Bases
A base is a database inside Docmost. Instead of writing content in a document, you organize it as structured records: a set of rows, each with the same properties. The same data can be shown in more than one view, so a list of tasks can appear as a table for editing and as a Kanban board for tracking.
Bases is a commercial feature available on all self-hosted paid plans. An active Business or Enterprise license is required. Bases is not available in the free, open source edition.
Key Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Base | A database. It lives in a space and appears in the sidebar, alongside your pages. |
| Row | A single record in the base, like one task or one contact. |
| Property | A typed field shared by every row, such as Text, Number, Date, or Select. Properties are the columns in the table view. |
| Cell | The value of one property on one row. |
| View | A saved way of looking at the rows. Each view keeps its own filters, sorts, visible properties, and grouping. A base can have several views. |
Creating a Base
There are two ways to create a base.
As a Full Page
A base can take up a whole page, the same way a document does.
- Create a new page.
- On the empty page, find the Get started with prompt.
- Click Base to start with a table, or Kanban to start with a board.
The page becomes a base and shows the grid. It appears in the sidebar with a table icon and is titled Untitled base until you name it.
Inline, Inside a Document
You can also embed a base in the middle of a regular page.
- In the editor, type
/basefor a table, or/kanbanfor a board. - Choose Base (Inline) or Kanban from the slash menu.
The base is inserted as a block in the document. Both commands create a base; Kanban simply starts on a board view. Use the expand control in its toolbar to open it as a full page when you need more room.
Views
Every base supports two view types:
- Table — a spreadsheet-style grid of rows and columns. Best for editing and scanning data.
- Kanban — a board grouped by a Select or Status property, with one column per option. Best for moving records through stages.
See Views for how to create and configure them.
Kanban
The Kanban view groups your rows into columns by a Select or Status property — one card per row, one column per option. Drag a card from one column to another to update its status. It's best for tracking work as it moves through stages.
Permissions & Access
A base lives in a space, and access to it follows the same rules as pages:
- Viewer — can open a base and read its rows, but cannot change anything.
- Can Edit and Full Access — can create bases and edit rows, properties, and views.
A base is a page, so page permissions can restrict an individual base to specific people and groups, just like any other page.
Public sharing of bases is not yet supported. When a page that contains a base is shared publicly, the base does not appear for public visitors. Support for this is planned.
Limits
Some values are capped to keep bases responsive:
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Text property length | 1,000 characters |
| Long text property length | 25,000 characters |
| Choices selected in one Multi-select cell | 100 |
| People in one Person cell | 100 |
| Files in one File cell | 50 |
| Sort rules per view | 5 |
Bases are designed for small to medium datasets. For the best performance, keep a base under 5,000 rows.
In This Section
📄️ Properties
Properties are the typed fields of a base. Every row shares the same set of properties, and in the table view each property is a column. The type of a property decides what its cells can hold, how they are edited, and which filters apply to them.
📄️ Views
A view is a saved way of looking at the rows in a base. Each view remembers its own filters, sorts, visible properties, column layout, and grouping, so you can keep a table for editing and a board for tracking the same records. Views appear as tabs above the base. Click a tab to switch to it.
📄️ Filtering and Sorting
Filters and sorts are saved on the view, so each view can show a different slice of the same base. Filters apply to both table and Kanban views. Sorting orders the rows in a table view.
📄️ Formulas
A Formula property calculates its value from other properties in the same row. The result is read-only: you write the formula once, and every row computes its own value. A formula can return a number, text, a true/false value, or a date.