Content model

A content model describes the information your site stores. In EmDash, the model is made of collections and fields. The database stores that model, and the admin panel uses it to build the forms editors work with.

Collections, fields, and entries

A collection is a kind of content, such as Posts, Products, or Authors. A field is one piece of information on that content, such as a title, body, price, or author reference. An entry is one saved item in a collection.

For example, a Posts collection might have these fields:

Posts
├── Title          short text, required
├── Excerpt        long text, optional
├── Content        rich text, optional
└── Featured image image, optional

EmDash also manages information that every entry needs, including its ID, public slug, publishing state, author, creation and update times, locale, and revision references. Query results expose this standard information alongside the fields defined for the collection.

Deleting an entry moves it to the trash by setting its deletion time. An administrator can restore it until someone permanently deletes it from the trash. This entry workflow is different from deleting a field or collection, which changes the schema and removes stored data.

One model, two ways to manage it

Administrators can create and edit collections under Content Types in the admin panel. EmDash updates the database schema, and the content editor uses the change the next time it loads the collection.

A seed file describes a starting model in JSON. Templates use seeds to create collections and other site data during setup. Teams can also keep a seed in version control and apply it when creating another environment. The admin panel and a seed do not create separate models; both change the model stored in the target database.

The following seed fragment defines the four custom fields in the Posts example:

{
	"version": "1",
	"collections": [
		{
			"slug": "posts",
			"label": "Posts",
			"labelSingular": "Post",
			"fields": [
				{
					"slug": "title",
					"label": "Title",
					"type": "string",
					"required": true
				},
				{ "slug": "excerpt", "label": "Excerpt", "type": "text" },
				{ "slug": "content", "label": "Content", "type": "portableText" },
				{ "slug": "featured_image", "label": "Featured Image", "type": "image" }
			]
		}
	]
}

The seed file reference covers conflict handling and the other objects a seed can contain, including settings, taxonomies, menus, widget areas, redirects, and sample content.

Changing a model with existing content

Adding a collection creates an empty place for new entries. Adding an optional field adds that field to every entry, but existing entries have no value until an editor or migration supplies one. A default value can provide the initial value when the field is added.

Labels, descriptions, validation rules, search settings, and field order can be updated without replacing the field. Collection and field slugs are stable identifiers: the admin panel sets them at creation and does not offer a rename later.

Read Evolving a deployed site’s schema before changing a model used in production.

TypeScript declarations

EmDash can generate TypeScript declarations from the model in the database. The declarations add your collection names and field shapes to the public query functions, so a query for posts returns entries whose data.title, data.content, and other fields are known to TypeScript.

During local development, the Astro integration writes emdash-env.d.ts and refreshes it after schema changes. The file is generated output; edit the content model rather than the declaration. Remote workflows can run emdash types to write .emdash/types.ts from the selected EmDash site. Regenerate that file after changing the model it represents.

Generated types help code match the current schema, but they do not migrate stored content. A model change and any required content migration remain separate operations.

Related concepts

Read Collections and fields for collection features and field choices. Read Admin panel for the editor and permission model.