Collection JSON

You can define a Collection as JSON and import it from the console (Database → Collections → Import). This page documents the exact shape.

• One collection = a JSON object.
• Many collections = a JSON array of those objects.

Shape

{
  "name": "customers",            // required, unique within the domain
  "description": "Customer master data",
  "fields": [ /* Field objects */ ],
  "indexDetails": [ /* Index objects, optional */ ]
}

Field object

{
  "name": "email",
  "type": "string",        // see field types below
  "required": true,
  "onDelete": "ignore"     // ignore | unset | cascade | reject
}

Field types: string, number, boolean, date, url, enum, json, editor, file, relation, record.

• record is reserved for the id field.
• enum requires a non-empty enumOptions: string[].
• relation (use for all foreign keys) requires:
  • relatedCollectionID: { "Table": "collections", "ID": "<target collection id>" }
  • relationLinkType: "single" or "multiple"

onDelete behavior

Value	Effect when a referenced record is deleted
ignore	do nothing
unset	null the reference
cascade	delete this record too
reject	block the parent deletion

Index object

{ "fields": ["email"], "isUnique": true, "query": "" }

• Use unique indexes for natural keys.
• Use non-unique indexes for fields you filter on (including foreign keys).
• Multiple fields create a composite index.

Standard fields

Always include these three — the backend manages their values:

{ "name": "id", "type": "record", "required": true, "onDelete": "ignore" },
{ "name": "created_dt", "type": "date", "required": false, "onDelete": "ignore" },
{ "name": "updated_dt", "type": "date", "required": false, "onDelete": "ignore" }

Caution

Do not provide values for id or domain_id on import — they are assigned by the platform.

Complete example

A customers collection with a unique email index, plus an orders collection that relates to it:

[
  {
    "name": "customers",
    "description": "Customer master data",
    "fields": [
      { "name": "id", "type": "record", "required": true, "onDelete": "ignore" },
      { "name": "companyName", "type": "string", "required": true, "onDelete": "ignore" },
      { "name": "email", "type": "string", "required": true, "onDelete": "ignore" },
      { "name": "status", "type": "enum", "enumOptions": ["active", "inactive"], "required": false, "onDelete": "ignore" },
      { "name": "created_dt", "type": "date", "required": false, "onDelete": "ignore" },
      { "name": "updated_dt", "type": "date", "required": false, "onDelete": "ignore" }
    ],
    "indexDetails": [
      { "fields": ["email"], "isUnique": true, "query": "" },
      { "fields": ["status"], "isUnique": false, "query": "" }
    ]
  },
  {
    "name": "orders",
    "description": "Customer orders",
    "fields": [
      { "name": "id", "type": "record", "required": true, "onDelete": "ignore" },
      { "name": "reference", "type": "string", "required": true, "onDelete": "ignore" },
      {
        "name": "customerId",
        "type": "relation",
        "relatedCollectionID": { "Table": "collections", "ID": "customers_collection_id" },
        "relationLinkType": "single",
        "required": true,
        "onDelete": "cascade"
      },
      { "name": "total", "type": "number", "required": false, "onDelete": "ignore" }
    ]
  }
]

Tips for modeling

• Create parent collections before children (so relation targets exist).
• Prefer relation over storing raw id strings — relations enable expand and referential onDelete behavior.
• Keep one canonical collection per entity; use relations rather than duplicating data.

See also Permission JSON and the Collections concept.