Blocks vs Variables (overhead, when to use which)
- #6820 — Add support for storing data that can be retrieved at runtime (e.g. static variables, key-value pairs, and more) — The original feature request that led to Variables. Directly motivated by the overhead of blocks for simple config values.
- #14943 — Accessing
Blockvalues without the class definition — Your discussion exploring ways to load block values without needing the class definition shipped to runtime, inspired by #14899. - #14899 — Generic Secure Block — Request for a generic block type (like
SecretDict) so users don't need custom block classes for simple secure key-value storage. - #17203 — Allow path to environment file to be passed into prefect.yaml — Mentions the deprecation of JSON blocks and the pain of migrating to variables (5000 char limit, multiple variables needed for longer config).
Tagging blocks and variables
- #9078 — Add support for
tagsin Flow/flow similar to Task/task — Request to extend tagging to flows (currently only tasks/deployments). Shows a pattern of users wanting tags on more entity types. No existing issue specifically requesting tags on blocks or variables, so this would be net-new.
Naming conventions (dashes vs underscores)
- #17865 — Variable name validation restrictions - underscores only? — Directly about the friction of migrating from String blocks (which allowed hyphens) to Variables (underscores only). Closed by #17995.
- #16372 — Impossible to use uppercase in variables names on /variables — Related naming restriction pain: uppercase was allowed previously but broke in later versions. Still open.
- #6945 — slugify() got an unexpected keyword argument — Tangentially related: blocks use
python-slugifywhich is what forces dash-based naming for block slugs.
Unified UI / finding all related objects in one place
- #15512 — Replatform the UI — The major UI replatform initiative (Vue → React). This would be the natural place to advocate for a unified search/project view across entity types.
- No existing issue/discussion specifically requesting a "find everything by project/tag" cross-entity search. This is a gap worth opening a new discussion for.
Dependency tracking (which flows use which blocks/variables)
- #18665 — Feature: Support for Flow-Level Dependencies via Decorator — Request for native flow-level dependency support (waiting on other deployments). Tangentially related to the desire for a dependency graph.
- No existing issue specifically about visualizing or querying which flows depend on which blocks/variables. Also a gap worth a new discussion.
Summary: The naming convention topic (#17865, #16372) and blocks-vs-variables overhead topic (#6820, #14943) have the most prior art. Tagging blocks/variables and cross-entity project search are genuine gaps with no existing issues — those would be good candidates for new GitHub discussions.