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

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 2026-09-27

    Update a tool's configuration with values from interface questions when run as app or macro

  • JSON Schemaread 2026-09-27

    Define a JSON schema for structured output from the Prompt tool

  • LLM Overrideread 2026-09-27

    Choose and configure the LLM provider connection the workflow's AI tools use

Apache DataFusion (2)
  • PREPAREread 2026-09-27

    Store a statement with placeholder arguments for repeated execution

  • SHOW ALLread 2026-09-27

    List the session configuration options

Apache Hop (7)
  • Get System Inforead 2026-09-27

    Add system values such as dates, host name, pipeline name and run ids as fields

  • Get variablesread 2026-09-27

    Put variable values into fields of new or existing rows

  • Metadata inputread 2026-09-27

    Read the metadata objects defined in the current project as rows

  • Plugin Catalogread 2026-09-27

    List the installed transforms, actions and metadata types from the plugin registry

  • Set Variablesread 2026-09-27

    Set variables from the fields of a row, at a chosen scope

  • Set password encoderread 2026-09-27

    Switch the process-wide two-way password encoder from inside a workflow

  • Set variablesread 2026-09-27

    Set variables at a chosen scope, from values or a properties file

Apache NiFi (4)
Apache SeaTunnel (2)
  • Common Optionsread 2026-09-27

    Options shared by all transforms: name the input dataset and the output dataset of a step

  • Apply any transform per table of a multi-table stream, matched by table name pattern

Azure Data Factory (3)
Bruin (4)
  • Built-in Variablesread 2026-09-27

    Run-window and run-context values injected into the Jinja context, such as start_date

  • Custom Variablesread 2026-09-27

    User-defined pipeline variables available to templates

  • Date Filters (family)read 2026-09-27

    13 Jinja filters on template dates: add_years, add_months, add_days, truncate_month, date_format, …

  • Interval Modifiersread 2026-09-27

    Shift the start or end of the processing window to catch late or early data

dbt-utils (2)
  • Run a SQL query at compile time and return its result columns as a dictionary

  • get_single_valueread 2026-09-27

    Run a SQL query at compile time and return its single value, with a default

DuckDB (24)
  • CREATE SECRETread 2026-09-27

    Store credentials for a remote service, scoped to a path

  • LOAD / INSTALLread 2026-09-27

    Install and load an extension

  • Compile a statement with parameters and run it with values

  • Parameters in a query, positional or named

  • SET / RESETread 2026-09-27

    Change or restore a configuration option

  • SET VARIABLEread 2026-09-27

    Hold a value in a named variable for later statements

  • USEread 2026-09-27

    Choose the default database and schema

  • The functions documented on the Utility Functions page

  • duckdb_extensionsread 2026-09-27

    duckdb_extensions table function

  • duckdb_functionsread 2026-09-27

    duckdb_functions table function

  • duckdb_keywordsread 2026-09-27

    duckdb_keywords table function

  • duckdb_optimizersread 2026-09-27

    duckdb_optimizers table function

  • duckdb_prepared_statementsread 2026-09-27

    duckdb_prepared_statements table function

  • duckdb_secret_typesread 2026-09-27

    duckdb_secret_types table function

  • duckdb_secretsread 2026-09-27

    duckdb_secrets table function

  • duckdb_settingsread 2026-09-27

    duckdb_settings table function

  • duckdb_variablesread 2026-09-27

    duckdb_variables table function

  • icu_calendar_namesread 2026-09-27

    icu_calendar_names table function

  • pg_timezone_namesread 2026-09-27

    pg_timezone_names table function

  • pragma_collationsread 2026-09-27

    pragma_collations table function

  • pragma_platformread 2026-09-27

    pragma_platform table function

  • pragma_user_agentread 2026-09-27

    pragma_user_agent table function

  • pragma_versionread 2026-09-27

    pragma_version table function

  • which_secretread 2026-09-27

    which_secret table function

Duckle (1)
  • Set Run Variableread 2026-09-25

    compute a value by SQL during the run and expose it as a run variable

EasyMorph (5)
  • Parameter tableread 2026-09-27

    Emit one row with each project parameter's value as a column

  • Project metadataread 2026-09-27

    List an EasyMorph project's connectors, parameters, modules, tables and actions as a table

  • Shared memoryread 2026-09-27

    Remember, recall, list, forget or increment values in a shared key-value store

  • System informationread 2026-09-27

    Emit one row of runtime facts: Windows account, free RAM, machine name, UTC offset, run ID

  • Uploaded filesread 2026-09-27

    List the files supplied through the workflow's file-upload parameters

Ibis (2)
  • Argumentread 2026-09-27

    Named, typed placeholder for a lambda or deferred-function argument

  • ScalarParameterread 2026-09-27

    Typed placeholder whose value is supplied when the query is executed

KNIME Analytics Platform (46)
OpenRefine (2)
Pentaho Data Integration (6)
  • Get Session Variablesread 2026-09-27

    Read the value of a Pentaho Server session variable

  • Get System Inforead 2026-09-27

    Add system values such as the system date and arguments as fields

  • Get Variablesread 2026-09-27

    Put the values of environment or Kettle variables into fields

  • Get repository namesread 2026-09-27

    List the transformations and jobs stored in a repository with their details

  • Set Session Variablesread 2026-09-27

    Set the value of a Pentaho Server session variable

  • Set Variablesread 2026-09-27

    Set environment variables from a single input row

Polars (5)
Power Query M (1)
RapidMiner Studio (34)
  • Custom-operator parameter chosen from a table's columns, exposed as a macro

  • Custom-operator checkbox parameter, exposed as a true/false macro

  • Custom-operator dropdown parameter with fixed categories, exposed as a macro

  • Clear Cookiesread 2026-09-27

    Clear the cookies held for HTTP connections

  • Clone Parametersread 2026-09-27

    Copy parameter values from one operator's parameters to another's

  • Collect and Persistread 2026-09-27

    Add objects to a named collection that persists across executions in the session store

  • Custom-operator date-time parameter, exposed as a macro

  • Custom-operator directory-chooser parameter, exposed as a macro

  • Double Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27

    Custom-operator decimal-number parameter, exposed as a macro

  • Set a macro to the name of the operator that last modified an object

  • Extract Macroread 2026-09-27

    Set a macro from a table: a cell value, a statistic, row count or column count

  • Extract Macro (Format)read 2026-09-27

    Set a macro from a table value with date or number formatting, or from a collection's size

  • Set macros from the values of an object's annotations

  • File Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27

    Custom-operator file-chooser parameter, exposed as a macro

  • Generate Macroread 2026-09-27

    Compute new macros from expressions over existing macros

  • Get JWT (AI Hub)read 2026-09-27

    Obtain a JSON Web Token from an AI Hub server for authenticated calls

  • Get Parametersread 2026-09-27

    Read all parameter values of another operator into a table

  • Get Token (IoT)read 2026-09-27

    Obtain a bearer token for connecting to Altair IoT Studio

  • Custom-operator integer parameter, exposed as a macro

  • Custom-operator dropdown whose suggestions come from a process, exposed as a macro

  • Publish to Appread 2026-09-27

    Store an object in the AI Hub app or Studio session for later recall

  • Read Dictionaryread 2026-09-27

    Read the key-value pairs of a Dictionary connection (such as API keys) into a one-row table

  • Recallread 2026-09-27

    Fetch an object from the process object store by name

  • Recall from Appread 2026-09-27

    Fetch an object stored in the AI Hub app or Studio session

  • Rememberread 2026-09-27

    Store an object in the process object store under a name

  • Custom-operator repository-location parameter, exposed as a macro

  • Set Macroread 2026-09-27

    Define one macro with a given value

  • Set Macro (Real)read 2026-09-27

    Define a macro through a numeric parameter so that optimise operators can vary it

  • Set Macrosread 2026-09-27

    Define several macros with given values

  • Set macros from the rows of a name-value table

  • Set Parametersread 2026-09-27

    Apply a parameter set, such as an optimised one, to named operators

  • Set operator parameter values from the rows of a table

  • Text Parameter Macroread 2026-09-27

    Custom-operator free-text parameter, exposed as a macro

  • Unset Macroread 2026-09-27

    Remove macros from the process context

SQLMesh (10)
  • @BLUEPRINT_VARread 2026-09-27

    Read a blueprint variable defined in the MODEL statement, with an optional default

  • @DEFread 2026-09-27

    Define a local macro variable, or an inline macro function with arguments, inside a model

  • @EVALread 2026-09-27

    Evaluate a SQL expression at render time with SQLGlot's executor and emit the result

  • @RESOLVE_TEMPLATEread 2026-09-27

    Render a template from the catalog, schema and table parts of the physical table name

  • @VARread 2026-09-27

    Read a global or gateway variable from project config by name, with an optional default

  • @gatewayread 2026-09-27

    Name of the current gateway

  • @model_kind_nameread 2026-09-27

    Name of the current model kind, for model defaults

  • @runtime_stageread 2026-09-27

    Current runtime stage: loading, creating, evaluating, promoting, demoting, auditing, testing

  • @this_modelread 2026-09-27

    Physical table name the model view selects from; used in generic audits

  • 27 variables: start, end, execution x dt, dtntz, date, ds, ts, tstz, hour, epoch, millis

subtoken (2)
Tableau Prep (1)
  • Parametersread 2026-09-27

    User and system parameters substituted into inputs, outputs, filters and calculations

Talend (18)
  • 8 components opening a connection to a business application: tSalesforceConnection, tSAPConnection, tMarketoConnection

  • 106 components opening, closing or configuring a connection: tMysqlConnection, tOracleClose, tHiveConfiguration

  • 23 components opening, closing or configuring a connection: tS3Connection, tFTPConnection, tHDFSConfiguration, tGSClose

  • 9 components opening, closing or configuring a connection: tKafkaConnection, tRabbitMQConnection, tMessagingClose

  • tAPIContractread 2026-09-27

    Load an OpenAPI contract as the source definition of a contract-first data service

  • tContextDumpread 2026-09-27

    Emit the context variables of the current Job as rows, for a file, a table or tContextLoad

  • tContextLoadread 2026-09-27

    Set the values of the active context from an incoming flow, warning on undefined parameters

  • tCyberarkCCPInputread 2026-09-27

    Fetch secrets at run time from a CyberArk vault through the Central Credential Provider web service

  • tCyberarkInputread 2026-09-27

    Fetch the content of a secret from a CyberArk vault at run time into a Job variable

  • tLibraryLoadread 2026-09-27

    Load Java libraries for use in the Job

  • tNamedPipeCloseread 2026-09-27

    Close a named pipe that tNamedPipeOpen opened

  • tNamedPipeOpenread 2026-09-27

    Open a named pipe for writing data into it

  • tSetEnvread 2026-09-27

    Add variables to the system environment for the duration of the Job

  • tSetGlobalVarread 2026-09-27

    Define and set global variables

  • Set the Kerberos authentication details for the Job

  • tSetKeystoreread 2026-09-27

    Set truststore and keystore data, PKCS 12 or JKS, for SSL connections

  • tSetProxyread 2026-09-27

    Set the proxy details for the Job

  • tTachyonConfigurationread 2026-09-27

    Define a reusable connection to a Tachyon storage system for a Spark Job

VisiData (8)
  • edit-optionread 2026-09-23

    Edit the option in current Options Sheet row

  • memo-cellread 2026-09-23

    Store current cell value under a name in the Memory Sheet

  • open-configread 2026-09-23

    Open the config file as a text sheet

  • open-memosread 2026-09-23

    Open Memory Sheet of named stored values usable in expressions

  • options-globalread 2026-09-23

    Open Options Sheet to edit global options

  • options-sheetread 2026-09-23

    Open Options Sheet to edit options for current sheet

  • unset-optionread 2026-09-23

    Remove the option override in current Options Sheet row

  • visidatarc (saver)read 2026-09-23

    Save as Options Sheet as a .visidatarc config file

Yggdrasil Decision Forests (9)
  • Activationread 2026-09-27

    Enum of link functions applied to a custom loss's raw output

  • ModelIOOptionsread 2026-09-27

    Set a filename prefix so several models can share one directory

  • Monotonicread 2026-09-27

    Constrain a numerical feature so predictions only rise or only fall with it

  • TrainingConfigread 2026-09-27

    Protobuf holding label, features, task, learner key, seed and hyperparameters

  • force_engineread 2026-09-27

    Pin the model to one named inference engine

  • Return named preset hyperparameter sets, such as better_defaultv1, to apply to a learner

  • hyperparametersread 2026-09-27

    Read or edit the learner's hyperparameters as a dictionary

  • List the inference engines able to run this model on this machine

  • Switch 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. [1]Variables | Apache Hopdocumentation
  2. [2]Hard codingsecondary source
  3. [3]Flow Control Guide | KNIME Documentationdocumentation
  4. [4]SET VARIABLE and RESET VARIABLE Statements – DuckDBdocumentation
  5. [5]Environment variablesecondary source
  6. [6]Configuration filesecondary source

Used in

2 Protocols use this operation: