Two different nodes, two different jobs: Set Variable names values for easy referencing anywhere in the workflow; State Manager gives a code node a persistent memory that survives across runs.
Set Variable
The Set Variable node stores one or more name + value pairs. Each value can be a literal or a reference like {{form.campaign_name}}. After the node runs, every variable is available anywhere in the workflow as {{vars.name}}, with no node ID needed.
| Field | What it does |
|---|
| Variables | List of assignments, each with a Variable Name and a Value |
{{vars.name}} still resolves in later runs and in partial runs that don’t re-execute the Set Variable node.
Example: a setup form collects a spreadsheet URL once; a Set Variable node stores it as sheet_url, and every Sheets node in the workflow references {{vars.sheet_url}} instead of repeating the form reference.
State Manager
The State Manager node holds a JSON state object scoped to that node within the workflow, persisted in the database across runs.
| Field | What it does |
|---|
| State | Default values, e.g. {"counter": 0, "items": []}. Persisted state from previous runs overrides these defaults. |
state parameter; mutate it directly (state.counter += 1) and the changes are saved back automatically after the code runs. The next run, even days later, starts from the saved state.
Example: a scheduled scraper keeps state.seen_ids in a State Manager so each run only processes items it hasn’t seen before.
Use Set Variable for values you reference across nodes in a run. Use State Manager when code needs memory that accumulates across runs.
Next steps
