Configure field types and properties — text, numbers, dates, relationships, files, and more

Field Metadata

A Field defines an individual property within an Object. ObjectStack provides a comprehensive set of field types covering text, numbers, dates, selections, relationships, files, calculations, and specialized types like vectors and QR codes.

Basic Usage

Fields are defined inside an Object's fields map using Field.* factory methods:

import { ObjectSchema, Field } from '@objectstack/spec/data';

export const Contact = ObjectSchema.create({
  name: 'contact',
  label: 'Contact',
  fields: {
    first_name: Field.text({ label: 'First Name', required: true }),
    last_name: Field.text({ label: 'Last Name', required: true }),
    email: Field.email({ label: 'Email', unique: true }),
    phone: Field.phone({ label: 'Phone' }),
    birth_date: Field.date({ label: 'Date of Birth' }),
    is_active: Field.boolean({ label: 'Active', defaultValue: true }),
    account: Field.lookup('account', { label: 'Account', required: true }),
  },
});

Field Types

Text Types

Type	Factory	Description
`text`	`Field.text()`	Single-line text
`textarea`	`Field.textarea()`	Multi-line text
`email`	`Field.email()`	Email address with validation
`url`	`Field.url()`	URL with validation
`phone`	`Field.phone()`	Phone number
`password`	`Field.password()`	Masked password input
`markdown`	`Field.markdown()`	Markdown editor
`html`	`Field.html()`	HTML content
`richtext`	`Field.richtext()`	Rich text (WYSIWYG) editor

name: Field.text({ label: 'Name', required: true, maxLength: 255 }),
bio: Field.textarea({ label: 'Bio', maxLength: 5000 }),
website: Field.url({ label: 'Website' }),
notes: Field.markdown({ label: 'Notes' }),

Number Types

Type	Factory	Description
`number`	`Field.number()`	Integer or decimal
`currency`	`Field.currency()`	Monetary value with currency support
`percent`	`Field.percent()`	Percentage value

quantity: Field.number({ label: 'Quantity', min: 0, max: 10000, step: 1 }),
price: Field.currency({ label: 'Price', scale: 2, min: 0 }),
// percent stores a fraction: 0.15 = 15% (the UI renders it as a percentage)
discount: Field.percent({ label: 'Discount', scale: 2, min: 0, max: 1 }),

Currency Configuration:

price: Field.currency({
  label: 'Price',
  currencyConfig: {
    precision: 2,
    currencyMode: 'dynamic',    // 'dynamic' | 'fixed'
    defaultCurrency: 'USD',
  },
}),

Date & Time Types

Type	Factory	Description
`date`	`Field.date()`	Date only
`datetime`	`Field.datetime()`	Date and time
`time`	—	Time only

start_date: Field.date({ label: 'Start Date', required: true }),
created_at: Field.datetime({ label: 'Created At', readonly: true }),

Boolean Type

is_active: Field.boolean({ label: 'Active', defaultValue: true }),

Selection Types

Type	Factory	Description
`select`	`Field.select()`	Single or multi-select dropdown
`radio`	—	Radio button group
`checkboxes`	—	Checkbox group

// Single select
status: Field.select({
  label: 'Status',
  options: [
    { label: 'New', value: 'new', color: '#999', default: true },
    { label: 'Active', value: 'active', color: '#0A0' },
    { label: 'Closed', value: 'closed', color: '#A00' },
  ],
}),

// Multi-select
skills: Field.select({
  label: 'Skills',
  multiple: true,
  options: [
    { label: 'JavaScript', value: 'js' },
    { label: 'Python', value: 'python' },
    { label: 'Go', value: 'go' },
  ],
}),

Options must use { label, value } objects. Values are stored in the database and must be lowercase.

Relationship Types

Type	Factory	Description
`lookup`	`Field.lookup()`	Many-to-one reference
`master_detail`	`Field.masterDetail()`	Parent-child with cascade delete

// Simple lookup
account: Field.lookup('account', {
  label: 'Account',
  required: true,
}),

// Filtered lookup — structured filters, cascading from another field
primary_contact: Field.lookup('contact', {
  label: 'Primary Contact',
  dependsOn: ['account'],
  lookupFilters: [
    { field: 'is_active', operator: 'eq', value: true },
  ],
}),

// Master-detail (cascade delete)
project: Field.masterDetail('project', {
  label: 'Project',
  required: true,
}),

// Inline line items on the parent form
order: Field.masterDetail('order', {
  label: 'Order',
  required: true,
  inlineEdit: true,
  inlineTitle: 'Lines',
  inlineAmountField: 'line_total',
}),

Property	Type	Description
`reference` (1st arg)	`string`	Target object name
`referenceFilters`	`string[]`	Filter conditions for the lookup
`deleteBehavior`	`enum`	`'set_null'`, `'cascade'`, `'restrict'`
`inlineEdit`	`boolean \| 'grid' \| 'form'`	Render child records inline on the parent create/edit form (`true` = auto-pick, `'grid'`, or `'form'`)
`inlineColumns`	`array`	Optional explicit columns for the inline grid
`inlineAmountField`	`string`	Optional numeric child field for the inline running total

File & Media Types

Type	Factory	Description
`image`	`Field.image()`	Image file upload
`file`	`Field.file()`	Generic file upload
`avatar`	`Field.avatar()`	User avatar/profile image
`video`	—	Video file
`audio`	—	Audio file

photo: Field.image({ label: 'Photo' }),
resume: Field.file({ label: 'Resume' }),
profile_image: Field.avatar({ label: 'Profile Image' }),

Calculation Types

Type	Factory	Description
`formula`	`Field.formula()`	Calculated from other fields
`summary`	`Field.summary()`	Roll-up from child records
`autonumber`	`Field.autonumber()`	Sequential auto-generated number

// Formula
total: Field.formula({
  label: 'Total',
  expression: 'quantity * price * (1 - discount / 100)',
}),

// Summary (roll-up)
total_amount: Field.summary({
  label: 'Total Amount',
  summaryOperations: {
    object: 'order_item',
    field: 'amount',
    function: 'sum',
    relationshipField: 'order',
  },
}),

// AutoNumber
case_number: Field.autonumber({
  label: 'Case Number',
  autonumberFormat: 'CASE-{0000}',
}),

Summary fields are server-owned. The engine recomputes them when child records are inserted, updated, or deleted. relationshipField is optional when the child has only one lookup/master_detail field pointing back to the parent; set it when multiple relationships target the same parent object.

Specialized Types

Type	Factory	Description
`address`	`Field.address()`	Structured address (street, city, state, country)
`location`	`Field.location()`	Geographic coordinates (lat/lng)
`color`	`Field.color()`	Color picker (hex/rgb/hsl)
`rating`	`Field.rating()`	Star rating (1-5)
`slider`	`Field.slider()`	Range slider
`signature`	`Field.signature()`	Digital signature capture
`qrcode`	`Field.qrcode()`	QR/barcode generator
`code`	`Field.code()`	Code editor with syntax highlighting
`json`	`Field.json()`	JSON data
`vector`	`Field.vector()`	AI embedding vectors
`tags`	—	Tag list
`progress`	—	Progress bar

office: Field.address({ label: 'Office Address' }),
coordinates: Field.location({ label: 'Location' }),
brand_color: Field.color({ label: 'Color' }),
satisfaction: Field.rating(5, { label: 'Rating' }),
approval_signature: Field.signature({ label: 'Signature' }),
embedding: Field.vector(1536, { label: 'Embedding' }),

Common Properties

These properties are available on all field types:

Constraints

Property	Type	Default	Description
`required`	`boolean`	`false`	Field must have a value
`unique`	`boolean`	`false`	Values must be unique across records
`defaultValue`	`any`	—	Default value for new records
`maxLength`	`number`	—	Maximum character length
`minLength`	`number`	—	Minimum character length
`min`	`number`	—	Minimum numeric value
`max`	`number`	—	Maximum numeric value

Display

Property	Type	Default	Description
`label`	`string`	—	Human-readable display name
`description`	`string`	—	Developer documentation
`inlineHelpText`	`string`	—	Help text shown in UI
`hidden`	`boolean`	`false`	Hide from default views
`readonly`	`boolean`	`false`	Prevent editing — hidden from create/edit forms AND server-enforced: non-system `UPDATE` writes to the field are silently dropped (insert may still seed it)
`sortable`	`boolean`	`true`	Allow sorting by this field
`group`	`string`	—	Group name for organizing in forms (e.g. `'billing'`)

Search & Index

Property	Type	Default	Description
`searchable`	`boolean`	`false`	Include in full-text search
`index`	`boolean`	`false`	Create a database index
`externalId`	`boolean`	`false`	Mark as external system identifier

Security

Property	Type	Default	Description
`requiredPermissions`	`string[]`	—	Capabilities required to read/edit this field — masked on read, denied on write unless the caller holds all of them (ADR-0066 D3)
`trackHistory`	`boolean`	—	Render this field's value changes as entries on the record activity timeline

For values that must be encrypted at rest (API keys, tokens, DB passwords), use the secret field type — see the Field Type Gallery.

Conditional Logic

Property	Type	Description
`visibleWhen`	`string \| Expression`	CEL predicate; field is shown only when `TRUE`
`readonlyWhen`	`string \| Expression`	CEL predicate; field is read-only when `TRUE`
`requiredWhen`	`string \| Expression`	CEL predicate; field is required when `TRUE`
`conditionalRequired`	`string \| Expression`	Deprecated alias of `requiredWhen`
`multiple`	`boolean`	Allow multiple values (for select, lookup, file)

import { P } from '@objectstack/spec';
import { Field } from '@objectstack/spec/data';

close_reason: Field.select({
  label: 'Close Reason',
  visibleWhen: P`record.status == 'closed'`,
  requiredWhen: P`record.status == 'closed'`,
  options: [
    { label: 'Won', value: 'won' },
    { label: 'Lost', value: 'lost' },
    { label: 'Cancelled', value: 'cancelled' },
  ],
}),

invoice_total: Field.currency({
  label: 'Invoice Total',
  readonlyWhen: P`record.status == 'paid'`,
}),

Conditional field rules are evaluated in both tiers. ObjectUI forms update visibility, read-only state, and required markers live as the draft record changes, including row-scoped rules inside inline master-detail grids. The server enforces requiredWhen on submit and ignores writes to fields whose readonlyWhen predicate is TRUE, so client-side affordances are not the only guard. Use requiredWhen for new metadata; keep conditionalRequired only for older packages that already emitted it.

Naming Conventions

Field names use snake_case: first_name, annual_revenue, is_active
Boolean fields use is_ or has_ prefix: is_active, has_children
Lookup fields use the object name directly: account (not account_id)
Configuration keys use camelCase: maxLength, defaultValue

Object Metadata — Define business entities
Validation Metadata — Field-level and cross-field validation rules
View Metadata — Control how fields are displayed in views

Field Metadata

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