docs-v2/content/v2.0/visualize-data/variables/create-variable.md

title	seotitle	description	menu	weight	v2.0/tags
Create a variable	Create a dashboard variable	Create dashboard variables in the Data Explorer, from the Organization page, or import a variable.	v2_0 parent Use and manage variables	201	variables

Create dashboard variables in the Data Explorer, from the Settings section, or import a variable. Variable names must be unique.

There are multiple variable types that provide different means of populating your list of variable values. For information about variable types, see Variable types.

{{% note %}}

Reserved keywords

The following names cannot be used as dashboard variables because they are reserved keywords in Flux: and, import, not, return, option, test, empty, in, or, package, and builtin. {{% /note %}}

Create a variable in the Data Explorer

{{% note %}} InfluxData recommends using the Data Explorer to create Query dashboard variables. The Table visualization type and View Raw Data option to provide human-readable query results. {{% /note %}}

1. Click the Data Explorer icon in the sidebar.

   {{< nav-icon "data-explorer" >}}

2. Use the Query Builder or Script Editor to build a query.

3. Use the Table visualization type or enable the View Raw Data option to view human-readable query results.

4. Click Save As in the upper right.

5. In the window that appears, select Variable.

6. Enter a name for your variable in the Name field.

7. Click Create.

For information about common Query variables, see Common variable queries.

Create a variable in the Settings section

1. Click the Settings icon in the navigation bar.

   {{< nav-icon "settings" >}}

2. Select the Variables tab.

3. Enter a name for your variable.

4. Select your variable type. For details on each type, see Variable types.

5. Enter the appropriate variable information.

6. Click Create.

Import a variable

InfluxDB lets you import variables exported from InfluxDB in JSON format.

1. Click the Settings icon in the navigation bar.

   {{< nav-icon "settings" >}}

2. Select the Variables tab.

3. Click the {{< icon "plus" >}} Create Variable drop-down menu and select Import Variable.

4. In the window that appears:

• Select Upload File to drag and drop or select a file.
• Select Paste JSON to paste in JSON.

6. Click Import JSON as Variable.