rq.environment (Environment variables)

Complete reference for the rq.environment object in Requestly scripts to manage environment variables dynamically during API request execution.

The rq.environment object provides methods to dynamically manage environment variables during script execution. Environment variables are scoped to a specific environment and can be used across multiple requests within that environment.

Methods

rq.environment.set(key, value)

Sets an environment variable with the given key and value. If the variable already exists, it will be updated with the new value.

Parameters:

• key (string): The name of the environment variable
• value (any): The value to store. Scalar values are stored as strings; passing an array stores a real array, so a later get returns the array unchanged. Passing null or undefined clears the variable, which is equivalent to unset(key), so a later get returns undefined (not the string "null").

Example:

rq.environment.set("authToken", "Bearer <TOKEN>");

rq.environment.get(key)

Retrieves the value of the specified environment variable.

Parameters:

• key (string): The name of the environment variable to retrieve

Returns: The value of the environment variable, or undefined if it doesn’t exist.

Example:

const token = rq.environment.get("authToken");
console.log("Token:", token);

rq.environment.unset(key)

Removes the specified environment variable from the current environment.

Parameters:

• key (string): The name of the environment variable to remove

Example:

rq.environment.unset("authToken");

rq.environment.clear()

Removes all variables from the current environment.

Parameters: none.

Example:

rq.environment.clear();
console.log("All environment variables cleared");

Common Use Cases

Store Authentication Token

After receiving a login response, store the auth token for use in subsequent requests:

// In post-response script
const responseData = rq.response.json();
if (responseData.token) {
    rq.environment.set("authToken", "Bearer " + responseData.token);
    console.log("Auth token saved to environment");
}

Auto Increment Page Numbers

Automatically increment a page number for pagination:

// In pre-request script
const currentPage = rq.environment.get("page_number") || 1;
rq.environment.set("page_number", currentPage + 1);
console.log("Next page:", currentPage + 1);

Store API Response Data

Extract and store data from API responses for use in other requests:

// In post-response script
const data = rq.response.json();
rq.environment.set("user_id", data.id);
rq.environment.set("user_email", data.email);
rq.environment.set("created_at", data.created_at);

Conditional Token Management

Check if a token exists and set it only if needed:

// In pre-request script
const token = rq.environment.get("authToken");
if (!token) {
    console.error("Auth token not found! Please login first.");
} else {
    console.log("Using existing auth token");
}

Clean Up Sensitive Data

Remove sensitive information after use:

// After completing authenticated requests
rq.environment.unset("authToken");
rq.environment.unset("password");
console.log("Sensitive data cleared from environment");

Track Request Counts

Keep track of how many times a request has been made:

// In post-response script
const requestCount = parseInt(rq.environment.get("request_count") || "0");
rq.environment.set("request_count", requestCount + 1);
console.log("This request has been made", requestCount + 1, "times");

Working with array variables

An array variable stores a list of values. When you set an array, Requestly stores it as a real array, and get returns it as a real array rather than a comma-joined string:

rq.environment.set("ids", ["a", "b", "c"]);

const ids = rq.environment.get("ids");
console.log(Array.isArray(ids)); // true
console.log(ids[0]); // "a"

You can also read the first or last items with .first() and .last():

const ids = rq.environment.get("ids");
ids.first(); // "a"
ids.last(); // "c"
ids.first(2); // ["a", "b"]
ids.last(2); // ["b", "c"]

Best Practices

1. Use Descriptive Names: Choose clear, descriptive names for environment variables (e.g., authToken instead of token)

2. Check for Existence: Always check if a variable exists before using it:

   const value = rq.environment.get("myVar");
   if (value) {
       // Use the value
   } else {
       console.error("Variable not found");
   }
   

3. Clean Up: Remove sensitive data when no longer needed using unset()

4. Type Handling: Most environment variable values are stored as strings, so convert them when needed. Array-typed variables are the exception and are returned as real arrays:

   const pageNum = parseInt(rq.environment.get("page_number"));
   

Related Documentation

• Pre-request & Post-response Scripts
• rq.sendRequest Object
• rq.execution Object
• rq.request Object
• rq.response Object
• rq.collectionVariables Object
• rq.globals Object
• rq.vault Object
• rq.test Object
• rq.expect Object