When a variable has multiple values across scopes, Jaws Deploy resolves by specificity. The most specific matching scope wins.
The specificity order
From most specific (highest priority) to least specific:
First match in this list wins
- Step-specific value (scope: the deployment step currently running).
- Target-specific value (scope: exact target).
- Tag-specific value (scope: tag that the current target carries).
- Environment-specific value (scope: current environment).
- Project-default value (scope: project, no other constraints).
- Workspace-level value (scope: workspace, no other constraints).
Step-scoped values
A variable value can be pinned to one or more project steps with a step filter. When that step runs, its value overrides everything else for the same variable, including a target-specific value, and no other step sees it. This is the most specific scope there is.
Reach for it when a single step needs a different value than the rest of the process: a longer command timeout for the migration step, a different path for the warm-up step, a feature flag flipped only while one step runs. The variable keeps its name, so you avoid inventing a parallel ConnectionStringForMigrations and remembering to use it in one place.
Two matches at the same level
If two values match with the same specificity, the deployment fails instead of picking one. The usual cause is two tag-scoped values where the target carries both tags. Add another scope to one of the values, or change the tags so only one matches.
Scopes add up: a value scoped to an environment and a tag beats a value scoped to the tag alone, and any target-scoped value beats both.
How a deployment resolves a variable
Target web-prd-eu-01 is in environment Production with tags role:web and region:eu. The deployment process has a Warm cache step.
Variable: Cache.Endpoint
Defined values:
- scope: project -> "localhost:6379"
- scope: env=Production -> "prod-cache:6379"
- scope: env=Production, tag=region:eu -> "prod-cache-eu:6379"
- scope: target=web-prd-eu-01 -> "override-cache:6379"
- scope: step=Warm cache -> "warmups-cache-eu:6379"
Resolution for the 'Warm cache' step on web-prd-eu-01:
-> "warmups-cache-eu:6379" # the step value wins, even over the target value
Resolution for any other step on web-prd-eu-01:
-> "override-cache:6379" # target-specific wins
Resolution for deployment to web-prd-us-01 (no override):
-> "prod-cache:6379" # env wins (no tag match for region:eu)When to use each scope
Use the project default for sensible defaults and environments for most differences. Use tags for cross-cutting concerns such as region or role. Use a target scope only for one-off overrides, for example during an incident. If target-scoped values pile up, they probably belong on a tag. Use a step scope when one step needs a different value from the rest of the process. Keep these few, because a value only one step can see is easy to forget.