How-To: Reference Workflows Environment Variables in File Names

When setting up output filenames, you can use environment variables to automatically insert timestamps from either the Workflow run or the Task run. This ensures each file is named consistently and avoids accidental overwrites.

Workflow variables reflect when the overall workflow started.
Task variables reflect when a specific task inside that workflow started.
You can combine these variables with text (like report_ or data_) to create clear, predictable file names.

For example, if your workflow starts on May 8, 2025 at 7:31 PM, a filename like:

CODE

filename_${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_YEAR}${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_MONTH}${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_DAY}.csv

would produce:

CODE

filename_20250508.csv

Important: Two-digit years (YY) are not supported — only four-digit years (YYYY).

The tables below show common patterns you can copy and adapt depending on whether you want to use Workflow-level or Task-level variables.

To see a full list of workflow environment variables, check out Workflow's Environment Variables

Note: some variables are secure credentials and should be treated as such - never use anything like a oauth token, password, alli client cred, s3 or redshift information, Google Cloud information. etc

Reference the workflow or taskrun executions only in filenames for maximum security!

Workflow Specific

File Name Pattern	What to Input	Example Output
filename_MMDDYYYY.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_MONTH}${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_DAY}${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_YEAR}.csv	filename_05082025.csv
filename_EPOCH.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_EPOCH}.csv	filename_1670443778.csv
filename_YYYY-MM-DD.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_YEAR}-${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_MONTH}-${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_DAY}.csv	filename_2025-05-08.csv
filename_HHMMSS.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_HOUR}${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_MINUTE}${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_SECOND}.csv	filename_193129.csv
filename_fulltimestamp.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME}.csv	filename_2025-05-08T19:31:29Z.csv
filename_DateHour.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_YEAR}${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_MONTH}${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_DAY}_${MARKETPLACE_WORKFLOWRUN_START_TIME_HOUR}.csv	filename_20250508_19.csv

Task Specific

File Name Pattern	What to Input	Example Output
filename_MMDDYYYY.csv	`filename_${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_MONTH}${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_DAY}${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_YEAR}.csv`	filename_05082025.csv
filename_EPOCH.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_EPOCH}.csv	filename_1670443778.csv
filename_YYYY-MM-DD.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_YEAR}-${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_MONTH}-${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_DAY}.csv	filename_2025-05-08.csv
filename_HHMMSS.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_HOUR}${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_MINUTE}${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_SECOND}.csv	filename_193129.csv
filename_DateHour.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_YEAR}${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_MONTH}${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_DAY}_${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_START_TIME_HOUR}.csv	filename_20250508_19.csv
filename_fulltimestamp.csv	filename_${MARKETPLACE_TASKRUN_SCHEDULED_TIME}.csv	filename_2025-05-08T19:31:22Z.csv