Data source properties
All data source objects include a child properties object. This properties object is composed of individual data source property objects. These property objects define the data source schema and are rendered in the Notion UI as data columns.
If you’re looking for information about how to use the API to work with data source rows, then refer to the page property values documentation. The API treats data source rows as pages.
Every data source property object contains the following keys:
Each data source property object also contains a type object. The key of the object is the type of the object, and the value is an object containing type-specific configuration. The following sections detail these type-specific objects along with example property objects for each type.
Checkbox
A checkbox data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains checkboxes. The checkbox type object is empty; there is no additional property configuration.
Created by
A created by data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains people mentions of each row’s author as values.
The created_by type object is empty. There is no additional property configuration.
Created time
A created time data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains timestamps of when each row was created as values.
The created_time type object is empty. There is no additional property configuration.
Date
A date data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains date values.
The date type object is empty; there is no additional configuration.
An email data source property is represented in the Notion UI as a column that contains email values.
The email type object is empty. There is no additional property configuration.
Files
A files data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that has values that are either files uploaded directly to Notion or external links to files. The files type object is empty; there is no additional configuration.
Formula
A formula data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains values derived from a provided expression.
The formula type object defines the expression in the following fields:
Last edited by
A last edited by data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains people mentions of the person who last edited each row as values.
The last_edited_by type object is empty. There is no additional property configuration.
Last edited time
A last edited time data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains timestamps of when each row was last edited as values.
The last_edited_time type object is empty. There is no additional property configuration.
Multi-select
A multi-select data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains values from a range of options. Each row can contain one or multiple options.
The multi_select type object includes an array of options objects. Each option object details settings for the option, indicating the following fields:
Number
A number data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains numeric values. The number type object contains the following fields:
People
A people data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains people mentions. The people type object is empty; there is no additional configuration.
Phone number
A phone number data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains phone number values.
The phone_number type object is empty. There is no additional property configuration.
Relation
A relation data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as column that contains relations, references to pages in another data source, as values.
The relation type object contains the following fields:
To retrieve properties from data source relations, the related database must be shared with your integration in addition to the database being retrieved. If the related database is not shared, properties based on relations will not be included in the API response.
Similarly, to update a data source relation property via the API, share the related database with the integration.
Rich text
A rich text data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains text values. The rich_text type object is empty; there is no additional configuration.
Rollup
A rollup data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column with values that are rollups, specific properties that are pulled from a related data source.
The rollup type object contains the following fields:
Select
A select data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains values from a selection of options. Only one option is allowed per row.
The select type object contains an array of objects representing the available options. Each option object includes the following fields:
Status
A status data source property is rendered in the Notion UI as a column that contains values from a list of status options. The status type object includes an array of options objects and an array of groups objects.
The options array is a sorted list of list of the available status options for the property. Each option object in the array has the following fields:
A group is a collection of options. The groups array is a sorted list of the available groups for the property. Each group object in the array has the following fields:
It is not possible to update a status data source property's name or options values via the API.
Update these values from the Notion UI, instead.
Title
A title data source property controls the title that appears at the top of a page when a data source row is opened. The title type object itself is empty; there is no additional configuration.
All data sources require one, and only one, title property.
The API throws errors if you send a request to Create a data source or Create a database without a title property, or if you attempt to Update a data source to add or remove a title property.
A title data source property is a type of column in a data source.
A data source title defines the title of the data source and is found on the data source object.
Every data source requires both a data source title and a title data source property. This ensures that we have both:
- An overall title to display when viewing the database or data source in the Notion app
- A title property for each page under the data source, so page titles can be displayed in the Notion app
URL
A URL data source property is represented in the Notion UI as a column that contains URL values.
The url type object is empty. There is no additional property configuration.
Unique ID
A unique ID data source property records values that are automatically incremented, and enforced to be unique across all pages in a data source. This can be useful for task or bug report IDs (e.g. TASK-1234), or other similar types of identifiers that must be unique.
The unique_id type object can contain an optional prefix attribute, which is a common prefix assigned to pages in the data source. When a prefix is set, a special URL (for example, notion.so/TASK-1234) is generated to be able to look up a page easily by the ID. Learn more in our help center documentation or Notion Academy lesson.