Content · 5 / 23

Schema builder

Add types and fields in the admin, review the change, and apply it as the TypeScript file and migration you would have written.

Content ModelArticles Discard changes Review changes

Collections

Articles Authors Categories

Pages

Home New content type

Articles builder

Content built-in tab 4 fields5 fields Groups

Title title Short text

Slug slug Short text

Summary summary Long text

Body body Rich text

Read time readTime new Number

Add field

Content ModelArticlesAdd a field

1Kind
2Basics
3Rules and display

Kind of field

Short text One line: a title, a name, a slug. Long text A plain box of text, no formatting. Rich text Headings, lists and links: a body. Number A count, a rating, a position. Yes / no A switch: featured, archived. Date A day, without a time.

Label

Read time

Machine name

readTime

Follows the label until you type one.

Required Needed to publish.

Whole numbers only Stored as an integer.

Back

Content ModelArticlesReview changes

1Changes
2Files and SQL
3Apply

Add readTime to article Adds a column existing entries leave empty. Safe

src/content/collections/article.ts changed

0008_add_article_read_time.sql
ALTER TABLE "content_article"
  ADD COLUMN "read_time" integer;

Migration name

add_article_read_time

Applying the content model Applied

Generating and running the migration

Waiting for the server to restart

The content model is live

One migration in one transaction, then article.ts rewritten. Commit both with the code that reads the field.

Back

How it works

01
Add a type or a field in the Content Model page, in development.
02
Review each change’s verdict, the files and the SQL drizzle-kit wrote.
03
Apply: the migration runs, the files are written, the server restarts.

Writes: TypeScript and a drizzle-kit migration
Runs: In development only
Owns: No tables, no runtime schema

In depth · For whoever sets up the model

A form that writes your code

Add a type or a field in the admin, review the change, and apply — your repository gets a type module and a drizzle-kit migration to commit.

It writes files, nothing else

The builder has no table and no runtime registry. It writes the same formatted TypeScript a person would, and drizzle-kit generates the SQL. Delete the builder and every type it made keeps working.

Under the hood

It edits only files whose first line is // @orthacms-generated. Hand-written types are shown read-only and never rewritten.

src/content/collections/article.ts

// @orthacms-generated — managed by the Schema Builder.

export const article = collection('article', {
    publishable: true,
    fields: {
        title: field.text({ required: true }),
        body: field.richtext(),
        readTime: field.number({ integer: true, admin: { label: 'Read time' } })
    }
});

migrations/0008_add_article_read_time.sql

content_article

id uuid
title text
body jsonb
read_time integer — added
status draft | published
published_at timestamptz

Both files land in your working tree, ready to commit.

Every change gets a verdict

Verdict	What it covers
Safe	New types, optional fields, labels and order.
Check data	Tightened rules; existing values may no longer pass.
Deletes data	Removed fields or types, each confirmed on its own.
Not applied	Renames and type changes — make those in code.

Safe to apply

Checked as you type: The form uses the server’s own rules and wording.
All or nothing: The migration runs in one transaction; files are written only after it commits.
Never a prompt: Removals and additions run as separate migrations, so drizzle-kit never has to ask.
One apply at a time: A stale draft is told so instead of overwriting someone else’s change.
New types start ungranted: After an apply, the admin offers which workspaces get the new type.

Development only

Editing needs SCHEMA_BUILDER=true, a non-production NODE_ENV and the source tree. In production the page is a read-only map, and schema changes ship like any other code.

Questions

Is a generated type different from one I write?

No. It is the same collection() call. Remove the marker line and the file is yours to edit by hand.

Who can use it?

Anyone who can read content sees the model. Editing it needs schema:manage, which only administrators hold.

Full reference in the docs