# Tags and variables

The bot stores two kinds of its own data about a contact: tags and variables. The bot itself also has global variables — shared by all contacts.

| What | Whose | What it stores | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tag | The contact's | A mark: the contact either has it or not | "placed an order" |
| Contact variable | The contact's | A name and a value, different for every contact | `city` = `Leeds` |
| Global variable | The bot's | A name and a value, the same for everyone | `shop_address` = `1 Garden Street` |

## Tags

A tag is a short mark on a contact. Tags are used to pick contacts and to branch the scenario.

### How to assign a tag

You do not need to create tags in advance: a tag appears when it is assigned for the first time.

- **With the scenario.** The ["Assign tag"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/contact-data/add-tags) block sets tags, the ["Delete tag"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/contact-data/delete-tags) block removes them.
- **Manually.** In the [list of contacts](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/contacts/list) or in the [contact card](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/contacts/card), click "Add", type the tag's name and press Enter. The cross on a tag removes it.
- **When uploading from Excel** — from the column with tags. See the [Import and export](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/contacts/import-export) page.

A tag's name in the account is up to 60 characters. The same tag is not added to a contact a second time.

### Where tags are used

- in the filters of the [list of contacts](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/contacts/list) — "Contact contains tags";
- in the filters of a [mailing's recipients](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/mailings/audience) — "Contains tags" and "Does not contain tags";
- in the ["Condition"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/logic/condition) block — "Contact contains tags" and "Contact does not contain tags".

### Tag hints

When you type a tag, the platform suggests names that have already been used in this bot. The list of these names is the "Tag hints" list: open "Lists" in the bot's menu and click the "Tag hints" row.

A name gets into the list when you first type the tag in the account. You cannot create or rename tags here — the list is needed to remove what is unnecessary from the hints: typos and tags you no longer use.

- To delete one name, click the bin icon in the row.
- To delete several, tick them with the checkboxes and click "Delete …".

> [!NOTE]
> Deleting a tag from the list does not affect contacts' tags. Those who already have the tag keep it — only the hint disappears.

## Contact variables

A variable is a name and a value that the bot stores for a contact: an answer to a question, a chosen product, an order amount. Every contact has their own values.

### Where variables come from

- **From the scenario.** The ["Save user answer to variable"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/contact-data/set-variable) and ["Variable operation"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/contact-data/variable-operation) blocks write values, the ["Delete variable"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/contact-data/delete-variables) block deletes them.
- **From the link the person came by.** The link's parameters are saved to the new contact's variables. Variables whose names start with `utm_` are shown in the list of contacts in the UTM column. Links are covered in the [Links to chatbot](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/links) section.
- **Manually** — in the "Contact data" section of the [card](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/contacts/card).
- **When uploading from Excel** — from the chosen columns of the file.

### How to use them

In a message's text, a contact variable is written in double curly braces with the `$` sign: `{{ $city }}`. All the notations, functions and expressions are in the [Templates](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/templates) section.

You can pick contacts by a variable's value with the "Contact contains variables" filter in the [list of contacts](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/contacts/list), and check it in the scenario with the ["Condition"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/logic/condition) block.

### User variable hints

A list of the variable names that have occurred in the bot. Open "Lists" and click the row with this name.

Using the list, the platform suggests names when you type a variable in the contact card, in filters and when uploading from Excel. The [contact export](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/contacts/import-export) depends on it too: a column in the file is created for every variable from the list.

Names are deleted the same way as tags: with the bin in the row, or with the checkboxes and the "Delete …" button.

> [!NOTE]
> Deleting a variable from the list does not affect contacts' variables: the values stay. But there will be no more hints for this name and no column in the export.

## Global variables

A global variable belongs to the bot and is the same for all contacts: the shop's address, the support phone number, a counter of promotion participants. You change the value in one place — and it changes in all the messages where the variable is inserted.

Open "Lists" and click the "Global variables" row. The "Variables" page opens.

![Global variables page of the bot](https://support.watbot.org/_media/en/01-chatbots/07-contacts/_images/global-variables.webp?v=1791781230)

### Creating a variable

1. Click "Create".
2. In the "Create variable" window, fill in "Name" and "Value".
3. Click "Create".

The name is up to 255 characters, the value — up to 1000. One bot can have no more than 5000 global variables.

> [!TIP]
> Name variables without spaces: `shop_address`, `support_phone`. Such a name is easier to insert into text.

### Changing and deleting

- The pencil icon opens the "Edit variable" window. Only the value can be changed — the name stays the same.
- The bin icon deletes the variable. Before deleting, check that it is not used in the scenario's messages.

The scenario can change global variables too — with the ["Save user answer to variable"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/contact-data/set-variable) and ["Variable operation"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/contact-data/variable-operation) blocks.

### How to use them

In a message's text, a global variable is written in double curly braces without the `$` sign: `{{ shop_address }}`. How to write a name with spaces and how to use a variable in expressions is on the [Data you can insert](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/templates/data) page.

## If something does not work

- **"This variable already exists."** A global variable with this name has already been created. Open it with the pencil and change the value.
- **"You cannot create more than 5000 global variables for one bot."** The limit on the number of global variables is reached. Delete the ones you do not need.
- **A variable is missing from the contact export.** Its name is not in the "User variable hints" list. Add a variable with this name through "Add field" in the card of a contact who does not have it yet — the name returns to the list.
- **A tag is deleted from the hints, but contacts with it are still found.** This is how it should be: the list does not change contacts' tags. To remove a tag, take it off in the card or with the "Delete tag" block.