Create a database
Keep data with a consistent shape — applicant lists, customer contacts, issues, content calendars — in one place.
When you need a database
- Track applicants stage by stage → hiring tracker
- Manage customer contacts and stages → CRM
- Track bugs and issues by severity and environment → issue tracker
- Take event sign-ups through an external form → event sign-up form
- Follow team OKR progress by quarter → OKR tracker
When a project board and the Wiki aren't enough — when you want to collect data repeatedly in a consistent shape.
Step 1 — create your first database
Open Databases
Click the Databases icon in the project's left sidebar.
Pick a template
Click + New DB and choose the closest of the 10 templates. You can also start from an empty database and build it yourself.
Create it and add your first record
Clicking a template card creates its fields and views right away without asking for a name, and opens the new database. An empty database is created with the name New database. Add your first record.
Step 2 — work with views
- Table — every field at a glance. Best for inline editing, sorting, and filtering
- Board — kanban grouped by a select, status, or checkbox field. Drag a card to another column and that field's value changes
- Gallery — cards with cover images. Suits visual data such as products, people, or issues
- Calendar — a month based on a date field. For due dates and schedules
- Timeline — bars over time. For projects and roadmaps
- List — one compact line each. For a quick scan
- Form — collect responses from outside users (see the next guide)
- Chart — aggregates by category (count, sum, average, min, max)
The same data can be seen several ways. Switch with the view tabs at the top of the database, and add a view with + View.
Step 3 — add fields
Click + at the right of the Table view header
The Add field window opens. Enter a field name and pick a type, then add it. Set the options of fields such as select and status afterwards by clicking the field name.
What each type is for
Beyond text, number, checkbox, date, and URL/email/phone, there are select (single), multi-select, status (status groups), person (assignee), relation, files, formula, rollup, and created time, created by, last edited time, and last edited by — 19 field types in all.
Editing a field
Click a field name in the Table header to rename it, change its options, or delete it. Type conversion only works between compatible types (text↔URL, select↔multi-select, and so on).
Step 4 — manage records
- Find and filter — search records with the search box in the header, and use the Filter, Sort, Group, and Fields tabs in View settings (the gear) to decide what each view shows. Multi-select, status, person, relation, files, formula, and rollup fields can't be used for sorting, and formula, rollup, and the created and last edited fields can't be used for filtering
- Record templates — pick a template from the ▾ next to + Record to create a record with default values filled in. In Manage templates… you set the template name and field defaults, and the template you mark as default is applied every time you click + Record
- Details, comments, and history — Open details on a row shows the whole record, where you can leave comments and see who changed what under Change history
- Automatic fields — created time, created by, last edited time, and last edited by are filled in by the system and can't be edited, and formula and rollup fields show only their calculated result
- Archive and restore — Archive record can be undone, unlike deleting. Archived records leave the list; open ⋯ More > Show archive in the header to see and restore them
- Delete — deleting a record also erases its field values, comments, and change history and can't be undone. Child records aren't deleted; they move up to the top level
- Bulk edit — in a Table view, select several records with the checkboxes on the left (Shift+click selects a range) and a toolbar appears at the bottom for Change status, Add tag, and Delete in one go, up to 500 records at a time
- Edit conflicts — if you save a record that someone else just changed, the Concurrent edit conflict window opens so you can fetch the server version or force your changes
A record is one row in a table or one card on a board.
Step 5 — import and export
Import from a file
Open ⋯ More > Import from file in the header and upload a CSV (UTF-8) or JSON file. A preview of the first 5 rows lets you map CSV columns to the database's fields, and one import takes up to 5,000 rows and 10MB. When it finishes you see how many rows were imported and skipped, with the reason for each skipped row.
Export as CSV or JSON
Click ⋯ More > Export to CSV or Export as JSON in the header and the file downloads. One export holds up to 10,000 rows, and it leaves out archived records and automatic fields such as formula, rollup, and the created and last edited fields.
What's next
- Collect responses with a public form — how to take sign-ups and feedback from outside users
- Embed a database in the Wiki — put a live list in meeting notes and documents
With the basics down, these guides take it further.