Use variables in code

If you need more flexibility in how you handle information in Botpress Studio, you can use variables in code (for example, in an Execute Code Card).

Variables in code follow the pattern variabletype.variablename.

Here are a few examples of how you might use variables in code:

Assign a value to a variable

This is typically how you’d initialize a variable or change its value.

workflow.orderNumber = 12345
conversation.cartTotal = 59.99
user.lastName = 'Smith'
bot.version = '1.2.3'
env.databaseURL = 'https://example.com/db'

Use variables in conditional statements

This checks the value of a variable and executes code accordingly.

if (user.firstName === 'John') {
  console.log('Hello John!')
} else {
  console.log('Welcome, user!')
}

Use variables in functions

Here, you might pass a variable as a function argument or use it inside a function.

function greetUser(firstName) {
  console.log('Hello, ' + firstName + '!')
}

greetUser(user.firstName)

Combine variables

You might want to combine or concatenate variables.

var fullName = user.firstName + ' ' + user.lastName

// or

var welcomeMessage = 'Hello, ' + user.firstName + ' ' + user.lastName + '!'

Check variable types

Botpress might throw an error if types don’t match. To avoid this, you can use type checking before assigning values.

if (typeof workflow.userAcctId === 'number') {
  workflow.userAcctId = 67890
} else {
  console.error('Invalid type for userAcctId!')
}

Use variables with external APIs

If your bot interacts with external services, you might use an environment variable to store an API key:

const apiKey = env.API_KEY
const apiUrl = env.API_URL

const config = {
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
  },
}

const response = await axios.get(apiUrl, config)
const data = response.data

// Process the data as needed
// ...

// Example: Log the response data
console.log(data)
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