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A surface is any place in Custral where your data becomes something you can see and act on: a dashboard, a record list, a document, a board. Every surface is built from three layers: a Page or Object it starts from, one or more Views that decide which data appears and how, and the Components that render it. Because each layer reads live data, a surface shows the current records rather than a copy of them, and anyone on your team can build one without code.

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Build your first view

See how views turn your objects and records into dashboards, lists, and boards. The building block behind every surface.

What you can do

Build views

Views

Shape which data appears in a surface and how it’s displayed.

Database view

Slice one object’s records as a table, board, grid, or list.

Dashboard view

A free-form grid of charts and stats spanning many objects.

Document view

A collaborative rich-text page with live embedded blocks.
Compose components

Components

The tables, charts, inputs, and calendars inside a view.

Saved components

Reuse one component’s configuration across many surfaces.

Reusables

Save a component or view as a template for other pages.
Navigate & organize

Navigation

Build your sidebar tree of sections, folders, and pages.

Pages

Sidebar entries that each open a surface.
Record layouts

Record routing

Open any record and render its object’s views, scoped to it.

Object views

Configure a record’s layout once, on the object.

Feature reference

What each capability does and when to reach for it.

Works with

Surfaces compose with the rest of Custral. They render your data, not a copy of it.

Objects & records

Views and record layouts render the objects and records you model.

Blocks

Every component is a block from the shared catalog.

Reporting

Turn dashboard views into shared reports and metrics.

AI

Embed AI agents as blocks and auto-fill record properties.

Reference & settings

Entities

The shareable, permissionable unit every surface is built on.

Permissions

Control who can see and edit each surface.