Property Editor Schema

Reference documentation for the propertyEditorSchema extension type

The propertyEditorSchema extension type registers a Property Editor Schema in the Umbraco backoffice. A Property Editor Schema defines the server-side data contract for a property editor, including data storage type, validation rules, and configuration options.

For detailed information about implementing Property Editor Schemas with C# classes (DataEditor and DataValueEditor), see the Property Editor Schema Guide.

Manifest Structure

The manifest defines how the schema appears in the backoffice and what configuration options are available when creating Data Types.

Basic Example

A minimal schema manifest specifies which Property Editor UI should be used by default:

import type { ManifestPropertyEditorSchema } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/property-editor';

export const manifest: ManifestPropertyEditorSchema = {
    type: 'propertyEditorSchema',
    name: 'Text Box',
    alias: 'Umbraco.TextBox',
    meta: {
        defaultPropertyEditorUiAlias: 'Umb.PropertyEditorUi.TextBox',
    },
};

Example with Configuration

If your Property Editor Schema has configurable settings, define them in the manifest to enable administrators to configure the Data Type in the backoffice:

export const manifest: ManifestPropertyEditorSchema = {
    type: 'propertyEditorSchema',
    name: 'Decimal',
    alias: 'Umbraco.Decimal',
    meta: {
        defaultPropertyEditorUiAlias: 'Umb.PropertyEditorUi.Decimal',
        settings: {
            properties: [
                {
                    alias: 'placeholder',
                    label: 'Placeholder text',
                    description: 'Enter the text to be displayed when the value is empty',
                    propertyEditorUiAlias: 'Umb.PropertyEditorUi.TextBox',
                },
                {
                    alias: 'step',
                    label: 'Step size',
                    description: 'The increment size for the numeric input',
                    propertyEditorUiAlias: 'Umb.PropertyEditorUi.TextBox',
                },
            ],
            defaultData: [
                {
                    alias: 'step',
                    value: '0.01',
                },
            ],
        },
    },
};

Manifest Properties

The propertyEditorSchema manifest can contain the following properties:

Required Properties

Property	Type	Description
type	string	Must be "propertyEditorSchema".
alias	string	Unique identifier for the schema. Must match the C# DataEditor alias.
name	string	Friendly name displayed in the backoffice.
meta	object	Metadata object containing schema configuration (see Meta Properties below).

The alias in the manifest must exactly match the alias used in the C# DataEditor attribute. The alias is the only connection between the server-side schema implementation and the client-side manifest.

Optional Properties

Property	Type	Description
weight	number	Ordering weight. Higher numbers appear first in lists.
kind	string	Optional kind identifier for grouping related schemas.

Meta Properties

The meta object contains the following properties:

Required Meta Properties

Property	Type	Description
defaultPropertyEditorUiAlias	string	The alias of the default Property Editor UI to use with this schema.

Optional Meta Properties

Property	Type	Description
settings	object	Configuration settings for the property editor (see Settings below).

Settings Structure

The settings object defines what configuration options appear when creating or editing a Data Type:

settings: {
    properties: PropertyEditorSettingsProperty[];
    defaultData?: PropertyEditorSettingsDefaultData[];
}

Settings Properties Array

Each object in the properties array defines a configuration field:

Property	Type	Required	Description
alias	string	Yes	Unique identifier. Must match the C# ConfigurationEditor property name.
label	string	Yes	Display label for the configuration field.
description	string	No	Help text shown below the label.
propertyEditorUiAlias	string	Yes	The Property Editor UI to use for editing this configuration value.
config	object	No	Optional configuration to pass to the Property Editor UI.
weight	number	No	Optional ordering weight for the configuration field.

Configuration property aliases in settings.properties must match the property names defined in your C# ConfigurationEditor class. If they don't match, configuration values won't be properly passed to the backend for validation and storage.

Settings Default Data Array

Each object in the defaultData array provides default values:

Property	Type	Required	Description
alias	string	Yes	The alias of the configuration property.
value	unknown	Yes	The default value for this configuration.

Complete Example

import type { ManifestPropertyEditorSchema } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/property-editor';

export const manifest: ManifestPropertyEditorSchema = {
    type: 'propertyEditorSchema',
    name: 'Suggestions Editor',
    alias: 'My.PropertyEditor.Suggestions',
    weight: 100,
    meta: {
        defaultPropertyEditorUiAlias: 'My.PropertyEditorUi.Suggestions',
        settings: {
            properties: [
                {
                    alias: 'maxChars',
                    label: 'Maximum characters allowed',
                    description: 'The maximum number of allowed characters in a suggestion',
                    propertyEditorUiAlias: 'Umb.PropertyEditorUi.Integer',
                    weight: 10,
                },
                {
                    alias: 'placeholder',
                    label: 'Placeholder text',
                    description: 'Text displayed when the field is empty',
                    propertyEditorUiAlias: 'Umb.PropertyEditorUi.TextBox',
                    weight: 20,
                },
                {
                    alias: 'disabled',
                    label: 'Disabled',
                    description: 'Disables the suggestion button',
                    propertyEditorUiAlias: 'Umb.PropertyEditorUi.Toggle',
                    weight: 30,
                },
            ],
            defaultData: [
                {
                    alias: 'maxChars',
                    value: 50,
                },
                {
                    alias: 'placeholder',
                    value: 'Write a suggestion',
                },
                {
                    alias: 'disabled',
                    value: true,
                },
            ],
        },
    },
};

Important Notes

Umbraco ships with default property editor schemas that you can use without creating custom C# classes.

Related Documentation

• Property Editor Schema Guide - Learn about implementing the C# classes (DataEditor and DataValueEditor).

• Property Editor UI Extension Type - Reference for the Property Editor UI extension type.

• Creating a Property Editor Tutorial - Step-by-step guide to building a custom property editor.

• Adding Server-Side Validation - Tutorial on implementing validation in your schema.