Unable to update variable in UI or using python sdk even when using overwrite=True - Error 'A variable with the name "the_answer" already exists.'

[taylor-curran]

First check

• [X] I added a descriptive title to this issue.
• [X] I used the GitHub search to find a similar issue and didn't find it.
• [X] I searched the Prefect documentation for this issue.
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Bug summary

Updating existing variables appears to broken both in the UI and via the python sdk.

I use overwrite=True but still see the error "A variable with the name 'the_answer' already exists."

# update a variable
answer = Variable.set(name="the_answer", value="43", overwrite=True)
print(answer.value)

I tried out the example from Prefect's release notes v2.17.0 and see this error.

Reproduction

First run:

from prefect.variables import Variable

# set a variable
variable = Variable.set(name="the_answer", value="42")

Then:

from prefect.variables import Variable

# get a variable
answer = Variable.get('the_answer')
print(answer.value)
# 42

And finally run:

from prefect.variables import Variable

# update a variable
answer = Variable.set(name="the_answer", value="43", overwrite=True)
print(answer.value)
#43

Error

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/odsc/with_pref/vars.py", line 12, in <module>
    answer = Variable.set(name="the_answer", value="43", overwrite=True)
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/prefect/utilities/asyncutils.py", line 300, in coroutine_wrapper
    return call()
           ^^^^^^
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/prefect/_internal/concurrency/calls.py", line 432, in __call__
    return self.result()
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/prefect/_internal/concurrency/calls.py", line 318, in result
    return self.future.result(timeout=timeout)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/prefect/_internal/concurrency/calls.py", line 179, in result
    return self.__get_result()
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/opt/homebrew/Cellar/[email protected]/3.12.2_1/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.12/lib/python3.12/concurrent/futures/_base.py", line 401, in __get_result
    raise self._exception
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/prefect/_internal/concurrency/calls.py", line 389, in _run_async
    result = await coro
             ^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/prefect/variables.py", line 58, in set
    await client.update_variable(variable=var)
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/prefect/client/orchestration.py", line 2962, in update_variable
    await self._client.patch(
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/httpx/_client.py", line 1966, in patch
    return await self.request(
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/httpx/_client.py", line 1574, in request
    return await self.send(request, auth=auth, follow_redirects=follow_redirects)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/prefect/client/base.py", line 356, in send
    response.raise_for_status()
  File "/Users/taylorcurran/Documents/kevin/prefect-demos/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/prefect/client/base.py", line 169, in raise_for_status
    raise PrefectHTTPStatusError.from_httpx_error(exc) from exc.__cause__
prefect.exceptions.PrefectHTTPStatusError: Client error '409 Conflict' for url 'https://api.prefect.cloud/api/accounts/0ff44498-d380-4d7b-bd68-9b52da03823f/workspaces/e30d4419-8433-4a8f-815d-06c4b43ab225/variables/name/the_answer'
Response: {'detail': "A variable with the name 'the_answer' already exists."}
For more information check: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Status/409

Versions

Version:             2.18.3
API version:         0.8.4
Python version:      3.12.2
Git commit:          c449aee8
Built:               Thu, May 2, 2024 5:47 PM
OS/Arch:             darwin/arm64
Profile:             se-demos
Server type:         cloud

Additional context

No response

[mthatt]

Had a call with a customer experiencing the same issue earlier today, and I'm able to reproduce it on my end as well. The same error shows up when trying to edit a variable in the UI.

[taylor-curran]

Thank @mthatt I can confirm its not working in the UI -- I'll edit the issue above to reflect this.

[zhen0]

@taylor-curran - I believe this has been fixed (and I can no longer recreate so I am closing this issue.) Please let me know if I am missing something!