variables-store

Package Information

Released: 6/20/2025

Downloads: 18 weekly / 101 monthly

Latest Version: 1.1.2

Author: yingcaihuang8

Available Nodes

Variables Get

Get global variables (alternative to paid Variables feature)

Variables Set

Set global variables (alternative to paid Variables feature)

Variables Manager

Manage global variables (import/export/backup)

Documentation

n8n-nodes-variables-store

A community node package for n8n that provides global variables functionality - an alternative to the paid Variables feature.

一个为n8n提供全局变量功能的社区节点包 - n8n付费Variables功能的免费替代方案。

English | 中文

English

Features

Variables Get: Retrieve global variables across workflows
Variables Set: Store and manage global variables
Variables Manager: Import/export and manage variable collections
Persistent Storage: Variables are stored persistently in JSON files
Type Support: String, Number, Boolean, and JSON data types
Cross-workflow Access: Variables accessible across all workflows

Installation

Community Nodes (Recommended)

Go to Settings > Community Nodes in your n8n instance
Click Install a community node
Enter n8n-nodes-variables-store
Click Install

Manual Installation

# In your n8n root directory
npm install n8n-nodes-variables-store

Usage

Variables Set Node

Use this node to create and update global variables:

Operations:

Set Variable: Store a single variable with specified type
Set Multiple Variables: Store multiple variables from a JSON object
Delete Variable: Remove a specific variable
Clear All Variables: Remove all stored variables

Example - Set a Variable:

{
  "operation": "set",
  "variableName": "apiUrl",
  "variableValue": "https://api.example.com",
  "valueType": "string"
}

Variables Get Node

Use this node to retrieve stored variables:

Operations:

Get Variable: Retrieve a single variable value
Get All Variables: Get all variables as an object
List Variable Names: Get array of all variable names

Example - Get a Variable:

{
  "operation": "get",
  "variableName": "apiUrl",
  "defaultValue": "https://default.api.com",
  "failOnMissing": false
}

Variables Manager Node

Use this node for advanced variable management:

Operations:

Export Variables: Export all variables as JSON
Import Variables: Import variables from JSON data
Get Info: Get storage information and statistics
Backup Variables: Create a backup of current variables

Variable Access

Unlike n8n's paid Variables feature that uses $vars.variableName, this community solution requires using the nodes to access variables. However, you can create a workflow pattern to simulate the $vars behavior:

Use Variables Get node at the start of workflows
Reference the output in subsequent nodes
Use expressions like {{$node["Variables Get"].json["value"]}}

Storage

Variables are stored in JSON files in your n8n user directory:

Location: ~/.n8n/variables/variables.json
Format: JSON key-value pairs
Persistent across n8n restarts

Data Types

Supported variable types:

String: Text values
Number: Numeric values (integers and floats)
Boolean: true/false values
JSON: Complex objects and arrays

Examples

Basic Variable Management

// Set a configuration variable
{
  "operation": "set",
  "variableName": "environment",
  "variableValue": "production",
  "valueType": "string"
}

// Get the variable in another workflow
{
  "operation": "get",
  "variableName": "environment",
  "defaultValue": "development"
}

Bulk Variable Operations

// Set multiple variables at once
{
  "operation": "setMultiple",
  "variablesObject": {
    "apiUrl": "https://api.example.com",
    "timeout": 5000,
    "retryCount": 3,
    "debugMode": true
  }
}

// Export all variables for backup
{
  "operation": "export"
}

Error Handling

Missing Variables: Use defaultValue or failOnMissing options
Type Conversion: Automatic type conversion based on valueType
Storage Errors: Graceful error handling with detailed messages
Continue on Fail: Supported for all operations

Comparison with n8n Variables

Feature	n8n Variables (Paid)	n8n-nodes-variables-store (Free)
Global Access	`$vars.name`	Node-based access
Persistence	✅	✅
Type Support	✅	✅
Cross-workflow	✅	✅
Import/Export	❌	✅
Backup/Restore	❌	✅
Cost	Paid feature	Free

Troubleshooting

Variables Not Persisting

Check n8n user directory permissions
Ensure ~/.n8n/variables/ directory exists
Verify JSON file is not corrupted

Performance Considerations

Variables are loaded from disk on each access
Consider caching for high-frequency access
Large JSON objects may impact performance

Migration from n8n Variables

Export existing variables (if possible)
Use Variables Manager to import
Update workflows to use new nodes
Test thoroughly before production use

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make your changes
Add tests
Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Support

GitHub Issues: Report bugs and feature requests
n8n Community: Discuss usage and get help
Documentation: Check this README and inline help

Changelog

v1.1.2

Repository Update: Updated GitHub repository URL to correct owner (yingcaihuang)
Package Configuration: Updated homepage and repository URLs in package.json
Documentation: Updated all references to use correct GitHub repository

v1.1.1

Critical Fix: Fixed package.json node paths to match actual build output structure
npm Package Fix: Resolved issue where n8n couldn't find node files in published package
Path Correction: Updated node paths from dist/nodes/ to dist/ to match TypeScript build output

v1.1.0

Bilingual Documentation: Added comprehensive Chinese documentation alongside English
Improved Accessibility: Better support for Chinese-speaking developers
Package Name Update: Updated all references to n8n-nodes-variables-store
Enhanced Examples: Updated example workflows with correct node types
Documentation Structure: Reorganized README with language navigation

v1.0.0

Initial release
Variables Get, Set, and Manager nodes
Persistent JSON storage
Type support for string, number, boolean, JSON
Import/export functionality
Comprehensive error handling

中文

功能特性

Variables Get - 获取全局变量
Variables Set - 设置和管理全局变量
Variables Manager - 导入/导出和高级管理
持久化存储 - 变量在n8n重启后保持
跨工作流访问 - 在所有工作流中使用相同变量
多种数据类型 - 支持字符串、数字、布尔值、JSON

安装

社区节点安装（推荐）

在n8n实例中进入 设置 > 社区节点
点击 安装社区节点
输入 n8n-nodes-variables-store
点击安装

手动安装

# 在n8n根目录中
npm install n8n-nodes-variables-store

使用方法

Variables Set 节点

用于创建和更新全局变量：

操作类型：

设置变量 - 存储单个变量并指定类型
批量设置变量 - 从JSON对象设置多个变量
删除变量 - 删除指定变量
清除所有变量 - 删除所有存储的变量

示例 - 设置变量：

{
  "operation": "set",
  "variableName": "apiUrl",
  "variableValue": "https://api.example.com",
  "valueType": "string"
}

Variables Get 节点

用于获取存储的变量：

操作类型：

获取变量 - 获取单个变量值
获取所有变量 - 获取所有变量作为对象
列出变量名 - 获取所有变量名数组

示例 - 获取变量：

{
  "operation": "get",
  "variableName": "apiUrl",
  "defaultValue": "https://default.api.com",
  "failOnMissing": false
}

Variables Manager 节点

用于高级变量管理：

操作类型：

导出变量 - 将所有变量导出为JSON
导入变量 - 从JSON数据导入变量
获取信息 - 获取存储信息和统计数据
备份变量 - 创建当前变量的备份

变量访问

与n8n付费Variables功能使用 $vars.variableName 不同，这个社区解决方案需要使用节点来访问变量。但是，你可以创建工作流模式来模拟 $vars 行为：

在工作流开始时使用 Variables Get 节点
在后续节点中引用输出
使用表达式如 {{$node["Variables Get"].json["value"]}}

存储

变量存储在n8n用户目录的JSON文件中：

位置：~/.n8n/variables/variables.json
格式：JSON键值对
持久性：n8n重启后保持

数据类型

支持的变量类型：

字符串 - 文本值
数字 - 数值（整数和浮点数）
布尔值 - true/false值
JSON - 复杂对象和数组

使用示例

基本变量管理

// 设置配置变量
{
  "operation": "set",
  "variableName": "environment",
  "variableValue": "production",
  "valueType": "string"
}

// 在另一个工作流中获取变量
{
  "operation": "get",
  "variableName": "environment",
  "defaultValue": "development"
}

批量变量操作

// 一次设置多个变量
{
  "operation": "setMultiple",
  "variablesObject": {
    "apiUrl": "https://api.example.com",
    "timeout": 5000,
    "retryCount": 3,
    "debugMode": true
  }
}

// 导出所有变量进行备份
{
  "operation": "export"
}

与n8n Variables对比

功能	n8n Variables (付费)	n8n-nodes-variables-store (免费)
全局访问	`$vars.name`	基于节点的访问
持久化	✅	✅
类型支持	✅	✅
跨工作流	✅	✅
导入/导出	❌	✅
备份/恢复	❌	✅
成本	付费功能	免费

错误处理

缺失变量 - 使用 defaultValue 或 failOnMissing 选项
类型转换 - 基于 valueType 自动类型转换
存储错误 - 优雅的错误处理和详细消息
继续执行 - 所有操作都支持失败时继续

故障排除

变量不持久化

检查n8n用户目录权限
确保 ~/.n8n/variables/ 目录存在
验证JSON文件未损坏

性能考虑

变量在每次访问时从磁盘加载
考虑为高频访问进行缓存
大型JSON对象可能影响性能

项目亮点

方案优势

完全免费 - 替代n8n付费Variables功能
功能增强 - 提供额外的导入/导出、备份功能
开源 - 社区可以贡献和扩展
专业品质 - 完整的TypeScript实现和测试

技术特性

持久化存储 - 基于JSON文件的可靠存储
类型安全 - 完整的TypeScript支持
测试覆盖 - 11个单元测试确保质量
错误处理 - 完善的错误处理机制

贡献

Fork 仓库
创建功能分支
进行更改
添加测试
提交拉取请求

许可证

MIT许可证 - 查看LICENSE文件了解详情

支持

GitHub Issues：报告错误和功能请求
n8n社区：讨论使用和获取帮助
文档：查看此README和内联帮助

更新日志

v1.1.2

仓库更新: 更新GitHub仓库URL为正确的所有者 (yingcaihuang)
包配置: 更新package.json中的主页和仓库URL
文档: 更新所有引用以使用正确的GitHub仓库

v1.1.1

关键修复: 修复package.json中的节点路径以匹配实际构建输出结构
npm包修复: 解决了n8n无法在已发布包中找到节点文件的问题
路径纠正: 将节点路径从 dist/nodes/ 更新为 dist/ 以匹配TypeScript构建输出

v1.1.0

双语文档: 添加完整的中文文档和英文文档
提升可访问性: 更好地支持中文开发者
包名更新: 更新所有引用为 n8n-nodes-variables-store
增强示例: 更新示例工作流的正确节点类型
文档结构: 重新组织README并添加语言导航

v1.0.0

初始发布
Variables Get、Set和Manager节点
持久化JSON存储
支持字符串、数字、布尔值、JSON类型
导入/导出功能
完善的错误处理

variables-store

Package Information

Available Nodes

Documentation

n8n-nodes-variables-store

English

Features

Installation

Community Nodes (Recommended)

Manual Installation

Usage

Variables Set Node

Variables Get Node

Variables Manager Node

Variable Access

Storage

Data Types

Examples

Basic Variable Management

Bulk Variable Operations

Error Handling

Comparison with n8n Variables

Troubleshooting

Variables Not Persisting

Performance Considerations

Migration from n8n Variables

Contributing

License

Support

Changelog

v1.1.2

v1.1.1

v1.1.0

v1.0.0

中文

功能特性

安装

社区节点安装（推荐）

手动安装

使用方法

Variables Set 节点

Variables Get 节点

Variables Manager 节点

变量访问

存储

数据类型

使用示例

基本变量管理

批量变量操作

与n8n Variables对比

错误处理

故障排除

变量不持久化

性能考虑

项目亮点

方案优势

技术特性

贡献

许可证

支持

更新日志

v1.1.2

v1.1.1

v1.1.0

v1.0.0

Discussion