Custom fields
Define your own account-level fields to capture extra information on your ingredients.
What it is
Custom fields let you extend your ingredient information with your own data that the standard catalog doesn't capture: origin, certification, batch number, etc. The fields you define apply to your whole account.
How to get there
From the ingredient catalog, click the Custom fields button in the header. A dialog opens with the subtext "Define your own fields to capture extra information on your ingredients (origin, certification, batch, etc.)."
Sections of the dialog
The dialog shows the Defined fields (N) list (with the number of fields created in parentheses) and a table of the fields you've already created:
| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| Label | Visible name of the field. |
| Key | Internal key of the field. |
| Type | Data type of the field. |
| Required | Whether the field is mandatory. |
Each row has a pencil icon to edit and a trash icon to delete. If you haven't created any yet, you'll see "No fields defined yet. Create your first one to extend your catalog."
Create a field
Open the editor
Click New field. A blank sub-form opens.
Fill in the details
- Label (required) — the visible name of the field, for example Country of origin.
- Key (internal) — the internal key. It's auto-generated from the label in
snake_caseformat, must start with a lowercase letter, and can't be changed once the field is created. - Type — choose between Text, Number, Date, Select (dropdown), or Boolean (yes/no).
- Options (comma-separated) — only for the Select type: the list of values separated by commas, for example Venezuela, Ecuador, Madagascar.
- Help text (optional) — supporting text for whoever fills in the field.
- Required field — checkbox to mark the field as mandatory. Read the warning in Current status before checking it.
Save
Click Create field. The field appears in the list of defined fields.
Edit and delete
- Edit (pencil icon) — opens the editor with the field's details. The internal key is locked and can't be modified.
- Delete (trash icon) — removes the field definition, with a confirmation prompt first. Values you've already captured on ingredients are not removed: they stay saved, although without their definition.
Validations
- The Label is required: if you leave it empty, you'll see "Label is required".
- The Key must start with a lowercase letter and be in
snake_case; otherwise you'll see "Invalid key — it must start with a lowercase letter and be snake_case".
Current status
Today this screen only defines the fields. The dialog looks ahead with the note "Once defined, you can capture values on each custom ingredient.", but the custom ingredient form doesn't show the defined fields yet, so for now there's nowhere in the interface to fill in their values (CSV or JSON import doesn't load them either).
If you mark a field as Required field, you won't be able to create new custom ingredients from New ingredient: on saving, the server replies "The field "…" is required" and the form has nowhere to fill it in. Leave the box unchecked until the form shows these fields.
Don't confuse the two: custom fields add data columns; custom ingredients are brand-new full sheets.