Template Variables

Use {{field_name}} references in intake bot schemas to personalize questions and content at runtime.

Template variables let intake bot authors reference previous answers anywhere in the schema using a {{field_name}} placeholder. They are resolved at runtime for each respondent — the schema you read via the API always contains the raw {{field_name}} syntax.

Syntax

{{field_name}}

Where field_name is the name property of any question field that appears earlier in the schema.

Examples

{ "label": "Great {{full_name}}, which plan suits you best?" }
{ "helper_text": "Since you chose {{service_type}}, we need a few more details." }
{ "body": "Thanks {{full_name}}! Based on your interest in {{service_type}}..." }

Where Template Variables Appear

Location	Field	Supported
Question label	`label`	Yes
Helper text	`helper_text`	Yes
Placeholder text	`placeholder`	Yes
Content block body	`body`	Yes
CTA URL	`ctas[].url`	Yes
AI goal / instruction	`ai_intelligence.goal`	Yes
AI content block prompt	`ai_generation.prompt`	Yes

Scoping Rules

A variable can only reference fields that appear before it in the schema (no forward references).
Private fields are excluded from template resolution in AI contexts. They can appear in visible content, but are never sent to AI models.
If the referenced field has not been answered yet, the placeholder resolves to an empty string.

Reading Schemas via the API

When you retrieve a schema via GET /intake-bots/:id, template variables are returned as-is in the JSON — they are not pre-resolved:

{
  "label": "Great {{full_name}}, which plan suits you best?",
  "helper_text": "Since you chose {{service_type}}, we need a few more details."
}

Resolution only happens at runtime inside the intake bot session for each respondent. If you are building an integration that reads a schema to understand the bot's structure, treat {{field_name}} as a documentation hint about personalization intent.

Resolving Variables Yourself

If you are building a custom frontend or preview tool and want to resolve template variables against a known set of answers:

function resolveTemplate(text, answers) {
  return text.replace(/\{\{(\w+)\}\}/g, (_, key) => answers[key] ?? '');
}

const label = resolveTemplate(
  'Great {{full_name}}, which plan suits you best?',
  { full_name: 'Jane Doe', service_type: 'Enterprise' }
);
// → "Great Jane Doe, which plan suits you best?"

CTA URLs with Template Variables

When a content block CTA has action: "modal" or action: "link" and the url contains template variables, values are URL-encoded before being substituted:

https://cal.com/book?name={{full_name}}&email={{email}}
→ https://cal.com/book?name=Jane%20Doe&email=jane%40example.com

Note: Private field values are never included in CTA URLs, regardless of the template reference.