---
description: Access your environment's custom variables.
contentType: reference
---

# `$vars`

!!! info "Feature availability"
	* Available on Self-hosted Enterprise and Pro and Enterprise Cloud plans.
	* You need access to the n8n instance owner account to create variables.

`$vars` contains all [Variables](/variables/) for the active environment. It's read-only: you can access variables using `$vars`, but must set them using the UI.

```js
// Access a variable
$vars.<variable-name>
```

!!! note "$vars and $env"
	`$vars` gives access to user-created variables. It's part of the [Environments](/environments/) feature. `$env` gives access to the [configuration environment variables](/hosting/environment-variables/environment-variables/) for your n8n instance.