Select field

Store single or multiple values from a predefined list

The select field stores one or more string values from a predefined list of options. It supports both single-select and multi-select modes, with special setter modifiers for manipulating selections.

Configuration options

values · []string · required

List of accepted values. This defines all possible options that can be selected.

maxSelect · int · default: "1"

Maximum number of values that can be selected. Set to 1 (or less) for single-select mode. Set to > 1 for multi-select mode.

required · bool · default: "false"

When true, requires at least one value to be selected.

Validation rules

The select field validates:

• Values: All selected values must be in the predefined values list
• Max select: Number of selected values cannot exceed maxSelect
• Required: If enabled, at least one value must be selected

Single vs multi-select

The field behavior changes based on maxSelect:

• maxSelect <= 1: Single-select mode (value is a string)
• maxSelect > 1: Multi-select mode (value is a string array)

Special setter modifiers

The select field supports several modifiers for manipulating selections:

Append values

// Add values to the end of the selection
record.Set("roles+", []string{"editor", "viewer"})
// Before: ["admin", "moderator"]
// After:  ["admin", "moderator", "editor", "viewer"]

Go examples

Single select

import "github.com/pocketbase/pocketbase/core"

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

collection.Fields.Add(field)

// Set single value
record.Set("status", "published")

Multi select

field := &core.SelectField{
    Name:      "tags",
    Required:  false,
    MaxSelect: 5,
    Values:    []string{"tech", "business", "science", "arts", "sports"},
}

collection.Fields.Add(field)

// Set multiple values
record.Set("tags", []string{"tech", "business"})

With modifiers

field := &core.SelectField{
    Name:      "permissions",
    MaxSelect: 10,
    Values: []string{
        "read", "write", "delete",
        "admin", "moderator", "editor",
    },
}

collection.Fields.Add(field)

// Set initial values
record.Set("permissions", []string{"read"})

// Add more permissions
record.Set("permissions+", []string{"write", "delete"})

// Remove a permission
record.Set("permissions-", "delete")
// Result: ["read", "write"]

Priority/category

field := &core.SelectField{
    Name:      "priority",
    Required:  true,
    MaxSelect: 1,
    Values:    []string{"low", "medium", "high", "critical"},
}

collection.Fields.Add(field)

record.Set("priority", "high")

Database column type

The column type varies based on whether it’s single or multi-select:

Single select (maxSelect <= 1)

TEXT DEFAULT '' NOT NULL

Common use cases

Status field

field := &core.SelectField{
    Name:      "status",
    Required:  true,
    MaxSelect: 1,
    Values:    []string{"pending", "approved", "rejected"},
}

Querying select fields

Single select query

// Find records with specific status
records, err := app.FindRecordsByFilter(
    "articles",
    "status = 'published'",
    "-created",
    10,
    0,
)

Best practices

• Keep the values list concise and meaningful
• Use single-select for mutually exclusive options (status, priority, etc.)
• Use multi-select for non-exclusive categorization (tags, permissions, etc.)
• Consider the UX implications of large values lists (use relation fields for large datasets)
• Use + and - modifiers in multi-select mode for cleaner code
• Selections are stored in order, duplicates are automatically removed

Zero value

• Single-select: Empty string ""
• Multi-select: Empty array []