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Use variables to inject dynamic content into your messages with {{placeholder}} syntax.

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Basic Usage

const result = await tracia.runLocal({
  model: 'gpt-4o',
  messages: [
    { role: 'system', content: 'You are a {{role}}.' },
    { role: 'user', content: 'Help me with {{task}}.' }
  ],
  variables: {
    role: 'helpful coding assistant',
    task: 'writing a REST API'
  }
});
The messages sent to the LLM will be:
  • System: “You are a helpful coding assistant.”
  • User: “Help me with writing a REST API.”

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Variable Syntax

Variables use double curly braces: {{variableName}}
  • Variable names must contain only alphanumeric characters and underscores
  • Variables are case-sensitive
  • Undefined variables are left as-is (not replaced)
const result = await tracia.runLocal({
  model: 'gpt-4o',
  messages: [
    { role: 'user', content: 'Hello {{name}}, how is {{city}}?' }
  ],
  variables: {
    name: 'Alice'
    // 'city' is not provided
  }
});
// Result: "Hello Alice, how is {{city}}?"

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Multi-Message Interpolation

Variables are interpolated across all messages: 
const result = await tracia.runLocal({
  model: 'gpt-4o',
  messages: [
    { role: 'system', content: 'You are an expert in {{language}}.' },
    { role: 'user', content: 'How do I create a class in {{language}}?' },
    { role: 'assistant', content: 'In {{language}}, you create a class using...' },
    { role: 'user', content: 'Can you show me an example in {{language}}?' }
  ],
  variables: {
    language: 'TypeScript'
  }
});

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Common Patterns

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Personalized Responses

const result = await tracia.runLocal({
  model: 'gpt-4o',
  messages: [
    { role: 'system', content: 'You are helping {{userName}} with their {{projectType}} project.' },
    { role: 'user', content: '{{userQuestion}}' }
  ],
  variables: {
    userName: 'Alice',
    projectType: 'e-commerce',
    userQuestion: 'How should I structure the database?'
  }
});

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Dynamic Prompts from Configuration

const promptConfig = {
  systemPrompt: 'You are a {{tone}} assistant specializing in {{domain}}.',
  userTemplate: 'Please {{action}} the following: {{content}}'
};

const result = await tracia.runLocal({
  model: 'gpt-4o',
  messages: [
    { role: 'system', content: promptConfig.systemPrompt },
    { role: 'user', content: promptConfig.userTemplate }
  ],
  variables: {
    tone: 'friendly',
    domain: 'web development',
    action: 'review',
    content: userInput
  }
});

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Locale-Based Content

const translations = {
  en: { greeting: 'Hello', farewell: 'Goodbye' },
  es: { greeting: 'Hola', farewell: 'Adiós' },
  fr: { greeting: 'Bonjour', farewell: 'Au revoir' }
};

const locale = 'es';
const result = await tracia.runLocal({
  model: 'gpt-4o',
  messages: [
    { role: 'system', content: 'Respond using "{{greeting}}" and "{{farewell}}" appropriately.' },
    { role: 'user', content: 'Greet the user and say bye.' }
  ],
  variables: translations[locale]
});

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Variables vs String Interpolation

You might wonder why use Tracia variables instead of JavaScript template literals. The key difference is traceability. 
const result = await tracia.runLocal({
  model: 'gpt-4o',
  messages: [
    { role: 'user', content: 'Summarize {{topic}} for {{audience}}.' }
  ],
  variables: {
    topic: 'machine learning',
    audience: 'beginners'
  }
});
// Span stores: interpolated messages + original variables
// Variables are preserved for filtering and analysis

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With Template Literals

const topic = 'machine learning';
const audience = 'beginners';

const result = await tracia.runLocal({
  model: 'gpt-4o',
  messages: [
    { role: 'user', content: `Summarize ${topic} for ${audience}.` }
  ]
});
// Span stores: only the final string
// No way to filter by variable values
Using Tracia variables allows you to:
  • Filter spans by variable values in the dashboard
  • Analyze prompt performance across different inputs
  • Group spans by the variables used

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Escaping Curly Braces

If you need literal curly braces in your content, they won’t be interpolated if they don’t match the {{word}} pattern: 
const result = await tracia.runLocal({
  model: 'gpt-4o',
  messages: [
    { role: 'user', content: 'In JavaScript, objects use {key: value} syntax. My name is {{name}}.' }
  ],
  variables: { name: 'Alice' }
});
// Result: "In JavaScript, objects use {key: value} syntax. My name is Alice."
Single braces and braces with spaces inside are preserved as-is.