Custom Attributes

Custom Attributes are the additional fields you can add to your contacts in Chatbase. Each chatbot has its own custom attribute schema that defines what additional data can be stored for contacts.

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Schema Management

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Field Lifecycle

• Custom attributes, once created, cannot be deleted from the schema
• Fields can be archived to prevent new usage while preserving historical data
• When a field is archived:
  • New contacts cannot be created with this field
  • Existing contacts cannot update this field
  • The field can only be set to null
  • Existing values are preserved and still readable

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Available Endpoints

The Custom Attributes API provides the following endpoints:

• List Custom Attributes: Retrieve all custom attributes for a chatbot
• Create Custom Attribute: Add a new custom attribute to a chatbot

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Available Types

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Custom Attribute Object

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Using Custom Attributes

Once you’ve created custom attributes, you can:

1. Add values for these attributes when creating contacts
2. Update values through the update contact endpoint
3. View values when listing contacts or getting a single contact

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Example

{
  "custom_attributes": {
    "company": "Acme Inc",        // text type
    "age": 25,                    // number type
    "is_active": true,            // boolean type
    "join_date": "2023-01-15",    // date type
    "unknown_field": "value"      // will be stripped out
  }
}

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Field Handling

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Custom Attributes Validation

Fields under the custom_attributes object go through the following validation:

1. Field existence check against the schema, non-existent fields are silently removed
2. Archival status check (archived fields are rejected)
3. Type validation against the defined type in schema
4. Value storage if all checks pass

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Best Practices

1. Choose descriptive names for your custom attributes
2. Use appropriate types for your data
3. Provide clear descriptions to help other team members understand the purpose of each attribute
4. Keep the number of custom attributes manageable
5. Plan your schema carefully as fields cannot be removed