---
title: "system.sfc"
---

# system.sfc

> The following functions give you access to interact with the SFCs in the Gateway.

## SFC Functions

### Functions by Scope

## Chart Scope Variables

There are a number of built-in variables maintained by the SFC engine that can be read through the `chart` scope. Some of the common built-in variables are shown in the table below.

:::note
Certain chart scoped variables may interfere with the internal functions of the chart. For example, creating a variable like chart.values will conflict with a pyDictionary's values() method and therefore the chart will show an error. Since SFC charts use Python Dictionaries to manage chart scoped variables, the methods associated with Python Dictionaries act like reserved words.
:::

| Variable Name | Description |
|---|---|
| chart.instanceId | The string UUID of the running chart instance. |
| chart.startTime | A `java.util.Date` object that indicates when the chart instance started running. |
| chart.runningTime | An integer representing the number of seconds the chart has been running for. |
| chart.parent | The chart scope of the enclosing chart (if any). Null if this chart was not executed as part of an enclosing step. |