---
type: concept
title: "Reusable Components and Variables"
description: "Packaging sub-workflows as reusable components and storing conversation state in variables so context can be referenced later in prompts and tool calls."
tags: [no-code, workflow]
videos: [the-king-of-no-code-ai-agent-builders]
created: 2026-07-21
updated: 2026-07-21
---

# Reusable Components and Variables

Reusable components and variables are the two building blocks that keep a no-code agent from collapsing into one giant unmaintainable graph. A component is a sub-workflow you can drop into other workflows: "you have components so these are basically like workflows that you can add within workflows and so reusable components is a really important part of building really any system" [0:07:04]. Instead of re-wiring the same lead-capture or knowledge-lookup sequence in every flow, you build it once, name it, and reference it everywhere, the no-code analogue of a function.

Variables solve the parallel problem of state. A [Visual Workflow Builder](./visual-workflow-builder.md) walks through nodes sequentially, but a conversation needs to remember what happened earlier. "anything that you might want to store throughout a conversation ... you can store that in a variable and reference that later on" [0:07:21]. A user's name captured at the start, a product they asked about, a lead-qualification answer, all get written to a variable and then read back later in a downstream prompt or tool call. This is what lets an agent carry context across many turns without the author hand-threading data through every node.

Why it matters: together, components and variables are how no-code builders reach for the same reuse and encapsulation that code gives you for free. Components fight duplication; variables fight statelessness. A variable stored in one turn is typically dragged into a later node using [Prompt Variable Templating](./prompt-templating.md), so the two mechanics compose directly, one stores the value, the other injects it into a prompt slot.

## Builds on

- [Visual Workflow Builder](./visual-workflow-builder.md) - components and variables are the reuse and state primitives layered on top of the node canvas.

## Related

- [Prompt Variable Templating](./prompt-templating.md) - stored variables are read back by dragging them into templated prompt inputs.
- [No-Code AI Agents](./no-code-agents.md) - reuse and state management are what make no-code agents maintainable at scale.
- [No-Code Automation](./no-code-automation.md) - the same component/variable pattern underpins automation flows, not just agents.

## Tools

- [Voiceflow](../entities/tools/voiceflow.md) - the platform where Cole demonstrates components and conversation variables.

## Sources

- [The KING of No Code AI Agent Builders?!](../sources/the-king-of-no-code-ai-agent-builders.md) - "[0:07:04] you have components so these are basically like workflows that you can add within workflows and so reusable components is a really important part of building really any system"
