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Concept

Variables

The typed inputs an agent expects and the structured output it returns — its contract with the rest of the pod.

What a variables is

Variables turn an agent from freeform chat into a reusable building block. Declare the inputs it needs and the shape of what it hands back, and workflows, apps, and other agents can call it and rely on the result. Leave them empty for a conversational agent; define them the moment something downstream needs to read its output by field.

Reach for it when

  • Something downstream — a workflow, an app, another agent — needs to read the agent’s output by field.
  • You want the agent to always take and return the same shape.
  • A workflow needs to branch on a value the agent produces.
  • You are wiring an agent into a flow rather than just chatting with it.

Give the agent a contract

  1. 1
    In the agent editor, open the Variables section and click Edit.
  2. 2
    Declare the inputs it needs — name and type each one.
  3. 3
    Declare the output fields downstream steps will read.
  4. 4
    Run it once and confirm the output matches the shape you defined.

Where it lives

The Variables section in each agent’s editor.