---
title: "View a step's metadata in Pipelines"
slug: "view-a-steps-metadata-in-pipeline"
updated: 2026-06-01T16:11:24Z
published: 2026-06-01T16:11:24Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.quickbase.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# View a step's metadata in Pipelines

When you build a pipeline in Quickbase, you add steps to create a workflow. Each step can be configured using values from earlier steps—like choosing fields or using data that was exported from a previous step.

When the Pipeline runs, each step may return extra information from the system it connects to, called metadata**.** Access metadata from earlier steps by selecting it from the Quick reference widget and dropdown selectors, or by using the Jinja: `metadata.<step-index>`.

This article shows how to reference this metadata, and how it can be useful for processing bulk events.

## Reference metadata in a step

To reference data when configuring a step:

- Enter plain values
- Use the dropdown selector or quick reference widget to select data exported from previous steps
- Use Jinja expressions

This example shows pipeline fields configured in those different ways:

1. Plain value—**To addresses**
2. References selected from the dropdown selector or quick reference widget—**Subject**
3. Jinja (using [Jinja2 templating](https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/en/stable/) v2.11.3)—**Body**

![Pipeline step showing the 3 different ways to configure steps](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/38489541684500.png)

When the pipeline runs, the metadata returned by each step is shown in the quick reference widget:

![Quick reference widget showing metadata returned by each step after a pipeline run](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/38480248357780.png)

To reference metadata from a previous step in your pipeline, select it from the dropdown selector or quick reference widget, or use Jinja.

![Referencing metadata from the dropdown selector and with Jinja](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/38480248358420.png)

## Bulk operations and loops

Some steps, like [Bulk trigger](/v1/docs/bulk-trigger) and query steps, return an array of data. These steps produce *batch metadata*, like the size of the array of items returned. ![Batch metadata in the Quick reference widget](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/38480230915604.png)

This metadata may be useful when processing an array [using a loop.](/v1/docs/use-a-loop-in-the-bulk-trigger-step) When iterating over each record within the loop, the loop body alters the source step specified in the *For each* dropdown as follows:

- The source step index (e.g. `a`) references each item from the array that the loop iterates over
- The source step metadata is accessible with `metadata.a`, allowing for `metadata.a.batch.size` to be used within the loop body
- The source step metadata `metadata.a.loop.index`, tells you the current item's position in the loop (starting from 0)