Column types

The CMS picks a field's editor from the column's type, from metadata registered in _collection_fields, and in a few cases from the values already in the column. This page lists what you get for each.

Every new site runs on the newer database, which has only three column types, so the metadata the AI registers decides most of its editors. On the newer database covers that first, and On the older database lists the Postgres types of a site that still runs on the older database.

How the editor is chosen

The checks run in order, and the first match wins:

1. A multi reference field registered in _collection_fields.
2. A real foreign key column.
3. An enum type, which only the older database has.
4. An hstore column, which only the older database has.
5. An explicit ui_type of color, richtext, file, code, json, boolean, date, datetime, image or imagearray. A ui_type of array marks a list, which then gets the list editor in the next step.
6. The column's type group.
7. For plain text columns with no metadata, the shape of the values already stored.

The editor is picked from what the row held when you opened it, so a field never swaps to a different editor while you type in it.

On the newer database

A site on the newer database has only three column types: text, integer and real. text gets the string editors, and integer and real get the number input. There is no real uuid, boolean, jsonb, timestamptz, array or enum type, so the AI registers what such a column holds in _collection_fields when it creates it:

ui_type	Column type	Editor
boolean	integer holding 1 or 0	Dropdown of true and false
date	text holding a calendar date	Date picker
datetime	text holding an ISO 8601 UTC timestamp	Date and time picker
json	text holding a JSON object	JSON editor that validates as you type
array	text holding a JSON array	Chip input, one value at a time
imagearray	text holding a JSON array	Gallery upload, an ordered list of images each with its own alt text

The five in Metadata driven fields, color, richtext, code, file and image, work here too. A gallery is imagearray rather than image, because there is no text[] type to mark it, and its <column>_alt companion is registered as array. Without this metadata a boolean column shows a number input, and a date, JSON or list column a plain text box.

On the older database

A site on the older database runs Postgres, whose many column types choose most editors on their own, by group:

Group	Postgres types	Editor	Table cell
String	text, varchar, character varying, char, character, bpchar, name, citext	Single line input, or a six row textarea for long text	Text, truncated
UUID	uuid	Text input, hinted 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000	Text
Number	integer, bigint, smallint, numeric, real, double precision, decimal, serial, bigserial, smallserial, int, int2, int4, int8, float4, float8, oid	Number input	Tabular figures
Money	money	Text input with a $ prefix and the hint "Enter a dollar amount, e.g. 1000.00"	Text
Boolean	boolean, bool	Dropdown of true and false	true or false
JSON	json, jsonb	JSON editor that validates as you type	The JSON, stringified
Date	date, timestamp, timestamptz, timestamp with time zone, timestamp without time zone	Date and time picker	Formatted date, tabular figures
Time	time, timetz, time with time zone, time without time zone	Hour, minute and second selects	Formatted time
Interval	interval	Text input, hinted "e.g. 2 hours 30 minutes"	Text
Array	array (any <type>[])	Chip input, one value at a time, each validated against the base type	Up to six pills, then +n
Binary	bytea	Two mode editor, text which encodes as you type, or hex for a raw \x literal	Text
Enum	any Postgres enum (user-defined)	Dropdown of the enum's values, with None when the column is nullable	Text
Network	cidr, inet, macaddr, macaddr8	Text input with a format hint and validation	Text
Geometric	point, line, lseg, box, path, polygon, circle	Shape aware numeric fields, x and y per point	Rendered back to its literal
Bit	bit, bit varying, varbit	Text input accepting only 0 and 1	Text
Range	int4range, int8range, numrange, tsrange, tstzrange, daterange	A from and a to field, numeric, date or date and time depending on the range	Text
Key value	hstore	Rows of key and value inputs with an Add pair button	Text
Text search	tsvector, tsquery	Text input with a syntax hint	Text
XML	xml	Text input validated as well formed XML	Text

Anything the CMS does not recognise falls back to a plain text input.

Metadata driven fields

These five are declared by the AI in _collection_fields at the same time the column is created, on either database. The column type stays text, or text[] for a gallery on the older database, and only the metadata decides the widget.

ui_type	Column type	Editor
color	text	Color swatch with a native color picker, validated as a hex color
richtext	text	WYSIWYG editor: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, paragraph and headings 1 to 6, quote, bullet and numbered lists, links, inline images, code blocks and tables. Horizontal rules, subscript and superscript already in the text are kept. See Rich text fields
code	text	Code editor with HTML, CSS and JavaScript highlighting and a Preview tab. Stores the code exactly as written, and your site runs it. See Code fields
file	text	File upload with drag and drop, showing the file name with download and replace actions. Stores the uploaded file's URL
image	text	Image upload with a preview, replace, delete and an alt text popover
image	text[], on the older database	Gallery upload, an ordered list of images each with its own alt text

On the newer database a gallery is imagearray instead, as On the newer database explains.

The rich text editor keeps formatted text only. When a richtext value holds an embed or code, such as an iframe or a script, a warning above the editor says so: clicking into the field leaves it alone, but editing the text removes those parts. Ask in chat to move the embed into a code field.

An image column always comes with a companion column named <column>_alt of the same type. The CMS hides that companion and edits it from inside the image widget.

Without the metadata, a text column holding a file URL is indistinguishable from any other string, so it renders as a plain text box. That is why the AI registers it up front. An empty code field without its metadata gets a plain text box too.

Detected without metadata

Three things are inferred from the values already in a column, so they can appear on a column nobody registered:

• Code. A value that starts with a tag and contains a <script>, <style>, <iframe>, <noscript>, <link>, <meta>, <template> or <source> tag, an embedded object, video, audio or canvas, a form control, a whole HTML document, an inline event handler such as onclick, or an <svg> inside other markup opens in the code editor, as long as it passes the code checks under Validation. The rich text editor would drop those parts. Text that only mentions a tag, such as Wrap your CSS in a <style> block., keeps its usual editor, and an SVG file stays an image.
• Rich text. A value containing other HTML markup opens in the rich text editor rather than a text box.
• Images. A text column whose values look like image URLs is treated as an image field, as is an array column whose elements do. This needs at least one non empty value to go on, which is why a freshly created image column still needs its image metadata.

A hex color value in a plain text column also switches that field to the color picker.

Long versus short text is inferred too. A value with a line break always gets a textarea, so no line is lost. Otherwise, column names like description, content, body, bio, summary and notes get a textarea, and names like name, title, slug, email, url, status and code get a single line input. Failing both, a value longer than 150 characters gets the textarea.

Relationship fields

Kind	How it is stored	Editor
Single reference	An ordinary foreign key column, for example author_id text REFERENCES authors(id), or author_id uuid on the older database	Searchable single select of rows in the target collection, loading twenty at a time
Multi reference	A join table plus a multi_reference row in _collection_fields	Multi select with checkboxes and removable chips, searchable, paged twenty at a time

Single references are read straight from the database's own foreign key catalog, so they need no metadata. The field label drops a trailing _id, so author_id reads "Author".

Multi reference join tables are hidden from the Collections sidebar. Turn on Show system collections in the CMS Settings sub-tab to see them.

System columns

Column	Behaviour
The primary key, usually id	Never editable. Reads "Auto-generated" on a new row
created_at, created_on, inserted_at, inserted_on	Hidden while creating, read only when editing
updated_at, updated_on, modified_at, modified_on	Read only. Re-stamped by a database trigger on every edit
slug	Slug input with a live preview of the row's public URL, click to copy. Auto filled from title or name while creating, until you edit it

Format hints

Columns with a fiddly literal syntax show an example as their placeholder. These are all older database types, since the newer database has only text, integer and real.

Type	Hint
uuid	00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
money	$1,000.00
inet	192.168.0.1
cidr	192.168.0.0/24
macaddr	08:00:2b:01:02:03
point	(x,y)
circle	<(x,y),r>
box	(x1,y1),(x2,y2)
polygon	((x1,y1),(x2,y2),...)
bit	10101010
int4range	[1,10)
daterange	[2026-01-01, 2026-12-31)
tsquery	quick & brown (& = and, | = or, ! = not)
hstore	"key" => "value", "k2" => "v2"
bytea	\x48656c6c6f
interval	1 day 02:30:00
xml	<root>…</root>

Validation

The editor blocks a save and shows the reason under the field. Apart from Required, it only checks the fields you changed, so an older value that would not pass today does not stop you saving the rest of the item.

Case	Message
A NOT NULL column left empty	Required
Malformed JSON	Invalid JSON
A non numeric value in a number or money column	Must be a number
A decimal in an integer column	Must be a whole number (no decimals)
An integer outside its type's range	Out of range for integer (-2147483648 to 2147483647)
A malformed uuid	Must be a UUID (00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000)
A malformed inet	Must be an IP address, e.g. 192.168.1.5 or 192.168.1.5/24
A cidr with no mask	Must include a network mask, e.g. 192.168.1.0/24
A malformed MAC address	Must be a MAC address (08:00:2b:01:02 )
A bit string with anything but 0 and 1	Only 0 and 1 are allowed
Malformed XML	Must be well-formed XML
A color field that is not a 3, 4, 6 or 8 digit hex color	Must be a hex color, e.g. #1a2b3c
A code field with a <script>, <style>, <iframe>, <textarea>, <title>, <noscript>, <noembed>, <noframes> or <xmp> tag that is never closed, outside an <svg>	Close the <script> tag with </script>, naming the tag
A code field with an HTML comment that is never closed	Close the HTML comment with -->
A code field with a CDATA section inside an <svg> that is never closed	Close the CDATA section with ]]>
A code field with a tag cut off before its >	Finish the <div> tag with >, naming the tag
A code field with a <! or <? tag, such as a doctype, cut off before its >	Finish the <! tag with >, or the same with <?
A code field containing <plaintext>	Remove the <plaintext> tag, it hides everything after it
A code field containing <base>	Remove the <base> tag, it changes where every link on your page points
A code field longer than 100,000 characters	Must be 100,000 characters or fewer

Integer bounds are enforced per type: smallint -32768 to 32767, integer -2147483648 to 2147483647, bigint -9223372036854775808 to 9223372036854775807, and the serial variants from 1 up to the same ceiling.

Next

• The CMS shows these fields in context.
• Site databases explains how columns get created.