Databases & fields

A database is a user-defined type — Tasks, Clients, Articles. It owns fields, records, and views, and belongs to exactly one space. Every database has one built-in title field (required, undeletable) plus system fields. Creating or changing a database is a runtime API call, not a migration — schema is data.

Field types

Each field has a stable api_name (used by the API and MCP), a display name, and type-specific config.

Type	Notes
title	Built-in, one per database; promoted to a real column for fast search and pickers.
text	Single- or multi-line ({multiline}).
number	Precision + format (plain / percent / currency).
select / multi_select	Options are first-class rows with stable IDs (see below).
date	Optionally includes a time ({include_time}).
checkbox	Boolean.
user	A person; single or multi.
url, email	Validated text.
relation	A link to another database — see relations.
lookup, rollup	Derived from a relation — see lookups & rollups.
formula	Computed from other fields — see formulas.
button	Runs actions on click — see automations & buttons.
created_at, updated_at, created_by	System, read-only.

Select options are first-class

Options for select / multi_select fields are real rows with stable IDs, never inline strings. Records store option ids, which means:

• Renaming an option is instant and O(1) — every record updates at once.
• Kanban column order is just option order.
• Deleting an option is an explicit, counted operation (with an optional “reassign to option X”).

Field lifecycle

• Rename — the display_name changes freely; the api_name is a stable slug (auto-generated, admin-editable with a warning) so integrations don’t break.
• Delete — soft delete; orphaned values are ignored by reads and lazily cleaned up, so the action never blocks.
• Change type — a small compatibility matrix converts in place (anything → text; text → number/date best-effort; select ↔ multi_select). The API returns a dry-run count of lossy conversions before applying. Everything else is an explicit “delete & create new”.

For the full canonical model and JSONB storage mechanics, see the data model reference.