# Increment Variable

**Increment Variable** node is designed to increase the value of a specified variable by a given amount. This node is useful for counters, iterative processes, or any scenario where you need to systematically increase a numeric value in your workflow.

### Properties Panel

| **Field**     | **Description**                                                | **Required** |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ |
| Node name     | [Node Name](https://docs.cosmocloud.io/flow-builder/node-name) | true         |
| Variable Name | The name of the variable whose value will be incremented.      | true         |
| Value         | The amount by which the variable will be incremented.          | true         |

### Usage

1. Specify the name of the variable you want to increment.
2. Enter the increment value (the amount by which the variable will be increased).

### Behaviour

* The node will retrieve the current value of the specified variable.
* It will then add the provided increment value to this variable.
* The result of the addition will be stored back in the same variable, overwriting its previous value.
* If the variable doesn't exist, it'll raise an error.

### Returns

The node updates the value of the specified variable with the result of the increment operation. You can access this updated value using Magical Autocomplete (e.g., `$.variables.<variable_name>`) in any node below this node.

### Example

Let's say you want to increment a counter by 1. You already have a variable `counter`:

1. Set Variable name to `$.variables.counter`
2. Set Value to `1`

If `counter` initially had a value of 5, it will now be 6.

### Best Practices

* Ensure that the variable you're incrementing contains a numeric value to avoid type conversion errors.
* Always ensure that the variable is initialized before using this node.