Template Variables

Template variables are what make Dobermann powerful. They turn a static JSON template into a dynamic engine that validates, transforms, and maps your spreadsheet data into perfectly structured API requests — row by row, at scale.

Variables work everywhere: request body, URL path, query parameters, and headers.

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The Template Editor

The fastest way to build templates is with the body editor toolbar — no need to type variable syntax by hand.

Ctrl+M — Line Variable Cycling

Place your cursor on any JSON key-value line and press Ctrl+M (or Cmd+M on Mac). Dobermann cycles through four states:

State 1 → Input Variable:

"quantity": 100

becomes:

"quantity": "{{quantity:number}}", //100

Dobermann infers the variable name from the key and the type from the value. The original value is preserved in a comment so you can always get back.

State 2 → Environment Variable:

"quantity": "{{ENV:}}", //100

Cursor lands after ENV: with autocomplete ready — type to pick from your environment’s variables.

State 3 → Auto Variable:

"quantity": "{{A8:}}", //100

Same behaviour — autocomplete suggests sequence, date, datetime.

State 4 → Restore Original:

"quantity": 100

Back to the original value from the comment. Cycle too far? Just press Ctrl+Z to undo.

Ctrl+Shift+M — Insert Variable Brackets

Press Ctrl+Shift+M to insert {{}} at the cursor position. If the cursor is already inside a variable, it removes the entire {{...}} instead. Autocomplete triggers immediately after insertion.

Modifier Toolbar

When your cursor is inside a variable like {{sku:string}}, the Modifier dropdown becomes active. It shows context-aware options based on the variable’s data type:

• String variables: upper, lower, length range (3-50), noTrim
• Number variables: >0, >=0, int, rnd(2), floor, ceil
• Date/DateTime variables: +1d, -1d, +4h, +30m (date math)
• All types: asString, opt, null

Click a modifier and it’s inserted before the closing }}:

{{sku:string}}  →  {{sku:string|upper}}

Autocomplete

The editor provides intelligent suggestions as you type inside {{...}}:

You type	Suggestions shown
{{	A8: and ENV: prefixes
{{A8:	sequence, date, datetime
{{varName:	string, number, boolean, date, datetime
{{varName:date:	iso, YYYY-MM-DD, DD-MM-YYYY, etc.
{{varName:string|	upper, lower, 3-50, opt, null, etc.
{{varName:number|	>0, >=0, int, rnd(2), floor, ceil, etc.
{{varName:date|	+1d, -1d, +4h, +30m, etc.

Syntax Highlighting

Variables are colour-coded in the editor so you can spot issues at a glance:

Element	Colour
{{ }} brackets	Dim grey
User variables	Cyan/Blue
A8 and ENV prefixes	Green
Data types	Blue
Format specifiers	Orange
Validation modifiers	Yellow/Gold
Transform modifiers	Purple
Errors	Red underline

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Basic Templates

Data Types

Specify a type after the colon to enable validation and proper JSON output:

Type	Syntax	Input Examples	JSON Output
string	{{Name:string}}	Any text	"Hello"
number	{{Qty:number}}	123, 45.67, -5	123 (unquoted)
boolean	{{Active:boolean}}	true, yes, 1, on	true (unquoted)
date	{{OrderDate:date}}	2024-01-15, 15/01/2024	"20240115"
datetime	{{Created:datetime}}	2024-01-15T14:30:00	"2024-01-15T14:30:00"

String is the default — {{Name}} is the same as {{Name:string}}.

Example Template

{
    "Data": [
        {
            "ItemId": "PRE-{{sku:string}}",
            "Quantity": "{{quantity:number}}",
            "IsActive": "{{activeFlag:boolean}}",
            "LoadDate": "{{loadDate:date}}"
        }
    ]
}

When you run a batch, Dobermann maps each source data column to a variable, validates the values against the declared types, and generates one API request per row — with numbers as real numbers, booleans as real booleans, and dates in the right format.

Where Variables Work

Location	Example	Encoding
Request Body	"itemId": "{{sku:string}}"	As-is (no encoding)
URL Path	/api/orders/{{orderId}}/status	Automatically URL-encoded
Query Parameters	limit={{maxResults:number}}	Automatically URL-encoded
Headers	Authorization: Bearer {{token}}	As-is (no encoding)

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Environment Variables (ENV)

Reference values from your active environment using the ENV: prefix:

{
    "organization": "{{ENV:org}}",
    "host": "{{ENV:host}}",
    "warehouse": "{{ENV:warehouse}}"
}

Key behaviours:

• ENV variables are not prompted during Run API
• ENV variables don’t appear in the data entry grid during Run Batch
• They’re resolved automatically from your active environment’s variable list
• If a variable is missing, execution fails with a clear error

Set environment variables in your Environment settings (Environments tree → select environment → Variables section).

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Automatic Variables (A8)

System-generated values computed at execution time. You’re never prompted for these — they just work.

Variable	Output	Description
{{A8:sequence}}	1001, 1002, …	Auto-incrementing number per endpoint
{{A8:date}}	20260217	Current date (YYYYMMDD)
{{A8:datetime}}	2026-02-17T14:30:00	Current UTC timestamp
{{A8:PAGE}}	0, 1, 2, …	Page number for pagination
{{A8:SIZE}}	100	Page size for pagination

A8 Date Formats

Syntax	Output
{{A8:date}}	20260217
{{A8:date:iso}}	2026-02-17
{{A8:datetime}}	2026-02-17T14:30:00
{{A8:datetime:iso}}	2026-02-17T14:30:00.000Z
{{A8:datetime:date}}	2026-02-17
{{A8:datetime:time}}	14:30:00
{{A8:datetime:HH:mm}}	14:30

Sequence Modifiers (Nested Arrays)

When templates have nested arrays, control how sequences behave:

Modifier	Syntax	Behaviour
Default	{{A8:sequence}}	Same value for the entire request
Local	{{A8:sequence:local}}	Unique within each array, resets per array
Global	{{A8:sequence:global}}	Unique per item, persisted per array path
Parent	{{A8:sequence:parent}}	Reuse the parent element’s sequence value

Example — Order with Line Items:

{
    "OrderId": "ORDER-{{A8:sequence}}",
    "Lines": [
        {
            "LineId": "{{A8:sequence:local}}",
            "ParentRef": "{{A8:sequence:parent}}"
        }
    ]
}

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Advanced Templates — Modifiers

Modifiers are where things get powerful. Chain them with the pipe (|) character to validate, transform, and control how values are processed — before the API request is sent.

Syntax: {{variableName:type|modifier1|modifier2|modifier3}}

Key rule:

• Colon (:) = FORMAT (dates only): {{Date:date:iso}}
• Pipe (|) = MODIFIER (all types): {{Name:string|upper}}

Empty Value Modifiers

These control what happens when a value is empty or missing. They work with all data types.

Modifier	Syntax	What Happens When Empty
(default)	{{Name:string}}	String → "", Number → 0
opt	{{Code:string|opt}}	Entire key is omitted from JSON
null	{{Qty:number|null}}	Value is null in JSON
asString	{{Qty:number|asString}}	Number/boolean output as a JSON string (e.g. "123" instead of 123)

The opt Modifier — Conditional Key Omission

This is incredibly useful for APIs that treat missing keys differently from empty values:

// Template
{
    "code": "{{Code:string|opt}}",
    "name": "{{Name:string}}"
}

Code value	Name value	JSON Output
"ABC"	"Test"	{ "code": "ABC", "name": "Test" }
(empty)	"Test"	{ "name": "Test" } — code key completely removed

The null Modifier

// Template
{ "qty": "{{Qty:number|null}}", "name": "{{Name:string}}" }

// Qty is empty → { "qty": null, "name": "Test" }
// Qty is "5"   → { "qty": 5, "name": "Test" }

The asString Modifier

Forces the output as a JSON string, regardless of type:

{{Qty:number|asString}}      → 123 outputs as "123"
{{Flag:boolean|asString}}    → true outputs as "true"
{{A8:sequence|asString}}     → 1001 outputs as "1001"

Useful when your API expects string representations of numbers or booleans.

String Modifiers

Modifier	Syntax	Description
Trim	(default)	Whitespace trimmed automatically
No trim	noTrim	Preserve leading/trailing spaces
Exact length	n	{{Code:string|3}} — exactly 3 characters
Min length	n-	{{Name:string|3-}} — at least 3 characters
Max length	-n	{{Code:string|-10}} — at most 10 characters
Range	n-m	{{Desc:string|5-100}} — between 5 and 100 characters
Uppercase	upper	{{SKU:string|upper}} — converts to UPPERCASE
Lowercase	lower	{{Email:string|lower}} — converts to lowercase

Chaining example: {{SKU:string|5-10|upper}} — validates length between 5-10 characters AND converts to uppercase.

Number Modifiers

Modifier	Syntax	Description
Greater than	>n	{{Qty:number|>0}} — must be > 0
Greater/equal	>=n	{{Stock:number|>=0}} — must be >= 0
Less than	<n	{{Discount:number|<100}} — must be < 100
Less/equal	<=n	{{Pct:number|<=100}} — must be <= 100
Integer	int	{{Count:number|int}} — whole numbers only
Round	rnd(n)	{{Price:number|rnd(2)}} — round to 2 decimal places
Floor	floor	{{Qty:number|floor}} — round down
Ceil	ceil	{{Qty:number|ceil}} — round up

Chaining example: {{Price:number|>=0|rnd(2)}} — must be non-negative AND rounded to 2 decimals.

Date/DateTime Format Modifiers

Control the output format of date and datetime values using the colon syntax:

Date formats:

Syntax	Output	Description
{{COL:date}}	20240104	Default — YYYYMMDD (compact)
{{COL:date:iso}}	2024-01-04	ISO format with dashes
{{COL:date:DD-MM-YYYY}}	04-01-2024	European format
{{COL:date:MM-DD-YYYY}}	01-04-2024	US format
{{COL:date:YYYY/MM/DD}}	2024/01/04	Custom with slashes

DateTime formats:

Syntax	Output	Description
{{COL:datetime}}	2024-01-04T14:30:00	Default — UTC, no milliseconds
{{COL:datetime:iso}}	2024-01-04T14:30:00.000Z	Full ISO 8601
{{COL:datetime:date}}	2024-01-04	Date portion only
{{COL:datetime:time}}	14:30:00	Time portion only
{{COL:datetime:HH:mm}}	14:30	Custom time format

Format tokens: YYYY (year), YY (2-digit year), MM (month), DD (day), HH (24h hour), hh (12h hour), mm (minutes), ss (seconds), A (AM/PM).

Date Math Modifiers

Add or subtract time from date values — works with both source data dates and A8 system variables:

Unit	Example	Description
Days	+2d, -1d	Add/subtract days
Weeks	+1w, -2w	Add/subtract weeks
Months	+2M, -1M	Add/subtract months (capital M)
Years	+1y, -1y	Add/subtract years
Hours	+4h, -2h	Add/subtract hours
Minutes	+30m, -15m	Add/subtract minutes (lowercase m)

Important: M (months) vs m (minutes) — case matters!

Examples:

{{ShipDate:date|+2d}}              — Ship date plus 2 days
{{A8:datetime:iso|+4h}}            — Current time plus 4 hours, ISO format
{{OrderDate:date:DD-MM-YYYY|+30d}} — Custom format plus 30 days
{{Reminder:datetime|+30m}}         — Current time plus 30 minutes

Modifier Execution Order

When multiple modifiers are chained, they execute in a fixed order (regardless of how you write them):

1. Pre-transform — String transforms: trim, upper, lower
2. Type conversion — Convert the string value to the target type
3. Post-transform — Type-specific: rnd, floor, ceil, date math
4. Validate — Check constraints: length ranges, comparisons, int

This means {{Price:number|rnd(2)|>0}} and {{Price:number|>0|rnd(2)}} produce identical results.

Validation Behaviour

Modifiers validate data before API execution:

• Run API mode: Validation errors shown inline before the request fires
• Run Batch mode: All rows validated after column mapping — execution is blocked if any row fails, with clear error messages showing which rows have problems

Example validation errors:

Row 15: Variable 'Name' value 'AB' failed validation: minimum length is 3 characters
Row 23: Variable 'Amount' value '-5' failed validation: must be greater than 0
Row 47: Variable 'Qty' value '3.14' failed validation: must be an integer

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Real-World Template

Putting it all together — a template that validates, transforms, and handles missing data:

{
    "Data": [
        {
            "ItemId": "{{ItemId:string|5-50|upper}}",
            "Description": "{{Desc:string|-500}}",
            "UOMCode": "{{UOM:string|2-10|upper}}",
            "Quantity": "{{Qty:number|int|>0}}",
            "Weight": "{{Weight:number|>=0|rnd(3)|null}}",
            "Cost": "{{Cost:number|>=0|rnd(2)}}",
            "AlternateCode": "{{AltCode:string|10|opt}}",
            "TransactionDate": "{{A8:datetime}}",
            "ShipByDate": "{{A8:datetime:iso|+2d}}",
            "CreatedBy": "{{ENV:username}}"
        }
    ]
}

This template:

• Validates ItemId is 5-50 characters and forces uppercase
• Limits Description to 500 characters max
• Requires Quantity as a positive integer
• Rounds Weight to 3 decimals, outputs null if empty
• Rounds Cost to 2 decimals
• Omits AlternateCode entirely if empty (opt modifier)
• Auto-generates timestamp and a ship-by date 2 days in the future
• Pulls the username from the active environment

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Empty Value Reference

Quick reference for how empty values are handled across all types:

Type	Default	With |opt	With |null
string	""	Key omitted	null
number	0	Key omitted	null
boolean	Error	Key omitted	null
date	Error	Key omitted	null
datetime	Error	Key omitted	null

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Shorthand Syntax

Shorthand is a convenience for simple templates. For most use cases, the Ctrl+M toolbar workflow is faster and less error-prone.

In JSON request bodies, you can use empty brackets {{}} where the JSON key name becomes the variable name automatically:

{
    "ItemId": "{{}}",           // Equivalent to: {{ItemId:string}}
    "Quantity": "{{:number}}",  // Equivalent to: {{Quantity:number}}
    "IsActive": "{{:boolean}}"  // Equivalent to: {{IsActive:boolean}}
}

Limitations:

• Only works in JSON body templates (not URL, query params, or headers)
• The JSON key must be a valid variable name
• Doesn’t support modifiers — switch to explicit syntax for validation and transforms

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Related Topics

• Endpoints — Endpoint configuration and editor toolbar
• Batch Preparation — Loading data and column mapping
• Shortcuts — All keyboard shortcuts