Variables & environments

Syntax

Wrap a name in double curly braces, {{name}}, and use it wherever you write a request: in the URL, in headers, in the body and in scripts.

Nesting variables

A variable's value can use other variables. For example, {{baseUrl}} can hold

http://localhost:4180/{{apiVersion}}

and {{apiVersion}} is a variable of its own inside it.

The variable popout

A variable that is not defined yet is shown in red. Click it, and the Add variable popout opens right where you typed it:

1. Type the variable in a field, for example {{baseUrl}} in the URL. It shows in red because it is not defined yet.
2. Click it. The Add variable popout opens.
3. Enter the Value. It can use other variables, like {{apiVersion}}.
4. Pick the Scope it lives in (see Scopes).

Once the variable is defined, it turns purple.

Scopes

The Scope picker in the popout decides where a new variable lives:

Folder variables

A folder can hold its own variables. They apply to every request in the folder and its subfolders, and override collection and environment variables of the same name.

1. Right-click a folder in the sidebar and choose Folder variables….
2. Add, change or switch off rows in the table, and click Save.

When a name is defined in several places, the first match wins, in this order:

1. values a script set for this send, then values a script set for the session (see Work with variables);
2. folder variables, the nearest folder first;
3. collection variables;
4. environment variables;
5. workspace variables;
6. global variables.

A folder variable marked secret is treated like any other secret: the AI assistant and MCP never see its value, and a Postman or Bruno export leaves the value out. Scripts read folder variables but can't change them; a script's set goes to the session value instead. In a team workspace where you are a viewer, the table opens read-only.