diff --git a/bundle/config/root_test.go b/bundle/config/root_test.go
index b40a5f2b7b..a3934267be 100644
--- a/bundle/config/root_test.go
+++ b/bundle/config/root_test.go
@@ -139,12 +139,12 @@ func TestRootMergeTargetOverridesWithVariables(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 		Targets: map[string]*Target{
 			"development": {
-				Variables: map[string]any{
-					"foo": variable.Variable{
+				Variables: map[string]*TargetVariable{
+					"foo": {
 						Default:     "bar",
 						Description: "wrong",
 					},
-					"complex": variable.Variable{
+					"complex": {
 						Type:        "wrong",
 						Description: "wrong",
 						Default: map[string]interface{}{
diff --git a/bundle/config/target.go b/bundle/config/target.go
index 4b20fac15b..718dd3acb7 100644
--- a/bundle/config/target.go
+++ b/bundle/config/target.go
@@ -2,11 +2,14 @@ package config
 
 import (
 	"github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/config/resources"
+	"github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/config/variable"
 	"github.com/databricks/databricks-sdk-go/service/jobs"
 )
 
 type Mode string
 
+type TargetVariable variable.Variable
+
 // Target defines overrides for a single target.
 // This structure is recursively merged into the root configuration.
 type Target struct {
@@ -56,7 +59,7 @@ type Target struct {
 	//   variables:
 	//     foo:
 	//       lookup: "resource_name"
-	Variables map[string]any `json:"variables,omitempty"`
+	Variables map[string]*TargetVariable `json:"variables,omitempty"`
 
 	Git Git `json:"git,omitempty"`
 
diff --git a/bundle/internal/schema/main.go b/bundle/internal/schema/main.go
index 3c1fb5da05..51eb1e2668 100644
--- a/bundle/internal/schema/main.go
+++ b/bundle/internal/schema/main.go
@@ -21,6 +21,19 @@ func addInterpolationPatterns(typ reflect.Type, s jsonschema.Schema) jsonschema.
 		return s
 	}
 
+	// The variables block in a target override allows for directly specifying
+	// the value if it is a primitive type.
+	if typ == reflect.TypeOf(config.TargetVariable{}) {
+		return jsonschema.Schema{
+			AnyOf: []jsonschema.Schema{s,
+				{Type: jsonschema.StringType},
+				{Type: jsonschema.BooleanType},
+				{Type: jsonschema.IntegerType},
+				{Type: jsonschema.NumberType},
+			},
+		}
+	}
+
 	switch s.Type {
 	case jsonschema.ArrayType, jsonschema.ObjectType:
 		// arrays and objects can have complex variable values specified.
diff --git a/bundle/schema/jsonschema.json b/bundle/schema/jsonschema.json
index 6de293648e..95edbae180 100644
--- a/bundle/schema/jsonschema.json
+++ b/bundle/schema/jsonschema.json
@@ -995,7 +995,7 @@
                       "$ref": "#/$defs/github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/config.Sync"
                     },
                     "variables": {
-                      "$ref": "#/$defs/map/interface"
+                      "$ref": "#/$defs/map/github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/config.TargetVariable"
                     },
                     "workspace": {
                       "$ref": "#/$defs/github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/config.Workspace"
@@ -1009,6 +1009,40 @@
                 }
               ]
             },
+            "config.TargetVariable": {
+              "anyOf": [
+                {
+                  "type": "object",
+                  "properties": {
+                    "default": {
+                      "$ref": "#/$defs/interface"
+                    },
+                    "description": {
+                      "$ref": "#/$defs/string"
+                    },
+                    "lookup": {
+                      "$ref": "#/$defs/github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/config/variable.Lookup"
+                    },
+                    "type": {
+                      "$ref": "#/$defs/github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/config/variable.VariableType"
+                    }
+                  },
+                  "additionalProperties": false
+                },
+                {
+                  "type": "string"
+                },
+                {
+                  "type": "boolean"
+                },
+                {
+                  "type": "integer"
+                },
+                {
+                  "type": "number"
+                }
+              ]
+            },
             "config.Workspace": {
               "anyOf": [
                 {
@@ -5049,25 +5083,25 @@
                     "pattern": "\\$\\{(var(\\.[a-zA-Z]+([-_]?[a-zA-Z0-9]+)*(\\[[0-9]+\\])*)+)\\}"
                   }
                 ]
+              },
+              "config.TargetVariable": {
+                "anyOf": [
+                  {
+                    "type": "object",
+                    "additionalProperties": {
+                      "$ref": "#/$defs/github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/config.TargetVariable"
+                    }
+                  },
+                  {
+                    "type": "string",
+                    "pattern": "\\$\\{(var(\\.[a-zA-Z]+([-_]?[a-zA-Z0-9]+)*(\\[[0-9]+\\])*)*(\\[[0-9]+\\])*)\\}"
+                  }
+                ]
               }
             }
           }
         }
       },
-      "interface": {
-        "anyOf": [
-          {
-            "type": "object",
-            "additionalProperties": {
-              "$ref": "#/$defs/interface"
-            }
-          },
-          {
-            "type": "string",
-            "pattern": "\\$\\{(var(\\.[a-zA-Z]+([-_]?[a-zA-Z0-9]+)*(\\[[0-9]+\\])*)*(\\[[0-9]+\\])*)\\}"
-          }
-        ]
-      },
       "string": {
         "anyOf": [
           {