---
title: Variable Definitions
description: When promoting a configuration, you need to first define any variables you intend to use to substitute for existing property values. The definition is a holder for the value to be used (declared) for the promotion to the target environment. This ensures the correct values are substituted during the promotion.
component: pingone-api-ea
page_id: pingone-api-ea:platform:early-access/configuration-management/promotion-variables/variable-definitions
canonical_url: https://developer.pingidentity.com/pingone-api-ea/platform/early-access/configuration-management/promotion-variables/variable-definitions.html
section_ids:
  variable-definitions: Variable definitions data model
---

# Variable Definitions

When promoting a configuration, you need to first define any variables you intend to use to substitute for existing property values. The definition is a holder for the value to be used (declared) for the promotion to the target environment. This ensures the correct values are substituted during the promotion.

Having defined a variable, you'll need to then declare a variable that'll use the definition. See [Variable Declarations](variable-declarations.html) for details.

## Variable definitions data model

| Property      | Type    | Required | Mutable   | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| ------------- | ------- | -------- | --------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `createdAt`   | Date    | N/A      | Read-only | The date and time at which the resource was created (ISO 8601 format).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| `isSensitive` | Boolean | Optional | Mutable   | Indicates whether the variable value is to be masked (defaults to `false`). When set to `true`, the value is encrypted at rest using the environment key before being stored. The variable then cannot be read by any caller, including administrators. Although, in this case, secrets cannot be read by administrators, an administrator can edit and rotate the secrets. |
| `name`        | String  | Required | Mutable   | The name to use for the variable. This name must be unique in the environment.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| `updatedAt`   | Date    | N/A      | Read-only | The date and time at which the resource was last updated (ISO 8601 format).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| `value`       | Object  | Required | Mutable   | A JSON object containing the value to assign to the variable. Currently, the object type can be: String, List, or Integer.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |