{{ ... }} templates in exactly two workflow attributes: the graph goal and node prompts. Every other attribute is literal text.
Template context
Goal and prompt templates can reference:| Expression | Resolves to |
|---|---|
{{ goal }} | The workflow goal |
{{ inputs.name }} | A value from [run.inputs], optionally overridden by CLI input flags |
{{ env.NAME }} only in config strings and HTTP hook headers.
Run config inputs
Define typed inputs in[run.inputs]:
run.toml
goal and node prompt attributes:
check.fabro
script, label, model, provider, condition, and all edge attributes — do not render templates. If one of them contains {{ … }} or {% … %}, the syntax is treated as literal text and Fabro records a detemplated_attribute warning suggesting you move the dynamic value into a prompt or goal.
Override individual inputs at run time with repeatable -I / --input flags:
foo= are accepted as empty strings. Arrays, inline tables, and datetimes are rejected.
Server-managed run config variables
Use server-managed variables for non-sensitive values that should be shared across runs, such as deployment environments, default branches, regions, or image tags:{{ vars.NAME }}:
workflow.toml
fabro variable list and fabro variable get DEPLOY_ENV show stored values. Do not store tokens, API keys, or credentials as variables; use fabro secret set for sensitive values.
goal
Agent and prompt nodes also receive the workflow goal at runtime:
example.fabro
Create a plan for: Implement the login feature.
Expansion timing
Fabro keeps workflow structure static and renders workflow templates once:- Fabro parses the root DOT and imported
.fabrofiles without rendering them. - Literal
import,@file, graph-goal file, and child-workflow references are resolved. - The graph
goaland nodepromptattributes are rendered with the{ goal, inputs }context.
import paths, @file paths, child workflow paths, other file references, or any attribute besides prompt and goal.
Fabro renders the graph goal first and stores the rendered value back onto the graph. Prompts that use {{ goal }} receive that rendered value.
Undefined variables
Fabro renders undefined workflow variables as empty text and records atemplate_undefined_variable diagnostic. fabro validate reports that diagnostic as a warning so you can validate workflow structure before all inputs are known. Run-style commands such as fabro run, fabro create, and preflight promote the same diagnostic to an error before proceeding.
Template includes
Prompt and goal templates support static MiniJinja loader dependencies such as{% include "partial.md" %}. Includes are resolved relative to the template file being rendered and can be nested.
Fabro discovers those static dependencies while building the run manifest so sandbox providers receive every required prompt file. Dynamic loader expressions such as {% include inputs.partial %} are rejected; use a literal include path and choose content with normal template conditionals instead.
Escaping
To emit literal template syntax, use MiniJinja escaping:{{ '{{' }} when needed.
Input merging
TOML[run.inputs] tables intentionally replace the inherited map wholesale rather than merging by key. Whichever TOML layer has the highest precedence and sets [run.inputs] wins its entire map.
CLI input flags are different: they are sparse per-key overrides applied after config resolution, so unrelated inherited inputs remain available. If a key is repeated on the CLI, the last value wins.
| Source | Priority |
|---|---|
CLI flags (-I key=value / --input key=value, repeated; per-key merge) | Highest |
workflow.toml [run.inputs] | |
.fabro/project.toml [run.inputs] | |
~/.fabro/settings.toml [run.inputs] | Lowest |