> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.custral.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Data Structures

> Model your business as objects, records, and properties. The flexible schema behind every surface in Custral.

Custral's data engine is a schema-driven model that mirrors how teams actually organize information. You define your own **Objects** (types of data), give them typed **Properties** (fields), and fill them with **Records**: linked together for a 360° view of every customer. It's the schema layer beneath every surface, so the objects you design here power your tables, pages, reports, and automations.

## Get started

<Card title="Set up your first object" icon="rocket" horizontal href="/data/getting-started">
  Learn the building blocks, then create an object, add properties, and enter your first records.
</Card>

## What you can do

**Define your schema**

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Objects" icon="cube" href="/data/objects/overview">
    Define the entities in your system: Companies, Contacts, Deals, and more.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Properties" icon="table-columns" href="/data/properties/overview">
    Add typed fields to an object to store specific pieces of information.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Standard objects" icon="cubes" href="/data/objects/standard-objects">
    Map the standard CRM concepts (Company, Person, Deal, Ticket) onto your own objects.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Object templates" icon="clone" href="/data/objects/templates">
    Reusable starter records so you don't re-enter common entries.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

**Fill & organize**

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Records" icon="table-list" href="/data/records/overview">
    The individual entries that live within your objects.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Fields" icon="input-text" href="/data/records/fields">
    The value a record stores for each property.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Object views" icon="eye" href="/data/objects/views">
    Control how records render as tables, boards, and detail layouts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Collections" icon="layer-group" href="/data/collections/overview">
    Group records into saved lists, stacks, and queues.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

**Connect & maintain**

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Relations" icon="link" href="/data/properties/select/relation">
    Link a record to one or many records on another object.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Conversations" icon="messages" href="/data/conversations/overview">
    The thread model that unifies every channel into a single data structure.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Discover contacts" icon="address-book" href="/data/contacts/discover">
    Find people you've emailed who aren't contacts yet, and add them in a click.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Media library" icon="photo-film" href="/data/media/overview">
    Browse, filter, download, and delete every file uploaded across your workspace.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Feature reference

What each capability does and when to reach for it.

| Feature                       | What it does                                                                           | Use it when                                                 |
| ----------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Objects**                   | Define a type of data and the shared property set every record carries                 | You're modeling a new entity: Contacts, Deals, Tickets      |
| **Records**                   | A single entry of an object, holding one field per property                            | You're storing an actual person, company, or deal           |
| **Properties**                | Typed fields on an object, the columns of your data                                    | You need a specific piece of information on every record    |
| **Text & number types**       | Text, email, phone, website, address, ID, number, currency, timer                      | You store labels, contact details, or amounts               |
| **Date types**                | Date and time fields                                                                   | You track deadlines, renewals, or durations                 |
| **Select types**              | Select, status, relation, user, and conversation fields                                | You categorize records or link them to people and threads   |
| **Relation**                  | Link a record to one or many records on another object                                 | You connect a Contact to a Company or a Deal to an Account  |
| **Formula**                   | A computed value derived from other fields on the record                               | You need a value calculated automatically, not typed in     |
| **External & object mapping** | Resolve a field from a connected provider, or map a record onto another object's shape | You enrich records from integrations or reshape data        |
| **Communication types**       | Notes, whiteboard, and spreadsheet fields on a record                                  | You attach rich working documents to a record               |
| **Collections**               | Named list, stack, or queue memberships automations can iterate                        | You group records into an explicit ordered or unordered set |
| **Object views**              | Saved layouts that control how records render across surfaces                          | You want a specific table, board, or detail layout          |
| **Object templates**          | Reusable starter records for an object                                                 | You spin up common records without re-entering them         |
| **Import**                    | Bulk-load records from a spreadsheet or CSV, mapping columns to properties             | You're migrating existing data into Custral                 |

## Works with

Your data model isn't a silo. It's the foundation the rest of Custral builds on.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Surfaces" icon="table-cells" href="/surfaces/overview">
    Objects render as pages, tables, boards, and record views.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Automations" icon="bolt" href="/automation/overview">
    Trigger workflows on record and field changes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="AI" icon="sparkles" href="/ai/overview">
    Auto-fill properties and enrich records with AI.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reporting" icon="chart-line" href="/bi/overview">
    Build charts and dashboards on top of your objects.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Reference & settings

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Workspace audit" icon="sitemap" href="/data/audits/workspace">
    Review and restructure your whole schema in one visual designer.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Company audit" icon="clipboard-check" href="/data/audits/company">
    Automated checks that flag gaps and create admin tasks.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Related

* [Data models](/data/models): how to design objects, properties, and relationships.
* [Collections](/data/collections/overview): ordered and unordered sets of records.
* [Reporting](/bi/reporting/overview): charts and dashboards built on your objects.
* [Automations](/automation/overview): react to record and field changes.

<Info>Need help setting up your data model? [Reach out to us](mailto:hello@custral.com) for a guided walkthrough.</Info>


## Related topics

- [Settings](/start/settings/overview.md)
- [Conversations](/data/conversations/overview.md)
- [Discover Contacts](/data/contacts/discover.md)
- [Getting Started](/data/getting-started.md)
- [Data Models](/data/models.md)