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

# User

> Variables - User

The `User` object lets you query information about the contact interacting with your flow, such as their name, phone number, and channel metadata.

## Available data

The available data depends on the channel, but a typical example is:

```json theme={null}
{
  "id": "PHONE_NUMBER",
  "names": "John Doe"
}
```

## Using user variables

You can access any user property with the syntax `{{$user.property}}`:

* `{{$user.id}}` shows the user's unique identifier for the channel. On WhatsApp this is the user's phone number.
* `{{$user.names}}` shows the user's name.

<Info>
  In channels like WhatsApp, `{{$user.id}}` equals the contact's number without symbols or spaces. For example, `+1-555-111-2222` is represented as `15551112222`.
</Info>

## User in code nodes

Inside code nodes, you have the `User` object available through `$user`:

```js theme={null}
// Access the user's id
const id = $user.get('id')

// Access the user's name
const name = $user.get('names')
```

<Info>
  The `User` object is read-only. If you want to persist new contact information, save that data in `Memory` or `Context`.
</Info>