Collections

What is a Collection?

A collection is a TypeScript object that describes a database table and how it should appear in the admin UI. It defines:

• Schema — Properties (columns), their types, and validation rules
• Relations — Foreign keys, junction tables, and join paths
• Security — Row Level Security policies
• UI behavior — View modes, inline editing, entity views, actions
• Lifecycle hooks — Callbacks for create, update, delete operations

import { EntityCollection } from "@rebasepro/types";

export const productsCollection: EntityCollection = {
    slug: "products",              // URL path and API endpoint
    name: "Products",              // Display name (plural)
    singularName: "Product",       // Display name (singular)
    dbPath: "products",            // PostgreSQL table name
    icon: "inventory_2",           // Material icon key

    properties: {
        name: {
            type: "string",
            name: "Product Name",
            validation: { required: true }
        },
        price: {
            type: "number",
            name: "Price",
            validation: { required: true, min: 0 }
        },
        category: {
            type: "string",
            name: "Category",
            enum: [
                { id: "electronics", label: "Electronics", color: "blueDark" },
                { id: "clothing", label: "Clothing", color: "pinkLight" },
                { id: "books", label: "Books", color: "orangeDark" }
            ]
        },
        description: {
            type: "string",
            name: "Description",
            multiline: true
        },
        active: {
            type: "boolean",
            name: "Active",
            defaultValue: true
        },
        created_at: {
            type: "date",
            name: "Created At",
            autoValue: "on_create",
            readOnly: true
        }
    }
};

Key Properties

Identification

Property	Type	Description
slug	string	Required. URL-safe identifier. Used in the admin UI URL and REST API path (/api/data/{slug}).
name	string	Required. Display name (plural). Shown in navigation and page headers.
singularName	string	Display name for a single entity. Used in “New Product”, “Edit Product”, etc.
dbPath	string	Required. PostgreSQL table name. If different from slug, allows you to decouple URLs from table names.
icon	string	Material icon key. See Google Fonts Icons.

Schema

Property	Type	Description
properties	Properties	Required. Map of property key → property definition. Each key becomes a database column.
relations	Relation[]	SQL relations — foreign keys, junction tables. See Relations.
securityRules	SecurityRule[]	Row Level Security policies. See Security Rules.

UI Configuration

Property	Type	Default	Description
defaultViewMode	"table" | "cards" | "kanban"	"table"	Default view mode
enabledViews	ViewMode[]	All three	Which view modes are available
kanban	KanbanConfig	—	Kanban configuration (column property)
openEntityMode	"side_panel" | "full_screen"	"full_screen"	How entities open for editing
inlineEditing	boolean	true	Enable inline editing in the spreadsheet view
defaultSize	"xs" | "s" | "m" | "l" | "xl"	"m"	Default row height in the table
pagination	boolean | number	true (50)	Enable pagination and/or set page size
propertiesOrder	string[]	—	Column order in the table view
hideFromNavigation	boolean	false	Hide from the sidebar navigation

Entity Options

Property	Type	Default	Description
formAutoSave	boolean	false	Auto-save on field change
hideIdFromForm	boolean	false	Hide the entity ID from the form
hideIdFromCollection	boolean	false	Hide the ID column from the table
includeJsonView	boolean	false	Show a JSON tab in the entity view
history	boolean	false	Track changes in entity history
alwaysApplyDefaultValues	boolean	false	Apply default values on every save, not just creation

Advanced

Property	Type	Description
callbacks	EntityCallbacks	Lifecycle hooks (beforeSave, afterSave, beforeDelete, etc.)
entityActions	EntityAction[]	Custom actions on entities (archive, publish, etc.)
Actions	React.ComponentType	Custom toolbar actions component
entityViews	EntityCustomView[]	Custom tabs in the entity detail view
additionalFields	AdditionalFieldDelegate[]	Computed/virtual columns
subcollections	() => EntityCollection[]	Nested collections (e.g., order → line items)
exportable	boolean | ExportConfig	Enable data export
driver	string	Database driver to use (default: "(default)")

Collection Builder

For dynamic collections that change based on the user or external data, use a builder function:

const collectionsBuilder: EntityCollectionsBuilder = ({ user, authController }) => {
    const collections = [productsCollection];

    if (authController.extra?.role === "admin") {
        collections.push(adminSettingsCollection);
    }

    return collections;
};

Filtering and Sorting

You can set default or forced filters:

{
    // Default filter — users can change it
    filter: { active: ["==", true] },

    // Forced filter — cannot be changed
    forceFilter: { tenant_id: ["==", currentTenantId] },

    // Default sort
    sort: ["created_at", "desc"]
}

Next Steps

• Properties — All property types and options
• Relations — Foreign keys, junction tables, joins
• Security Rules — Row Level Security
• View Modes — Table, Cards, Kanban
• Entity Callbacks — Lifecycle hooks