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Group-level Variables API

DETAILS: Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated

List group variables

Get list of a group's variables.

GET /groups/:id/variables
Attribute Type Required Description
id integer/string Yes The ID of a group or URL-encoded path of the group 
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables"
[
    {
        "key": "TEST_VARIABLE_1",
        "variable_type": "env_var",
        "value": "TEST_1",
        "protected": false,
        "masked": false,
        "hidden": false,
        "raw": false,
        "environment_scope": "*",
        "description": null
    },
    {
        "key": "TEST_VARIABLE_2",
        "variable_type": "env_var",
        "value": "TEST_2",
        "protected": false,
        "masked": false,
        "hidden": false,
        "raw": false,
        "environment_scope": "*",
        "description": null
    }
]

Show variable details

  • The filter parameter was introduced in GitLab 16.9.

Get the details of a group's specific variable. If there are multiple variables with the same key, use filter to select the correct environment_scope.

GET /groups/:id/variables/:key
Attribute Type Required Description
id integer/string Yes The ID of a group or URL-encoded path of the group
key string Yes The key of a variable
filter hash No Available filters: [environment_scope]. See the filter parameter details. 
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables/TEST_VARIABLE_1"
{
    "key": "TEST_VARIABLE_1",
    "variable_type": "env_var",
    "value": "TEST_1",
    "protected": false,
    "masked": false,
    "hidden": false,
    "raw": false,
    "environment_scope": "*",
    "description": null
}

Create variable

  • masked_and_hidden and hidden attributes introduced in GitLab 17.4.

Create a new variable.

POST /groups/:id/variables
Attribute Type Required Description
id integer/string Yes The ID of a group or URL-encoded path of the group.
key string Yes The key of a variable; must have no more than 255 characters; only A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and _ are allowed.
value string Yes The value of a variable.
description string No The description of the variable; must have no more than 255 characters. Default: null.
environment_scope string No The environment scope of a variable. Premium and Ultimate only.
masked boolean No Whether the variable is masked.
masked_and_hidden boolean No Whether the variable is masked and hidden. Default: false
protected boolean No Whether the variable is protected.
raw boolean No Whether the variable is treated as a raw string. Default: false. When true, variables in the value are not expanded.
variable_type string No The type of a variable. Available types are: env_var (default) and file. 
curl --request POST --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
     "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables" --form "key=NEW_VARIABLE" --form "value=new value"
{
    "key": "NEW_VARIABLE",
    "value": "new value",
    "variable_type": "env_var",
    "protected": false,
    "masked": false,
    "hidden": false,
    "raw": false,
    "environment_scope": "*",
    "description": null
}

Update variable

  • The filter parameter was introduced in GitLab 16.9.

Update a group's variable. If there are multiple variables with the same key, use filter to select the correct environment_scope.

PUT /groups/:id/variables/:key
Attribute Type Required Description
id integer/string Yes The ID of a group or URL-encoded path of the group
key string Yes The key of a variable
value string Yes The value of a variable
description string No The description of the variable. Default: null. Introduced in GitLab 16.2.
environment_scope string No The environment scope of a variable. Premium and Ultimate only.
filter hash No Available filters: [environment_scope]. See the filter parameter details.
masked boolean No Whether the variable is masked
protected boolean No Whether the variable is protected
raw boolean No Whether the variable is treated as a raw string. Default: false. When true, variables in the value are not expanded.
variable_type string No The type of a variable. Available types are: env_var (default) and file 
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables"
```0

```shell
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables"
```1

## Remove variable

> - The `filter` parameter was [introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/340185) in GitLab 16.9.

Remove a group's variable. If there are multiple variables with the same key,
use `filter` to select the correct `environment_scope`.

```shell
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables"
```2

| Attribute | Type           | Required | Description |
|-----------|----------------|----------|-------------|
| `id`      | integer/string | Yes      | The ID of a group or [URL-encoded path of the group](rest/index.md#namespaced-paths) |
| `key`     | string         | Yes      | The `key` of a variable |
| `filter`  | hash           | No       | Available filters: `[environment_scope]`. See the [`filter` parameter details](#the-filter-parameter). |

```shell
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables"
```3

## The `filter` parameter

DETAILS:
**Tier:** Premium, Ultimate
**Offering:** GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated

> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/340185) in GitLab 16.9.

When multiple variables have the same `key`, [GET](#show-variable-details), [PUT](#update-variable),
or [DELETE](#remove-variable) requests might return:

```shell
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables"
```4

Use `filter[environment_scope]` to select the variable with the matching `environment_scope` attribute.

For example:

- GET:

  ```shell
  curl --globoff --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
       "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables/SCOPED_VARIABLE_1?filter[environment_scope]=production"

  • PUT:

    curl --request PUT --globoff --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
     "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables/SCOPED_VARIABLE_1?value=scoped-variable-updated-value&environment_scope=production&filter[environment_scope]=production"

  • DELETE:

    curl --request DELETE --globoff --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
     "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/1/variables/SCOPED_VARIABLE_1?filter[environment_scope]=production"