Placeholders Reference

Email template placeholders for Access Reviews, Lifecycle Management, and Access Intelligence notifications.

This reference covers the placeholder tokens available for customizing Veza email templates. After reading this document, you will be able to:

• Use the correct placeholder syntax for each notification type

• Choose appropriate placeholders for Access Reviews, Lifecycle Management, and Access Intelligence templates

• Implement Handlebars loops and conditionals for dynamic content

• Troubleshoot common placeholder issues

Overview

Placeholders are tokens wrapped in double curly braces (e.g., {{PLACEHOLDER_NAME}}) that Veza replaces with dynamic values when sending notifications. Each product area has its own set of placeholders based on the data available for that notification type.

Document sections:

• Best practices - Syntax rules and recommendations

• Access Reviews placeholders - Certification and digest notifications

• Lifecycle Management placeholders - Identity and provisioning events

• Access Intelligence placeholders - Query alerts and risk notifications

• Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

Best practices

This section covers placeholder syntax and conventions. For template testing procedures, see Testing templates in the customization guide.

Syntax and formatting

Placeholders use double curly braces with uppercase names:

<!-- Correct -->
{{WORKFLOW_NAME}}
{{ENTITY_TYPE}}

<!-- These will not be replaced -->
{WORKFLOW_NAME}      <!-- single braces -->
{{workflow_name}}    <!-- wrong case -->
{{ WORKFLOW_NAME }}  <!-- spaces inside braces -->

Predefined placeholders (documented in this reference) use UPPERCASE_WITH_UNDERSCORES. Dynamic LCM attribute placeholders use the exact casing from your integration's attribute names.

Handling empty values

When a placeholder has no value, Veza renders it as empty text rather than showing the placeholder token. Design your templates to handle missing data gracefully:

<!-- Shows "Due date: " with nothing after if no due date -->
<p>Due date: {{WORKFLOW_CERT_DUE_ON_DATE}}</p>

<!-- Use Handlebars conditionals to hide the entire element -->
{{#if WORKFLOW_CERT_DUE_ON_DATE}}
<p>Due date: {{WORKFLOW_CERT_DUE_ON_DATE}}</p>
{{/if}}

These common placeholders may be empty:

• {{WORKFLOW_CERT_DUE_ON_DATE}} - reviews without due dates

• {{DUE_DATE}} in digest loops - certifications without due dates

• {{EVENT_ERROR_MESSAGE}} - successful events have no error

• {{DIGEST_SUMMARY}} - only populated if summaries are enabled

Date and time formats

Access Reviews placeholders follow a naming convention for date formats:

Suffix	Format	Example
_DATE	Simple date	"2024-01-15"
_TIME	Full timestamp	"Mon, Jan 15th 2024, 3:04:05PM"

For example:

• {{WORKFLOW_CERT_STARTED_ON_DATE}} → "2024-01-15"

• {{WORKFLOW_CERT_STARTED_ON_TIME}} → "Mon, Jan 15th 2024, 9:00:00AM"

Choose based on your template's space constraints and detail requirements.

LCM dynamic attributes

Lifecycle Management templates can reference entity attributes directly. Use the typed format when your workflow processes multiple entity types to avoid ambiguity:

<!-- Untyped: works when only one entity type is involved -->
Department: {{department}}
Manager: {{manager}}

<!-- Typed: required when multiple entity types are in context -->
Okta department: {{OktaUser.department}}
AD department: {{ActiveDirectoryUser.department}}

Attribute names must match exactly as they appear in Veza, including casing. Check the entity's properties in Access Intelligence > Overview to confirm attribute names.

Access Reviews placeholders

Global placeholders

These placeholders are available in all Access Review notification templates:

Placeholder	Description	Example Value
{{WORKFLOW_NAME}}	Configuration name	"Q1 Access Review"
{{WORKFLOW_TEXT}}	Default notification text (varies by event)	"A new certification was started"
{{WORKFLOW_URL}}	Link to the review in Veza	https://tenant.veza.com/...
{{WORKFLOW_TIME}}	Timestamp in GMT	"Mon, Jan 2nd 2024, 3:04:05PM"
{{WORKFLOW_OWNER}}	Configuration owner name	"John Smith"
{{WORKFLOW_DESCRIPTION}}	Configuration description	"Quarterly review of admin access"

Review (certification) placeholders

When a review exists for a configuration, these additional placeholders are available:

Placeholder	Description	Format
{{CERT_NAME}}	Review name	"Q1 Review - January 2024"
{{CERT_APPROVAL_LEVEL}}	Current approval level (multi-level reviews)	"1"
{{CERT_APPROVAL_LEVEL_FINAL}}	Final approval level number	"2"
{{CERT_APPROVAL_PHRASE_LEVEL}}	Approval level phrase (empty for single-level)	"at level 1 of 2"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_DUE_ON_DATE}}	Due date	"2024-01-15"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_STARTED_ON_DATE}}	Start date (simple)	"2024-01-01"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_STARTED_ON_TIME}}	Start date (full)	"Mon, Jan 1st 2024, 9:00:00AM"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_COMPLETED_ON_DATE}}	Completion date	"2024-01-14"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_COMPLETED_ON_TIME}}	Completion timestamp	"Mon, Jan 14th 2024, 5:30:00PM"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_COMPLETED_BY}}	User who completed review	"Jane Doe"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_CREATED_BY}}	User who created review	"Admin User"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_ON_DATE}}	Last activity date	"2024-01-10"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_ON_TIME}}	Last activity timestamp	"Wed, Jan 10th 2024, 2:15:00PM"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_BY}}	Last user to make changes	"John Smith"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_UPDATED_ON_DATE}}	Last update date	"2024-01-10"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_UPDATED_ON_TIME}}	Last update timestamp	"Wed, Jan 10th 2024, 2:15:00PM"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_UPDATED_BY}}	Last user to update	"John Smith"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_PHRASE}}	Review status phrase	"in progress"

Date vs Time formats: Placeholders ending in _DATE return simple format (e.g., "2024-01-02"). Placeholders ending in _TIME return full format (e.g., "Mon, Jan 2nd 2024, 3:04:05PM").

Digest and review alert placeholders

Unique placeholders for ACCESS_WORKFLOW_DIGEST_NOTIFICATION and ACCESS_WORKFLOW_REVIEW_ALERT:

Placeholder	Description
{{DIGEST_NOTIFICATION_PERIOD}}	Time period covered (e.g., "January 1 - January 7, 2024" for digests, single date for alerts)
{{CERTIFICATIONS_COUNT}}	Number of reviews included
{{ACCESS_REVIEW_URL}}	Link to Access Reviews overview
{{SETTINGS_URL}}	Link to notification settings (admin/operator only)
{{TABLE_PHRASE}}	Header text: "My Reviews" (digest) or "New Reviews" (alert)
{{DIGEST_NOTIFICATION_TABLE}}	Pre-built HTML table of reviews
{{DIGEST_NOTIFICATION_WITH_SUMMARY_TABLE}}	Pre-built HTML table with summary column

Certification data fields for Handlebars

When using {{#each CERTIFICATIONS}} to iterate over reviews:

Field	Type	Description
{{CERT_NAME}}	string	Review name
{{CERT_URL}}	string	Link to review
{{WORK_LEFT}}	number	Items needing review
{{DUE_DATE}}	string	Due date (empty if none)
{{OVERDUE}}	boolean	True if past due
{{NEW}}	boolean	True if recently created
{{DIGEST_SUMMARY}}	string	Workflow summary (max 64 chars)

Reviewer changed placeholders

For ACCESS_WORKFLOW_REVIEWER_CHANGED:

Placeholder	Description
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_OLD_REVIEWERS}}	Previous reviewer names
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_REVIEWERS}}	Current reviewer names

Owner changed placeholders

For ACCESS_WORKFLOW_OWNER_CHANGED:

Placeholder	Description
{{WORKFLOW_OLD_OWNER}}	Previous owner name

Reminder placeholders

For ACCESS_WORKFLOW_REMINDER_NO_ACTIVITY:

Placeholder	Description
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_DAYS}}	Days since last activity
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_PHASE}}	Activity phrase (e.g., "for 3 days")
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_REVIEWER}}	Reviewer with no activity
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_ROWS_TOTAL}}	Total rows assigned
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_ROWS_NEED_SIGN_OFF}}	Rows needing sign-off
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_ROWS_SIGNED_OFF}}	Rows already signed off

For ACCESS_WORKFLOW_REMINDER_DUE:

Placeholder	Description
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_DUE_IN_PHRASE}}	Dynamic phrase: "is due on [date]" or "was due on [date]"
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_DUE_ON_PHRASE}}	Due date phrase
{{WORKFLOW_CERT_DUE_DAYS}}	Days until/since due date

Row decision placeholders

For ACCESS_WORKFLOW_ROW_ACCEPTED_AND_SIGNEDOFF and ACCESS_WORKFLOW_ROW_REJECTED_AND_SIGNEDOFF:

Placeholder	Description
{{REVIEW_ACCEPTED_REJECTED_ROWS_PHRASE}}	Count phrase: "2 rows" or "1 row"
{{REVIEW_ACCEPTED_REJECTED_ROWS_DATA}}	HTML list of affected rows
{{REVIEW_ACCEPTED_REJECTED_ROWS_DATA_WITH_NOTES}}	HTML list with decision notes
{{REVIEW_ACCEPTED_REJECTED_ROWS_DATA_EXCLUDE_NODE_IDS}}	HTML list without node IDs
{{REVIEW_ACCEPTED_REJECTED_ROWS_DATA_WITH_NOTES_EXCLUDE_NODE_IDS}}	HTML list with notes, without IDs

Row data format examples:

<!-- REVIEW_ACCEPTED_REJECTED_ROWS_DATA -->
<p>[Result Id 1] From OktaUser "John Smith" (user123) to OktaGroup "Admins" (group456)</p>

<!-- REVIEW_ACCEPTED_REJECTED_ROWS_DATA_WITH_NOTES -->
<p>[Result Id 1] From OktaUser "John Smith" (user123) to OktaGroup "Admins" (group456) because of "Access no longer needed"</p>

<!-- REVIEW_ACCEPTED_REJECTED_ROWS_DATA_EXCLUDE_NODE_IDS -->
<p>[Result Id 1] From OktaUser "John Smith" to OktaGroup "Admins"</p>

Phrase placeholders

Pre-built phrases used in default templates:

Placeholder	Output
{{ACCESS_WORKFLOW_STARTED_PHRASE}}	"Access Workflow --> Certification: A new certification was started on workflow {{WORKFLOW_NAME}}"
{{ACCESS_WORKFLOW_COMPLETED_PHRASE}}	"Access Certification: A certification on workflow {{WORKFLOW_NAME}} has been completed"
{{ACCESS_WORKFLOW_REVIEWER_CHANGED_PHRASE}}	"Access Workflow: A new owner assigned to workflow {{WORKFLOW_NAME}}"
{{ACCESS_WORKFLOW_REMINDER_NO_ACTIVITY_PHRASE}}	"Access Certification Reminder: Certification has had no activity from {{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_REVIEWER}} {{WORKFLOW_CERT_LAST_ACTIVITY_PHASE}} on workflow {{WORKFLOW_NAME}}"
{{ACCESS_WORKFLOW_REMINDER_DUE_PHRASE}}	"Access Certification Reminder: Certification {{WORKFLOW_CERT_DUE_IN_PHRASE}} on workflow {{WORKFLOW_NAME}}"

---

Lifecycle Management placeholders

LCM notifications use two distinct notification scopes, each with its own set of available placeholders:

• Event notifications are triggered by lifecycle events such as identity creation, action failure, or sync completion. These are configured under Event Notifications in a workflow's notification settings.

• Action notifications are triggered by the Send Notification action type within a workflow. These run as a step in the workflow pipeline.

Placeholder scope matters: Using a placeholder from the wrong scope causes it to appear as literal text (e.g., {{JOB_ID}}) in the email. Verify that each placeholder you use is listed under the correct scope below.

Event notification placeholders

These placeholders are available when configuring notifications on lifecycle events (e.g., Action Failed, Identity Created, Sync Identities). They are populated from the lifecycle event context.

Identity and entity information

Placeholder	Description
{{ENTITY_TYPE}}	Entity type (e.g., "ActiveDirectoryUser", "OktaUser")
{{ENTITY_NAME}}	Entity/identity name
{{RELATIONSHIP_ENTITY_TYPE}}	Related entity type
{{RELATIONSHIP_ENTITY_NAME}}	Related entity name

Event and error information

Placeholder	Description
{{EVENT_TYPE}}	Lifecycle event type
{{JOB_ID}}	Job identifier
{{EVENT_ERROR_MESSAGE}}	Error message (failed events)
{{EVENT_IDENTITY_ID}}	Identity ID
{{EVENT_IDENTITY_NAME}}	Identity name

Policy and workflow information

Placeholder	Description
{{POLICY_NAME}}	Lifecycle policy name
{{WORKFLOW_NAME}}	Workflow name
{{DATASOURCE_ID}}	Datasource identifier

Event-type-specific placeholders

Some placeholders are only populated for specific event types:

Placeholder	Available for	Description
{{LOGIN_NAME}}	Identity creation and sync events	Login username
{{LOGIN_PASSWORD}}	Identity creation events	Password (for password-related notifications)
{{EMAIL}}	Email creation events	Email address
{{SENT_INVITE}}	Guest account creation events	Whether invite was sent
{{EMAIL_ADDRESS}}	Email creation events	Created email address

Action notification placeholders

These placeholders are available when using the Send Notification action type in a workflow. They are populated from the action execution context.

Placeholder	Description
{{ACTION_NAME}}	Action name
{{ACTION_TYPE}}	Action type (e.g., SYNC_IDENTITIES, CREATE_EMAIL)
{{ACTION_JOB_ID}}	Job identifier for the action
{{ACTION_URL}}	URL to action details in Veza
{{SUCCEED_OR_FAILED}}	Status: "succeeded" or "failed"

Shared placeholders

The following placeholders are available in both event and action notifications when the corresponding action result data exists.

Action result placeholders

These placeholders are populated based on the specific action type:

SYNC_IDENTITIES actions:

Placeholder	Description
{{IDENTITY_CREATED}}	Whether identity was created
{{IDENTITY_SYNCED}}	Whether identity was synced
{{GUEST_ACCOUNT_CREATED}}	Guest account created flag
{{GUEST_ACCOUNT_INVITE_SENT}}	Invite sent flag
{{ATTRIBUTES_NOT_SYNCED}}	Comma-separated list of attributes not synced

MANAGE_RELATIONSHIPS actions:

Placeholder	Description
{{CREATED_RELATIONSHIPS_COUNT}}	Count of created relationships
{{REMOVED_RELATIONSHIPS_COUNT}}	Count of removed relationships
{{FAILED_CREATE_RELATIONSHIPS_COUNT}}	Count of failed relationship creations
{{FAILED_REMOVE_RELATIONSHIPS_COUNT}}	Count of failed relationship removals

DEPROVISION_IDENTITY actions:

Placeholder	Description
{{DEPROVISION_SUCCESSFUL}}	Overall success flag
{{DEPROVISION_TYPE}}	Type of deprovision action
{{LOGGED_OUT_USER}}	User logged out flag
{{REMOVED_ALL_LICENSES}}	Licenses removed flag

RESET_PASSWORD actions:

Placeholder	Description
{{PASSWORD_RESET_SUCCESSFUL}}	Success flag
{{LOGIN}}	Login name

Source and relationship result placeholders

Placeholder	Description
{{SOURCE_ENTITY_TYPE}}	Source entity type
{{SOURCE_ENTITY_ID}}	Source entity identifier
{{SOURCE_ENTITY_NAME}}	Source entity name

Access Request notification placeholders

These placeholders are available for Access Request notifications within Lifecycle Management:

Placeholder	Description
{{ACCESS_REQUEST_TYPE}}	Request type
{{ACCESS_REQUEST_ENTITY_NAME}}	Requesting entity name
{{ACCESS_REQUEST_ENTITY_TYPE}}	Requesting entity type
{{ACCESS_REQUEST_TARGET_TYPE}}	Target resource type
{{ACCESS_REQUEST_TARGET_NAME}}	Target resource name
{{ACCESS_REQUEST_URL}}	Link to request details
{{ACCESS_REQUEST_STATE}}	Current request state
{{ACCESS_REQUEST_SOURCE_TYPE}}	Request source type

Dynamic attribute placeholders

You can reference any attribute from entities being processed:

Untyped format: {{attribute_name}} - References attribute by name

Typed format: {{EntityType.attribute_name}} - References attribute from specific entity type

<!-- Untyped -->
User email: {{email}}
Department: {{department}}

<!-- Typed (when processing multiple entity types) -->
Okta email: {{OktaUser.email}}
AD username: {{ActiveDirectoryUser.sAMAccountName}}

Case sensitivity: Placeholders are case-sensitive. {{ENTITY_TYPE}} works, but {{entity_type}} does not. Attribute names must match the exact casing from your integration.

---

Access Intelligence placeholders

Query alert placeholders (ASSESSMENT_RULE_QUERY_ALERT)

Placeholder	Description
{{ALERT_TITLE}}	Alert/rule name
{{SEVERITY}}	Severity level (e.g., "High", "Medium", "Low")
{{ALERT_TIME}}	Timestamp when alert was triggered
{{QUERY_NAME}}	Name of the assessment query
{{QUERY_SOURCE}}	Source entity type (human-readable)
{{QUERY_DESTINATION}}	Destination entity type (human-readable)
{{CURRENT_VALUE}}	Current result count
{{PREVIOUS_VALUE}}	Previous result count (for comparison)
{{THRESHOLD}}	Alert threshold value
{{CHANGE_AMOUNT}}	Absolute change in count
{{Change_Percent}}	Percentage change in count
{{CONDITION_DESCRIPTION}}	Human-readable condition (e.g., "exceeded the threshold of 5")
{{LINK_TO_ALERT_DETAILS}}	URL to alert details in Veza
{{LINK_TO_QUERY}}	URL to assessment query
{{CURRENT_YEAR}}	Current year (for footer/copyright)

Property alert placeholders (ASSESSMENT_RULE_QUERY_PROPERTIES)

Property alerts include all query alert placeholders above, plus:

Placeholder	Description
{{PROPERTY_NAME}}	Name of the tracked node property

Risk notification placeholders (ASSESSMENT_RISK)

Placeholder	Description
{{RISK_LEN}}	Number of risks identified
{{QUERY_NAME}}	Risk query name

Handlebars context for risk lists

Use {{#each RISK_ROWS}} to iterate through identified risks. Each item contains the entity type and name.

---

Troubleshooting

Placeholder not being replaced

If a placeholder appears literally in your email instead of being replaced:

1. Verify casing: Placeholders are case-sensitive

   • Correct: {{ENTITY_TYPE}}

   • Wrong: {{entity_type}}, {{EntityType}}

2. Check syntax: Ensure proper double curly braces

   • Correct: {{ENTITY_NAME}}

   • Wrong: {ENTITY_NAME}, {{ENTITY_NAME}

3. Verify availability: Some placeholders are only available for specific notification types

   • {{LOGIN_PASSWORD}} only works for password events

   • {{ACCESS_REQUEST_URL}} only works for Access Request events

4. Check attribute existence: For dynamic LCM attributes, verify the attribute name and casing from your integration

All LCM placeholders appearing as literal text

If all or most placeholders in an LCM notification template render as literal text (e.g., the email body shows {{JOB_ID}} and {{EVENT_IDENTITY_NAME}} instead of actual values), you are most likely using placeholders from the wrong notification scope:

• Event notification placeholders (such as {{JOB_ID}}, {{EVENT_IDENTITY_NAME}}, {{EVENT_ERROR_MESSAGE}}, {{WORKFLOW_NAME}}) are only available in event notifications. They are not replaced when used in a Send Notification action template.

• Action notification placeholders (such as {{ACTION_NAME}}, {{ACTION_TYPE}}, {{SUCCEED_OR_FAILED}}, {{ACTION_JOB_ID}}) are only available in the Send Notification action.

To fix this, check whether your template is configured for an event notification or a Send Notification action, and use only the placeholders listed under the corresponding scope in the Lifecycle Management placeholders section above.

{{WORKFLOW_URL}} is not available in Lifecycle Management. This placeholder is specific to Access Reviews. If you need to link to a workflow from an LCM notification, use {{ACTION_URL}} in action notifications instead.