Data Types

You'll see data types all over Xano, most notably in value fields, to represent the type of data being used for that value.

What is a data type?

Get an overview of how data types are used in Xano.

Data types in Xano

View all of the available data types and their specific functions

Changing data types

Learn how to modify data types if it becomes necessary

---

What is a data type?

As an example, we can use a Create Variable step.

You will notice that the value of 10 has an integer tag above it. This indicates that we are applying the integer data type to this variable

If we instead type 'Hello' as the value for this variable, it switches automatically to text.

It is important to make sure your data type is set appropriately for the data that you are utilizing for that specific value, or you may run into errors.

---

Data Types in Xano

Data Type	Function	Example
text	A text string	"Hello"
expression	An expression using inline syntax (read more)	a+b*c
array	A list of values or objects	[1,2,3]
object	A single JSON object	{text: hello, text2: goodbye}
integer	A number	100
decimal	A number with decimals	3.14
bool	True or False	true false
timestamp	A timestamp in UNIX Epoch format, in milliseconds	1702563772000
null	A null value	null

---

Changing Data Types

You can modify the data type of a value by either applying a manual selection or using a filter to convert the data.

Manual Selection of Data Type

When you click a value box, you will see that a drop-down modal appears, allowing quick access to your variables, environment variables, as well as a list of data types. You can navigate to the list of data types quickly by clicking const in the header of the modal, and select the data type of your choice.

For example, when we type a number in a value box, this will typically default to the integer data type. But, if you want this to remain a text string, we can simply change the data type, as shown below.

Filtering to Change Data Type

We also have a number of filters that can serve the purpose of changing the data type of a value.

Filter Name	Function
to_int	Converts to integer data type
to_decimal	Converts to decimal data type
to_text	Converts to text data type
to_timestamp	Converts to timestamp data type
to_bool	Converts to boolean data type
safe_array	Not specifically used to turn a string into an array, but ensures that an array data type is always returned
format_timestamp	Converts a timestamp data type into a human-readable format as a text string