Entity Types

An entity type defines a category of objects in your database. Create one for each kind of thing you need to store — for example project, invoice, or product. The fields each entity carries are defined by property definitions, which are child entities of the entity type.

All configuration happens through the Entu UI — no code or config files.

Creating an Entity Type

1. Open Configuration in the sidebar
2. Add a new entity of type Entity
3. Fill in the parameters below

Entity Type Parameters

Param	Description
name	Internal identifier (e.g. project, invoice). Used in API queries — lowercase, no spaces is the convention.
label	Display name shown in the UI (e.g. Project, Invoice).
description	Explanation of what this entity type represents.
add_from	Controls where entities of this type can be created. Reference a menu entity to show this type in the "New …" button when that menu is active. Reference an entity type to allow adding this type as a child on any instance of that type. Reference a specific entity to allow it only under that one entity. Without this, the "Add" button will never offer this type.
default_parent	When a new entity of this type is created, the referenced entity is automatically added as an additional _parent. Useful for routing new records into a fixed folder regardless of where the user clicked "Add".
_sharing	Maximum visibility for entities of this type: private (default), domain, or public. See Entities → Sharing.
plugin	Plugins attached to this entity type. See Plugins.

WARNING

If add_from is not set, users will have no way to create entities of this type through the UI. Reference at least one menu, entity type, or specific entity.

DANGER

Setting _sharing: public makes all entities of this type visible to anyone on the internet without authentication. Only use it for intentionally public content.

Adding Property Definitions

On the entity type's page, use the "Add" button to create child entities of type Property. Create one for each field entities of that type should have.

Property Definition Parameters

Identity

Param	Description
name	Internal identifier (e.g. status, due_date). Used in API queries — must contain only letters, digits, and underscores (A–Z, a–z, 0–9, _). Must be unique within the entity type.
type	Data type — determines the UI input and how values are stored. See Property Types below.
label	Display name shown above the field.
label_plural	Plural label shown when the field has multiple values (e.g. Tags instead of Tag).
description	Help text shown in an info popover next to the field label.

Layout

Param	Description
group	Groups related fields into named sections on the entity page and in the edit form.
ordinal	Numeric sort order within the group. Lower numbers appear first.
hidden	Hides the field from the edit form but still shows its value on the entity page. Use for formula-driven or integration-managed fields.
readonly	Visible on the entity page but not editable through the UI.
table	When set, marks this property as a column in the child list table view.

Behaviour

Param	Description
mandatory	Marks the field as required — always shown with a red indicator when empty.
default	Pre-filled value when creating a new entity.
list	Allows multiple values. Extra inputs appear automatically as the user fills them in.
multilingual	Stores a separate value per language. A language selector appears next to each input.
formula	A server-side expression evaluated and written on every save. See Formulas.

Type-specific

Param	Description
markdown	Enables markdown rendering for text type fields.
decimals	Number of decimal places for number type fields.
set	Restricts input to a fixed list — renders a dropdown instead of free text. Pair with string type.
reference_query	Filters which entities are selectable in a reference field (e.g. _type.string=person).

Access & discoverability

Param	Description
search	Indexes values for full-text search. Enable on fields users naturally search by.
plugin	Attaches a plugin at the field level for custom UI or behavior.

TIP

Enable search on properties users frequently filter by (e.g. name, status, reference code).

Property Types

Available types: string, text, number, boolean, date, datetime, file, reference, counter.

See Properties → Property Types for descriptions of each type and their UI behaviour.

Property Visibility

By default, all properties are private — they are only included in API responses for users who have explicit access to the entity. To expose specific properties to a broader audience, set _sharing on each property definition individually.

The entity type's _sharing acts as a cap on how broadly property definitions can expose data:

Entity type _sharing	Property definition _sharing behaviour
private	Properties can be set to private, domain, or public. No capping is applied.
domain	Properties set to domain are exposed to domain users. Properties set to public are automatically capped to domain.
public	Properties can be private, domain, or public. No capping is applied.

TIP

Setting _sharing on a property definition only controls whether that property appears in the domain or public view of an entity. It does not affect who can access the entity itself — entity-level access is governed by _sharing and rights properties on the entity instance.

TIP

For a full worked example of an entity type with properties, see Use-Case Examples.