-09-27Build file and folder paths and expose them as flow variables
Credentials Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog user name and password entry; outputs a credentials flow variable
Credentials Properties Extractorread 2026-09-27Read non-confidential parts of credentials variables, such as user name
Date&Time Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog date&time picker; outputs the value as a string flow variable
Double Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog decimal number entry; outputs a double flow variable
Extract Context Propertiesread 2026-09-27Read workflow context properties such as workflow name, path and logged-in user
Extract System Propertiesread 2026-09-27Read system properties such as current user name and working directory
Extract Variables (Data)read 2026-09-27Split the flow variables off a data connection
Extract Variables (Database)read 2026-09-27Split the flow variables off a database connection
Google Authenticatorread 2026-09-27Authenticate to selected Google services for downstream connector nodes
Inject Variables (Data)read 2026-09-27Merge flow variables into a data connection, passing the data through
Inject Variables (Database)read 2026-09-27Merge flow variables into a database connection, passing it through
Integer Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog whole number entry; outputs a flow variable
Integer Slider Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog slider; outputs an integer flow variable
KNIME Google Workload Identity Federation (extension)read 2026-09-27Extension outside the base install: 1 current node: Google Workload Identity Federation
KNIME Hub Authenticatorread 2026-09-27Authenticate against a KNIME Hub for downstream connector nodes
List Box Configuration (legacy)read 2026-09-27Component-dialog text area; outputs a one-column table holding the entered list
Local File Browser Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog local file picker; outputs the chosen path as a flow variable
Math Formula (Variable)read 2026-09-27Evaluate a mathematical formula over flow variables into a new or replaced variable
Merge Variablesread 2026-09-27Merge the flow variables of several connections into one
Microsoft Authenticatorread 2026-09-27Authenticate to Microsoft Azure and Office 365 services for downstream connector nodes
Multiple Selection Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog multi-select over a list of strings; outputs the chosen values
Nominal Row Filter Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog value picker; outputs rows having the chosen values of a column
OAuth2 Authenticatorread 2026-09-27Obtain an OAuth 2 token by authorisation-code flow for downstream nodes
OAuth2 Authenticator (Client Credentials)read 2026-09-27Obtain an OAuth 2 token by client-credentials flow for downstream nodes
OAuth2 Authenticator (Password)read 2026-09-27Obtain an OAuth 2 token by resource-owner password flow for downstream nodes
Path to String (Variable)read 2026-09-27Convert path flow variables to string flow variables
Repository File Chooser Configuration (legacy)read 2026-09-27Component-dialog chooser for files, workflows or folders on a remote mountpoint
Rule Engine Variableread 2026-09-27Set a flow variable from ordered first-match rules over flow variables
Rule Engine Variable (Dictionary)read 2026-09-27Set a flow variable from first-match rules supplied in a table
Single Selection Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog single-select over a list of strings; outputs the chosen value
String Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog text entry; outputs a string flow variable
String Manipulation (Variable)read 2026-09-27Evaluate a string-function expression over flow variables
String to Path (Variable)read 2026-09-27Convert string flow variables to path flow variables
Table Column to Variableread 2026-09-27Turn a column's values into flow variables named by RowID
Table Row to Variableread 2026-09-27Turn the first row's values into flow variables named by column
Value Selection Configurationread 2026-09-27Component-dialog single-select over a column's domain values; outputs the chosen value
Variable Creatorread 2026-09-27Define flow variables for use in the workflow
Variable Expressionread 2026-09-27Evaluate custom expressions to create or update flow variables
Variable Filterread 2026-09-27Keep or drop flow variables by name
Variable to Credentialsread 2026-09-27Build a credentials variable from flow variables
Variable to Table Columnread 2026-09-27Append flow variable values as new columns of a table
Variable to Table Rowread 2026-09-27Write flow variables into a single-row table
OpenRefine (2)
Manage Wikidata accountread 2026-09-27Log in with the Wikidata account that uploads will be made under
Select Wikibase instance...read 2026-09-27Choose which Wikibase the project edits, adding others by manifest URL or JSON
Pentaho Data Integration (6)
Get Session Variablesread 2026-09-27Read the value of a Pentaho Server session variable
Get System Inforead 2026-09-27Add system values such as the system date and arguments as fields
Get Variablesread 2026-09-27Put the values of environment or Kettle variables into fields
Get repository namesread 2026-09-27List the transformations and jobs stored in a repository with their details
Set Session Variablesread 2026-09-27Set the value of a Pentaho Server session variable
Set Variablesread 2026-09-27Set environment variables from a single input row
Polars (5)
Cloud credential providers (family)read 2026-09-274 classes: CredentialProvider base and one each for AWS, Azure and GCP
Extension type registry (family)read 2026-09-273 functions: register_extension_type, unregister_extension_type, get_extension_type
Scan and sink options (family)read 2026-09-273 classes: PartitionBy, FileProviderArgs, ScanCastOptions; partitioned output files and casts applied on scan
StringCache (family)read 2026-09-274 entries: StringCache, enable_string_cache, disable_string_cache, using_string_cache; documented as doing nothing
set_random_seedread 2026-09-27Set the global random seed
Power Query M (1)
Identity and access-control functions (family)read 2026-09-274 functions: Identity.From, Identity.IsMemberOf, IdentityProvider.Default, AccessControlEntry.ConditionToIdentities
RapidMiner Studio (34)
Attribute Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator parameter chosen from a table's columns, exposed as a macro
Boolean Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator checkbox parameter, exposed as a true/false macro
Category Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator dropdown parameter with fixed categories, exposed as a macro
Clear Cookiesread 2026-09-27Clear the cookies held for HTTP connections
Clone Parametersread 2026-09-27Copy parameter values from one operator's parameters to another's
Collect and Persistread 2026-09-27Add objects to a named collection that persists across executions in the session store
Datetime Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator date-time parameter, exposed as a macro
Directory Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator directory-chooser parameter, exposed as a macro
Double Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator decimal-number parameter, exposed as a macro
Extract Last Modifying Operatorread 2026-09-27Set a macro to the name of the operator that last modified an object
Extract Macroread 2026-09-27Set a macro from a table: a cell value, a statistic, row count or column count
Extract Macro (Format)read 2026-09-27Set a macro from a table value with date or number formatting, or from a collection's size
Extract Macro from Annotationread 2026-09-27Set macros from the values of an object's annotations
File Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator file-chooser parameter, exposed as a macro
Generate Macroread 2026-09-27Compute new macros from expressions over existing macros
Get JWT (AI Hub)read 2026-09-27Obtain a JSON Web Token from an AI Hub server for authenticated calls
Get Parametersread 2026-09-27Read all parameter values of another operator into a table
Get Token (IoT)read 2026-09-27Obtain a bearer token for connecting to Altair IoT Studio
Integer Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator integer parameter, exposed as a macro
Process Suggestion Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator dropdown whose suggestions come from a process, exposed as a macro
Publish to Appread 2026-09-27Store an object in the AI Hub app or Studio session for later recall
Read Dictionaryread 2026-09-27Read the key-value pairs of a Dictionary connection (such as API keys) into a one-row table
Recallread 2026-09-27Fetch an object from the process object store by name
Recall from Appread 2026-09-27Fetch an object stored in the AI Hub app or Studio session
Rememberread 2026-09-27Store an object in the process object store under a name
Repository Location Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator repository-location parameter, exposed as a macro
Set Macroread 2026-09-27Define one macro with a given value
Set Macro (Real)read 2026-09-27Define a macro through a numeric parameter so that optimise operators can vary it
Set Macrosread 2026-09-27Define several macros with given values
Set Macros from ExampleSetread 2026-09-27Set macros from the rows of a name-value table
Set Parametersread 2026-09-27Apply a parameter set, such as an optimised one, to named operators
Set Parameters from ExampleSetread 2026-09-27Set operator parameter values from the rows of a table
Text Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27Custom-operator free-text parameter, exposed as a macro
Unset Macroread 2026-09-27Remove macros from the process context
SQLMesh (10)
@BLUEPRINT_VARread 2026-09-27Read a blueprint variable defined in the MODEL statement, with an optional default
@DEFread 2026-09-27Define a local macro variable, or an inline macro function with arguments, inside a model
@EVALread 2026-09-27Evaluate a SQL expression at render time with SQLGlot's executor and emit the result
@RESOLVE_TEMPLATEread 2026-09-27Render a template from the catalog, schema and table parts of the physical table name
@VARread 2026-09-27Read a global or gateway variable from project config by name, with an optional default
@gatewayread 2026-09-27Name of the current gateway
@model_kind_nameread 2026-09-27Name of the current model kind, for model defaults
@runtime_stageread 2026-09-27Current runtime stage: loading, creating, evaluating, promoting, demoting, auditing, testing
@this_modelread 2026-09-27Physical table name the model view selects from; used in generic audits
Temporal variables (family)read 2026-09-2727 variables: start, end, execution x dt, dtntz, date, ds, ts, tstz, hour, epoch, millis
subtoken (2)
hnsw_ef_searchread 2026-09-27Setting that overrides the ef_search candidate count when scanning HNSW indexes
hnsw_enable_experimental_persistenceread 2026-09-27Setting that allows HNSW indexes in a database stored on disk; off by default
Tableau Prep (1)
Parametersread 2026-09-27User and system parameters substituted into inputs, outputs, filters and calculations
Talend (18)
Application connection components (family)read 2026-09-278 components opening a connection to a business application: tSalesforceConnection, tSAPConnection, tMarketoConnection
Database connection components (family)read 2026-09-27106 components opening, closing or configuring a connection: tMysqlConnection, tOracleClose, tHiveConfiguration
File store connection components (family)read 2026-09-2723 components opening, closing or configuring a connection: tS3Connection, tFTPConnection, tHDFSConfiguration, tGSClose
Messaging connection components (family)read 2026-09-279 components opening, closing or configuring a connection: tKafkaConnection, tRabbitMQConnection, tMessagingClose
tAPIContractread 2026-09-27Load an OpenAPI contract as the source definition of a contract-first data service
tContextDumpread 2026-09-27Emit the context variables of the current Job as rows, for a file, a table or tContextLoad
tContextLoadread 2026-09-27Set the values of the active context from an incoming flow, warning on undefined parameters
tCyberarkCCPInputread 2026-09-27Fetch secrets at run time from a CyberArk vault through the Central Credential Provider web service
tCyberarkInputread 2026-09-27Fetch the content of a secret from a CyberArk vault at run time into a Job variable
tLibraryLoadread 2026-09-27Load Java libraries for use in the Job
tNamedPipeCloseread 2026-09-27Close a named pipe that tNamedPipeOpen opened
tNamedPipeOpenread 2026-09-27Open a named pipe for writing data into it
tSetEnvread 2026-09-27Add variables to the system environment for the duration of the Job
tSetGlobalVarread 2026-09-27Define and set global variables
tSetKerberosConfigurationread 2026-09-27Set the Kerberos authentication details for the Job
tSetKeystoreread 2026-09-27Set truststore and keystore data, PKCS 12 or JKS, for SSL connections
tSetProxyread 2026-09-27Set the proxy details for the Job
tTachyonConfigurationread 2026-09-27Define a reusable connection to a Tachyon storage system for a Spark Job
VisiData (8)
edit-optionread 2026-09-23Edit the option in current Options Sheet row
memo-cellread 2026-09-23Store current cell value under a name in the Memory Sheet
open-configread 2026-09-23Open the config file as a text sheet
open-memosread 2026-09-23Open Memory Sheet of named stored values usable in expressions
options-globalread 2026-09-23Open Options Sheet to edit global options
options-sheetread 2026-09-23Open Options Sheet to edit options for current sheet
unset-optionread 2026-09-23Remove the option override in current Options Sheet row
visidatarc (saver)read 2026-09-23Save as Options Sheet as a .visidatarc config file
Yggdrasil Decision Forests (9)
Activationread 2026-09-27Enum of link functions applied to a custom loss's raw output
ModelIOOptionsread 2026-09-27Set a filename prefix so several models can share one directory
Monotonicread 2026-09-27Constrain a numerical feature so predictions only rise or only fall with it
TrainingConfigread 2026-09-27Protobuf holding label, features, task, learner key, seed and hyperparameters
force_engineread 2026-09-27Pin the model to one named inference engine
hyperparameter_templatesread 2026-09-27Return named preset hyperparameter sets, such as better_defaultv1, to apply to a learner
hyperparametersread 2026-09-27Read or edit the learner's hyperparameters as a dictionary
list_compatible_enginesread 2026-09-27List the inference engines able to run this model on this machine
output_logits / set_output_logitsread 2026-09-27Switch predictions between probabilities and raw logits
Background
In Apache Hop, variables let a solution adapt to a changing environment, instead of hard-coding host names, user names, passwords and directories.[1] Hard coding embeds data directly in a program's source code, as opposed to obtaining it from external sources or generating it at runtime.[2] In KNIME, flow variables are parameters that avoid manually changing node settings when a new execution needs different settings.[3]
When to use it
Hard-coded data typically can be modified only by editing the source code and recompiling the executable.[2] Hard-coded data is best suited to unchanging pieces of information, such as physical constants, version numbers and static text.[2] In Apache Hop, a database server that differs between development and production is an example of a value to set as a variable.[1] Reach for a parameter for anything that can differ between runs or between machines, such as a date window, an input path, a server name or a password, and leave true constants in the code. (Meridian's view)
In Apache Hop, variables are local to the place where they are defined, and are inherited from that place on.[1] In Apache Hop, when a project and its environment define a variable with the same name, the project's value is used.[1] Flow variables in KNIME are available only for the downstream nodes in a workflow.[3] When a run picks up a value you did not expect, check every place the same name could have been set before checking anything else. (Meridian's view)
The method
In Apache Hop, a variable is referenced by writing its name between an opening ${ and a closing }, as in ${VARIABLE_NAME}.[1] In Apache Hop, variables can be set for the installation, for a lifecycle environment, in a project, in a run configuration, as a default parameter value, or by the Set Variables transform or action.[1] In Apache Hop, parameters are a special type of variable, declared on a pipeline or workflow with a name, an optional default and an optional description, so that callers can pass values in.[1] When an Apache Hop pipeline or workflow starts, each of its parameters is activated as a variable of the same name, available only in that execution.[1]
In DuckDB, the SET VARIABLE statement assigns a value to a variable, which the getvariable function reads back.[4] In DuckDB, getvariable returns NULL for a variable that is not set.[4] In DuckDB 2.0, a variable can also be referenced as $name, which raises an error instead of returning NULL when the variable is not set.[4] Prefer the form that fails loudly on a missing value, so a misspelt name stops the run instead of quietly comparing against NULL. (Meridian's view)
Compared with the alternatives
An environment variable is a user-definable value that can affect the way running processes behave on a computer, and is part of the environment in which a process runs.[5] In Apache Hop, all Java system properties are available as variables, for example ${java.io.tmpdir} or ${user.home}.[1] A configuration file stores data used to configure a software system, such as an application, a server or an operating system.[6] Some programs read their configuration files only at startup, while others periodically check the files for changes.[6] A parameter declared on the pipeline itself says, in one place, what the pipeline expects to be given; an environment variable or a configuration file is better kept for what belongs to the machine. (Meridian's view)
Sources
- [1]Variables | Apache Hopdocumentation
- [2]Hard codingsecondary source
- [3]Flow Control Guide | KNIME Documentationdocumentation
- [4]SET VARIABLE and RESET VARIABLE Statements – DuckDBdocumentation
- [5]Environment variablesecondary source
- [6]Configuration filesecondary source
Used in
2 Protocols use this operation:
- EDGAR ↔ GLEIF — Company-to-LEI Crosswalk, step
package - SuperGPQA dataset, step
corpus