Fields reference - PocketBase

Fields define the structure and validation rules for data in your PocketBase collections. Each field type is optimized for specific data formats and use cases.

Common field properties

All field types share these core properties:

type Field interface {
    Name   string  // Unique field name (used in API)
    Id     string  // Stable identifier (auto-generated)
    System bool    // System fields cannot be renamed/removed
    Hidden bool    // Hidden fields are excluded from API responses
}

Additional common properties

Most fields also support:

Presentable - Hints the dashboard to use this field in record previews
Required - Makes the field value mandatory (non-empty)

Field IDs are automatically generated when you add fields to a collection. They ensure stability even if you rename the field.

Text field

Stores string values with optional validation constraints.

&core.TextField{
    Name:     "title",
    Required: true,
    Min:      3,
    Max:      200,
    Pattern:  "^[a-zA-Z0-9 ]+$",
}

Properties

Min - Minimum character length (0 = no limit)
Max - Maximum character length (0 = default 5000)
Pattern - Regular expression for validation
AutogeneratePattern - Regex pattern for generating random values
PrimaryKey - Mark as collection primary key (only for id field)

Special modifiers

// Autogenerate with prefix
record.Set("slug:autogenerate", "post-")  // "post-abc123xyz"

Examples

Username
Slug
Short description

&core.TextField{
    Name:     "username",
    Required: true,
    Min:      3,
    Max:      30,
    Pattern:  "^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$",
}

&core.TextField{
    Name:                "slug",
    Required:            true,
    Pattern:             "^[a-z0-9-]+$",
    AutogeneratePattern: "[a-z0-9]{10}",
}

&core.TextField{
    Name: "tagline",
    Max:  140,
}

Number field

Stores numeric values (stored as float64 internally).

&core.NumberField{
    Name:     "price",
    Required: true,
    Min:      core.Float64(0),
    Max:      core.Float64(999999.99),
}

Properties

Min - Minimum value (nil = no limit)
Max - Maximum value (nil = no limit)
OnlyInt - Restrict to integer values only
Required - Require non-zero value

Special modifiers

// Increment/decrement
record.Set("views+", 1)      // Add 1 to current value
record.Set("stock-", 5)      // Subtract 5 from current value

Examples

Price
Quantity (integer)
Rating

&core.NumberField{
    Name:     "price",
    Required: true,
    Min:      core.Float64(0),
    Max:      core.Float64(1000000),
}

&core.NumberField{
    Name:     "quantity",
    Required: true,
    Min:      core.Float64(0),
    OnlyInt:  true,
}

&core.NumberField{
    Name: "rating",
    Min:  core.Float64(0),
    Max:  core.Float64(5),
}

Email field

Stores and validates email addresses.

&core.EmailField{
    Name:          "email",
    Required:      true,
    OnlyDomains:   []string{"company.com"},
    ExceptDomains: []string{"spam.com"},
}

Properties

OnlyDomains - Whitelist of allowed email domains
ExceptDomains - Blacklist of forbidden email domains
Required - Require non-empty email

You can only use either OnlyDomains or ExceptDomains, not both.

Examples

Basic email
Corporate only
Block disposable

&core.EmailField{
    Name:     "contact_email",
    Required: true,
}

&core.EmailField{
    Name:        "work_email",
    Required:    true,
    OnlyDomains: []string{"company.com", "subsidiary.com"},
}

&core.EmailField{
    Name:          "email",
    Required:      true,
    ExceptDomains: []string{"tempmail.com", "throwaway.email"},
}

URL field

Stores and validates URLs.

&core.URLField{
    Name:         "website",
    Required:     true,
    OnlyDomains:  []string{"example.com"},
    ExceptDomains: []string{"blocked.com"},
}

Properties

OnlyDomains - Whitelist of allowed domains
ExceptDomains - Blacklist of forbidden domains
Required - Require non-empty URL

Bool field

Stores true/false values.

&core.BoolField{
    Name: "published",
}

Properties

Only the common properties (Name, Required is not applicable as false is a valid value).

Date field

Stores date and time values.

&core.DateField{
    Name:     "published_at",
    Required: true,
    Min:      "2024-01-01 00:00:00.000Z",
    Max:      "2025-12-31 23:59:59.999Z",
}

Properties

Min - Minimum date (RFC 3339 format)
Max - Maximum date (RFC 3339 format)
Required - Require non-empty date

Autodate field

Automatically sets date on create and/or update.

&core.AutodateField{
    Name:     "created",
    OnCreate: true,
    OnUpdate: false,
}

Properties

OnCreate - Set date when record is created
OnUpdate - Update date when record is modified

Examples

Created timestamp
Updated timestamp

&core.AutodateField{
    Name:     "created_at",
    OnCreate: true,
    OnUpdate: false,
}

&core.AutodateField{
    Name:     "updated_at",
    OnCreate: true,
    OnUpdate: true,
}

Select field

Stores single or multiple predefined values.

&core.SelectField{
    Name:      "status",
    Required:  true,
    Values:    []string{"draft", "published", "archived"},
    MaxSelect: 1,
}

Properties

Values - List of allowed values
MaxSelect - Max selections (1 = single, >1 = multiple)
Required - Require at least one selection

Examples

Single select
Multiple select

&core.SelectField{
    Name:      "status",
    Required:  true,
    Values:    []string{"active", "inactive", "pending"},
    MaxSelect: 1,
}

&core.SelectField{
    Name:      "tags",
    Values:    []string{"tech", "business", "lifestyle", "travel"},
    MaxSelect: 3,
}

JSON field

Stores arbitrary JSON data.

&core.JSONField{
    Name:     "metadata",
    MaxSize:  2097152, // 2MB
}

Properties

MaxSize - Maximum JSON size in bytes (default 2MB)
Required - Require non-empty JSON

Example

&core.JSONField{
    Name:    "settings",
    MaxSize: 1048576, // 1MB
}

// Usage
record.Set("settings", map[string]any{
    "theme": "dark",
    "notifications": true,
    "language": "en",
})

Editor field

Stores rich text HTML content.

&core.EditorField{
    Name:             "content",
    Required:         true,
    ConvertURLs:      true,
    ExceptDomains:    []string{"malicious.com"},
    OnlyDomains:      []string{"trusted.com"},
}

Properties

ConvertURLs - Auto-convert plain text URLs to links
OnlyDomains - Whitelist of allowed domains in content
ExceptDomains - Blacklist of forbidden domains
Required - Require non-empty content

File field

Handles file uploads with validation.

&core.FileField{
    Name:      "attachments",
    MaxSelect: 5,
    MaxSize:   5242880, // 5MB per file
    MimeTypes: []string{"image/jpeg", "image/png", "application/pdf"},
    Thumbs:    []string{"100x100", "300x300", "0x500"},
    Protected: false,
}

Properties

MaxSelect - Max files (1 = single, >1 = multiple)
MaxSize - Max size per file in bytes (default 5MB)
MimeTypes - Allowed MIME types (empty = all)
Thumbs - Thumbnail sizes for images
Protected - Require token to access files
Required - Require at least one file

Thumbnail formats

100x300 - Crop to 100x300 from center
100x300t - Crop to 100x300 from top
100x300b - Crop to 100x300 from bottom
100x300f - Fit inside 100x300 (no crop)
0x300 - Resize to 300px height, preserve aspect ratio
100x0 - Resize to 100px width, preserve aspect ratio

Special modifiers

// Append files
record.Set("images+", []*filesystem.File{newImage})

// Prepend files
record.Set("+images", []*filesystem.File{newImage})

// Remove files
record.Set("images-", "old_image.jpg")

Examples

Profile picture
Documents
Product images

&core.FileField{
    Name:      "avatar",
    MaxSelect: 1,
    MaxSize:   2097152, // 2MB
    MimeTypes: []string{"image/jpeg", "image/png", "image/webp"},
    Thumbs:    []string{"100x100", "300x300"},
}

&core.FileField{
    Name:      "documents",
    MaxSelect: 10,
    MaxSize:   10485760, // 10MB
    MimeTypes: []string{
        "application/pdf",
        "application/msword",
        "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document",
    },
    Protected: true,
}

&core.FileField{
    Name:      "images",
    Required:  true,
    MaxSelect: 5,
    MaxSize:   5242880, // 5MB
    MimeTypes: []string{"image/jpeg", "image/png"},
    Thumbs:    []string{"100x100", "400x400", "1200x0"},
}

Relation field

Links to records in other collections.

&core.RelationField{
    Name:          "author",
    Required:      true,
    CollectionId:  "users_collection_id",
    MaxSelect:     1,
    MinSelect:     1,
    CascadeDelete: false,
}

Properties

CollectionId - ID of the related collection (required)
MaxSelect - Max related records (1 = single, >1 = multiple)
MinSelect - Min required relations
CascadeDelete - Delete record if all relations are deleted
Required - Require at least one relation

CollectionId cannot be changed after the field is created. You must delete and recreate the field to change the target collection.

Special modifiers

// Append relations
record.Set("tags+", []string{"tag1_id", "tag2_id"})

// Prepend relations
record.Set("+tags", []string{"tag1_id"})

// Remove relations
record.Set("tags-", "tag1_id")

Examples

Single relation
Multiple relations
Self-referencing

&core.RelationField{
    Name:         "category",
    Required:     true,
    CollectionId: categoryCollectionId,
    MaxSelect:    1,
}

&core.RelationField{
    Name:         "tags",
    CollectionId: tagsCollectionId,
    MaxSelect:    10,
    MinSelect:    1,
}

&core.RelationField{
    Name:         "parent",
    CollectionId: collection.Id, // Same collection
    MaxSelect:    1,
}

Password field

Stores hashed passwords (auth collections only).

&core.PasswordField{
    Name:     "password",
    System:   true,
    Hidden:   true,
    Required: true,
    Min:      8,
    Max:      100,
    Pattern:  "", // Optional pattern for validation
}

Properties

Min - Minimum password length
Max - Maximum password length
Pattern - Regex pattern for validation
Required - Require non-empty password

Passwords are automatically hashed using bcrypt before storage. The plain text password is never stored.

Working with fields

Adding fields to collections

collection.Fields.Add(
    &core.TextField{Name: "title"},
    &core.TextField{Name: "content"},
)

Adding at specific position

// Insert at index 1
collection.Fields.AddAt(1,
    &core.TextField{Name: "subtitle"},
)

Removing fields

collection.Fields.RemoveByName("old_field")
collection.Fields.RemoveById("field_id")

Getting fields

field := collection.Fields.GetByName("title")
field := collection.Fields.GetById("field_id")

// Get all field names
names := collection.Fields.FieldNames()

// Get as map
fieldsMap := collection.Fields.AsMap()

Field validation

Fields are validated when you save the collection:

if err := app.Save(collection); err != nil {
    // Handle validation errors
    if validationErr, ok := err.(validation.Errors); ok {
        for field, fieldErr := range validationErr {
            fmt.Printf("Field %s: %v\n", field, fieldErr)
        }
    }
}

Helper functions

Common helper functions for working with field values:

// For pointer fields (Min, Max in NumberField)
core.Float64(42.5)    // Returns *float64
core.String("value")  // Returns *string

// For checking field types
if textField, ok := field.(*core.TextField); ok {
    // Work with text field
}

Best practices

Validation
Naming
Performance
Security

Set appropriate min/max constraints
Use patterns for format validation
Mark fields as required only when necessary
Provide sensible default values

Next steps

Base collections

Create your first collection

Auth collections

Add user authentication

Validation

Advanced validation techniques

API rules

Secure your data

​Common field properties

​Additional common properties

​Text field

​Properties

​Special modifiers

​Examples

​Number field

​Properties

​Special modifiers

​Examples

​Email field

​Properties

​Examples

​URL field

​Properties

​Bool field

​Properties

​Date field

​Properties

​Autodate field

​Properties

​Examples

​Select field

​Properties

​Examples

​JSON field

​Properties

​Example

​Editor field

​Properties

​File field

​Properties

​Thumbnail formats

​Special modifiers

​Examples

​Relation field

​Properties

​Special modifiers

​Examples

​Password field

​Properties

​Working with fields

​Adding fields to collections

​Adding at specific position

​Removing fields

​Getting fields

​Field validation

​Helper functions

​Best practices

​Next steps

Base collections

Auth collections

Validation

API rules

Common field properties

Additional common properties

Text field

Properties

Special modifiers

Examples

Number field

Properties

Special modifiers

Examples

Email field

Properties

Examples

URL field

Properties

Bool field

Properties

Date field

Properties

Autodate field

Properties

Examples

Select field

Properties

Examples

JSON field

Properties

Example

Editor field

Properties

File field

Properties

Thumbnail formats

Special modifiers

Examples

Relation field

Properties

Special modifiers

Examples

Password field

Properties

Working with fields

Adding fields to collections

Adding at specific position

Removing fields

Getting fields

Field validation

Helper functions

Best practices

Next steps