Variables - Postchi

Variables are placeholders that Postchi replaces with values from your active environment when a request runs. You write them as <variable_name> and they work anywhere in the request file — URLs, headers, and body fields.

Syntax

Wrap the variable name in angle brackets:

<variable_name>

Variable names come from the active environment section in your environments.cenv or secrets.cenv files.

If a variable is used in a request but not defined in the active environment, Postchi shows an error and does not run the request.

Where variables work

Location	Example
URL segment	`https://api.example.com/users/<user_id>`
Query parameter	`https://api.example.com/search?q=<search_term>`
Header value	`Authorization: <api_token>`
JSON body value	`"email": "<email>"`
Form body value	`username=<username>`

Example

If your active environment contains:

# Production
api_token=Bearer abc123
user_id=42

Then this request file:

GET /api/users/<user_id>
Authorization: <api_token>
Accept: application/json

Resolves to:

GET /api/users/42
Authorization: Bearer abc123
Accept: application/json

Variables in JSON bodies

In a JSON body, Postchi expects variables to appear as quoted string values. Wrap the placeholder in double quotes:

POST https://api.example.com/users
Content-Type: application/json
@body
{
  "name": "<username>",
  "email": "<email>",
  "role": "admin"
}

Postchi replaces "<username>" with the resolved value wrapped in quotes, keeping the JSON valid.

​Syntax

​Where variables work

​Example

​Variables in JSON bodies

Syntax

Where variables work

Example

Variables in JSON bodies