DatoCMS Content Modeling

Principles for designing structured content in DatoCMS that’s reusable, editor-friendly, and survives redesigns. This skill answers “how should I model X?” — not “how do I create the model?”.

When to apply

• New project content model layout
• Model vs block decisions
• Choosing single_block, rich_text, structured_text for block fields
• Reusable model link vs embedded block
• Taxonomy design: categories, tags, hierarchies, facets
• Refactor page-shaped, redesign-fragile, duplication-heavy schemas
• Diagnose record-size/block-count/nesting-depth limits; design around locale-multiplied block volume
• Admin UI organization: Content tab menu (editors), Schema tab menu (devs), saved views via item_type_filter
• Model behavior/presentation config: singleton, sortable, tree, draft-mode, all-locales-required; presentation_title_field vs title_field; collection_appearance; ordering
• Field config: validators, appearance choices (string_select+enum, framed vs frameless single_block, link_select vs link_embed); editor parameters (slug auto-fill, structured_text nodes/marks, SEO previews, required_alt_title)

Core principles

1. Content is data, not pages. Structure for meaning, not presentation.
2. Single source of truth. Avoid content duplication.
3. Don’t recreate built-ins. Record meta (created_at, published_at, …), asset meta (alt, title, custom_data, focal_point), and ordering (position) all exist already — never add sibling fields, on records or blocks. See references/separation-of-concerns.md and references/model-configuration.md § Behaviour — ordering.
4. Future-proof. Design for unknown channels and redesigns.
5. Editor-centric. Optimize for editors, not developers. Always add hints to fields, fieldsets, models unless obvious — schema is editor UI. See references/separation-of-concerns.md § Hints.

Routing

Once modeling decision made:

• Implementation — datocms-cli (migrations, default) or datocms-cma (user opts out of migrations / wants immediate schema mutation).
• Querying / rendering — datocms-cda for GraphQL reads and Structured Text query fragments; datocms-frontend-integrations for framework rendering.
• Validator and cascade-strategy mechanics — datocms-cma/references/schema.md (link/structured-text validators, on_reference_delete_strategy, etc.).
• Building or editing actual DAST tree — datocms-cma/references/editing-records.md (full DAST grammar, dastdown round-trip, typed guards).

References

Mandatory — never propose models, blocks, or fields from memory. Before any structured question or schema suggestion, load every reference whose decision is in scope.

Match decision → file:

• references/separation-of-concerns.md — naming/shaping for meaning, not appearance; redesign test; record-meta + file/gallery-meta + position duplication anti-patterns.
• references/models-vs-blocks.md — model vs block; structural rules (no orphans, no link-field references, locale inheritance); per-record limits (300 KB / 500 blocks / 5 levels); locale multiplier.
• references/block-fields-and-structured-text.md — single_block vs rich_text (Modular Content) vs structured_text; inline-vs-block-vs-itemLink-vs-inlineItem matrix; DAST cheatsheet; native nodes (blockquote, code, list, heading, thematicBreak, link) — never recreate as blocks; image/gallery/video block shape (no caption sibling); container-shape effects on limits.
• references/content-reuse.md — link fields, project-level Blocks Library, built-in seo, frameless single-block, tree taxonomies, fieldset grouping, block-library hygiene.
• references/taxonomy-classification.md — flat tags, tree models, faceted classification via multiple links, cascade strategies.
• references/ui-organization.md — Content tab menu_item (editors), Schema tab schema_menu_item (devs), saved views via item_type_filter, emoji conventions, IA heuristics.
• references/model-configuration.md — singleton, draft mode, all_locales_required, sortable/tree/ordering, inverse_relationships_enabled, presentation_title_field, presentation_image_field, collection_appearance, CDA SEO fallbacks; create-then-wire mechanic.
• references/field-configuration.md — validators (enum, format, length, unique, slug_title_field, required_alt_title, required_seo_fields, transformable_image, dimensions, structured-text size); appearance editors (string_select+enum, markdown/wysiwyg/textarea, framed vs frameless single_block, link_select vs link_embed, structured_text nodes/marks/heading_levels, SEO previews, slug url_prefix, color presets).

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