Variables

Use {{VAR_NAME}} to inject dynamic values into your hunts.

Variable Sources

Variables are resolved in this precedence order (highest to lowest):

1. Hunt vars — defined in the hunt's vars: block
2. Environment variables — from process.env
3. .env file — loaded from the same directory as the resolved config.yml (default: .prowl/.env)

# .prowl/hunts/login-flow.yml
vars:
  EMAIL: "{{TEST_EMAIL}}"     # References env var TEST_EMAIL
  TIMEOUT: "5000"             # Static value

steps:
  - fill:
      "Email": "{{EMAIL}}"    # Resolves to the value of TEST_EMAIL

.env File

Create .prowl/.env for secrets and environment-specific values (or place .env next to your custom --config file):

TEST_EMAIL=user@example.com
TEST_PASSWORD=secret123

warning

Add your active config-directory .env file to .gitignore to avoid committing secrets. The prowl init command generates .prowl/.gitignore including .env by default.

Interpolation in Steps

Variables can be used in any string value within steps:

steps:
  - navigate: "/users/{{USER_ID}}"
  - fill:
      "Email": "{{EMAIL}}"
  - wait: "Welcome, {{USERNAME}}"
  - waitForUrl:
      value: "/dashboard/{{ORG_ID}}"

Built-in Random Variables

Prowl provides a set of {{RANDOM_*}} variables for generating unique test data — useful for sign-up flows, create-record tests, and anything that needs a fresh value each run. They are generated once per hunt run, so every reference within a single hunt resolves to the same value.

Variable	Generates	Example
{{RANDOM_EMAIL}}	A unique test email	prowl_a7b2c9d1@test.com
{{RANDOM_NAME}}	A first + last name	Jordan Smith
{{RANDOM_NUMBER}}	A 4-digit number (1000–9999)	4729
{{RANDOM_UUID}}	A UUID v4	550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
{{RANDOM_TEXT}}	8 lowercase alphanumeric chars	abc3def9

steps:
  - navigate: "/signup"
  - fill:
      "Full name": "{{RANDOM_NAME}}"
  - fill:
      "Email": "{{RANDOM_EMAIL}}"
  - click: "Create account"
  - assert:
      visible: "Welcome, {{RANDOM_NAME}}"

note

Because each variable is fixed for the duration of a run, {{RANDOM_EMAIL}} used in a sign-up step and again in a later login step will match — no need to capture it yourself.

Nested Variable References

Hunt vars can reference environment variables:

vars:
  EMAIL: "{{TEST_EMAIL}}"        # Resolved from env/dotenv
  PASSWORD: "{{TEST_PASSWORD}}"  # Resolved from env/dotenv
  URL_SUFFIX: "/dashboard"       # Static value

The vars block is pre-interpolated against environment variables before being merged into the variable lookup map.

Automatic Redaction

Any fill or type step whose value came from a {{VAR}} interpolation is automatically redacted in reports:

# In summary.md and result.json:
fill "[data-testid='email']" → [REDACTED]

This prevents credentials from leaking into artifacts, CI logs, or screenshots.

Variable Overrides in runHunt

When using runHunt with variable overrides, the passed variables take highest precedence within the sub-hunt:

- runHunt:
    name: "login-flow"
    vars:
      EMAIL: "admin@test.com"
      PASSWORD: "{{ADMIN_PASSWORD}}"