Cluster variables
Manage configuration values centrally across your Camunda cluster with cluster variables.
About
Within your Camunda cluster, you can define variables at two levels: globally for the entire cluster, or at the tenant level when multi-tenancy is enabled.
Cluster variables allows you to maintain environment-specific configurations, API endpoints, feature flags, and other shared values without hardcoding them into individual process definitions.
Why use
Cluster variables provide centralized, flexible, and environment-aware configuration for your processes. They allow you to:
- Define configuration once and reuse it across multiple processes.
- Use different values for development, staging, and production without changing BPMN models.
- Support multi-tenant setups with tenant-specific overrides on top of global defaults.
- Promote processes across environments without modifying process definitions.
- Update configuration at runtime without redeploying.
- Manage shared settings such as API endpoints and service URLs, feature flags, and integration credentials.
When not to use
Consider alternatives for the following use cases:
| Use case | Recommended alternative |
|---|---|
| Process instance-specific data | Process variables |
| Values that change frequently during execution | Process variables |
| Sensitive credentials | Secrets management |
| Large payloads | External storage with references |
Get started
Get started with cluster variables with the following tutorial.
Create your first cluster variable
Learn the fundamentals
Understand the fundamental concepts of cluster variables.
How to use
Learn how to use and access cluster variables.
Scope priority
Learn how cluster variable scope resolution works.
Namespace collisions
Understand namespace collisions in cluster variables.
Supported data types
Understand data types supported by cluster variables.
Explore further resources
Dive into common use cases and the API documentation to extend your knowledge.
