Workflow Studio input and output data variables

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Workflow Studio Input and Output Data Variables

    Workflow Studio enables users to manage input and output data through variables, which are crucial for storing and manipulating data in actions and subflows. Understanding these variables allows ServiceNow customers to effectively create custom actions and flows.

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    Key Features

    • Data Types: Workflow Studio supports various data types that correspond to ServiceNow AI Platform records and complex data structures. This includes types like Record, Array, Choice, and JSON.
    • Input and Output Variables: Action inputs and outputs are displayed as data pills in the Data pane, allowing users to easily view and manage data associated with workflows.
    • Hierarchy and Contents: Users can expand data pills to inspect the contents and hierarchy of child elements related to the variables.
    • Subflow Management: The UI clearly distinguishes between flow triggers and subflow inputs/outputs, enhancing data management within workflows.

    Key Outcomes

    By leveraging the various data types and managing input/output variables effectively, ServiceNow customers can create more dynamic and efficient workflows. This results in improved automation and data handling, contributing to enhanced operational efficiency within their ServiceNow environment.

    Actions and subflows use variables to store input and output data. The variable data type determines what kind of data it stores and its advanced configuration options.

    Data variables available for actions

    The Workflow Studio UI displays action inputs as data pills in the Input Variables section of the Data pane. Action outputs are listed as data pills in the Output Variables section of the Data pane.

    Workflow Studio does not display step input variables in the data pane. The output variables produced by each step are available in the data pane as part of the step that created them. For more information on using input and output variables to create a custom action, see Building actions.

    Figure 1. Sample Workflow Studio data panel
    Screen shot of the Workflow Studio data panel. The Input Variables section contains a record data pill labelled Incident. The Output Variables section contains a record data pill labelled Problem.

    Each data pill consists of a label and a data type description. For example, the Incident input variable uses the Record data type to store an incident Sys ID. The Problem output variable uses the Record data type to store a problem Sys ID. You can expand data pills to see the contents and hierarchy of any child elements.

    Data variables available for flows and subflows

    The Workflow Studio UI displays the flow trigger as a data pill in the data pane, and displays subflow inputs as data pills in the Subflow Inputs section of the Data pane. Subflow outputs are listed as data pills in the Subflow Outputs section of the Data pane.

    Workflow Studio does not display action input variables in the data pane. The output variables produced by each action are available in the data pane as part of the action that created them. For more information on using input and output variables to create a flow, see Building flows.

    Supported variable data types

    Workflow Studio supports variable data types to store ServiceNow AI Platform record data and complex data. Variables that store record data must have a data type matching the ServiceNow AI Platform field type of the source data. Variables for complex data must match the type of complex data stored, either an array or an object.
    Note:
    This reference documentation doesn't list all possible ServiceNow AI Platform data types available to actions and flows. Instead, the reference information focuses on the data types used by ServiceNow provided actions and flows. For a list and descriptions of available ServiceNow AI Platform data types, see field type.