Created at

Introduction

In NocoBase, Created at automatically records the time when a record was created.

It is usually generated by preset fields and is suitable for sorting, filtering, auditing, workflow conditions, and data statistics. For a manually entered business date, such as a signing or expiry date, use Date or DateTime.

Use cases

Created at fields are suitable for these business scenarios:

• Audit and creation-time tracking
• Sorting and filtering by creation time
• Workflow conditions
• Data statistics

Create and configure

On the collection's Configure fields page, click Add field and select Created at to create this field.

Setting	Description
Field interface	The field interface. Created at uses createdAt, which determines how the field is entered and displayed in pages.
Field display name	The name displayed for the field, such as Created at or Creation time. Use a name that business users can recognize.
Field name	The field identifier used internally by APIs, relation fields, permissions, and workflows. It usually cannot be changed after creation. It supports only letters, numbers, and underscores, and must begin with a letter.
Field type	The data-layer type. Created at uses date by default.
Default value	The default value. When a new record has no value, NocoBase can fill this value automatically.
Validation rules	Validation rules. Is maintained automatically and normally does not require manual validation.
Description	A field description. Record the field meaning, entry requirements, data source, or maintainer.

:::warning Note

Field names are referenced by page blocks, permissions, workflows, and APIs after creation. Confirm the name before creating the field to avoid later configuration changes.

:::

Field behavior

The default behavior of a Created at field is as follows:

Behavior	Description
Default Field interface	createdAt.
Default Field type	date.
Available Field types	date.
Page component	Is maintained automatically by the system.
Filtering	Supports date-time filtering.
Sorting	Supports chronological sorting in Table blocks.
Validation	Is maintained automatically and normally does not require manual validation.

Edit configuration

After creation, click Edit beside the field to edit its configuration. Edit fields to adjust how they are displayed and used in NocoBase, such as the display name, description, default value, validation rules, or field-specific settings.

When a field comes from a synchronized main-database table, editing usually maps the database field to a NocoBase Field type and Field interface.

Setting	Can be edited	Description
Field display name	Yes	Changes the name displayed in the interface without changing the field identifier.
Field name	No	The field identifier normally cannot be changed in the edit form after creation.
Field interface	Conditional	Main-database fields and synchronized fields can be adjusted during field mapping. Changes affect page input, display, and validation.
Field type	Conditional	Main-database fields and synchronized fields can be adjusted during field mapping. Confirm that existing values can be used by the new type first.
Default value	Yes	Adjusts the default value for new records.
Validation rules	Yes	Adjusts field validation rules.
Description	Yes	Adds the field meaning, entry requirements, data source, or maintainer.

:::warning Note

Changing a Field type or Field interface is more than changing a display name. It affects field storage, input components, validation rules, filters, and workflow-variable usage. When the field contains substantial existing data, confirm that its data format is compatible first.

:::

Delete field

Click Delete beside a Created at field to delete it. You can also select multiple fields and delete them in the main data source.

Deleting a Created at field created in the main database usually also deletes the actual database column and its values. For a synchronized or external-data-source field, the impact depends on the corresponding data source and field origin.

:::danger Warning

Deleting a field can affect page blocks, forms, filters, permissions, workflows, APIs, imports and exports, and existing data. Confirm that the field is no longer referenced by business configuration before deleting it.

:::

Use in pages

Created at fields are suitable for audit, filters, and workflow conditions.

Scenario	Use
Table block	Display, sort, and filter records by creation time.
Details block	Display the record creation time.
Filter block	Filter records by creation date.
Workflows and permissions	Use the creation time in conditions.

Related links

• Fields - Learn about field categories and mapping.
• General collection - Create and manage fields in a collection.
• Date - Store a manually entered business date.
• DateTime - Store a manually entered business date and time.