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 exactly one place.
How a real 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" # step-specific 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
Project-default for sensible defaults. Environment for the bulk of differentiation. Tag for cross-cutting concerns (region, role). Target only for one-off overrides during incidents - if you find target-scoped values accumulating, you have a tag opportunity hiding in them. Step for the rare case where one step in the process genuinely needs a different value than its neighbours - keep these few and intentional, since a value that only one step can see is easy to forget.