Model reference

Every keyword available in a Serverpod model file, and whether it applies to a class, exception, or enum. For how each one works, see Working with models.

Keyword	Note	class	exception	enum
values	A special key for enums with a list of all enum values.			✅
serialized	Sets the mode enums are serialized in.			✅
properties	Defines custom properties for enhanced enums.			✅
immutable	Boolean flag to generate an immutable class with final fields, equals operator, and hashCode.	✅
serverOnly	Boolean flag if code generator only should create the code for the server.	✅	✅	✅
table	A name for the database table, enables generation of database code.	✅
database	Where a table lives: server (default), client, all, or the experimental sync.	✅
managedMigration	A boolean flag to opt out of the database migration system.	✅
serializationDataType	Stores serializable fields as json or jsonb. Valid on classes and on individual fields.	✅
fields	All fields in the generated class should be listed here.	✅	✅
type (fields)	Denotes the data type for a field.	✅	✅
required	Makes the field required. This keyword can only be used for nullable fields.	✅	✅
tail	Places the field after all normal fields of an inheritance hierarchy. Child tail fields come before parent tail fields. Not allowed on the id field.	✅	✅
scope	Denotes the scope for a field.	✅
jsonKey	Sets a custom key name for JSON serialization and deserialization.	✅
column	Overrides the database column name for a field.	✅
persist	A boolean flag if the data should be stored in the database or not can be negated with !persist	✅
relation	Sets a relation between model files, requires a table name to be set.	✅
name	Give a name to a relation to pair them.	✅
parent	Sets the parent table on a relation.	✅
field	Names the foreign key field of a relation. Generated if the field is not declared on the model.	✅
fk	Boolean flag marking the side of a bidirectional relation that holds the foreign key, keeping the generated field name. Mutually exclusive with field.	✅
onUpdate	Set the referential actions when updating data in the database.	✅
onDelete	Set the referential actions when deleting data in the database.	✅
optional	A boolean flag to make a relation optional.	✅
deferrable	Make the foreign key constraint deferrable, checked after each statement unless a transaction defers it.	✅
deferred	Make the foreign key constraint deferrable and checked at commit. Mutually exclusive with deferrable.	✅
indexes	Create indexes on your fields / columns.	✅
fields (index)	List the fields to create the indexes on.	✅
type (index)	The type of index to create.	✅
parameters (index)	Parameters for specialized index types like HNSW and IVFFLAT vector indexes.	✅
distanceFunction (index)	Distance function for vector indexes. Allowed values depend on the field's vector type and index type, see vector indexes.	✅
operatorClass (index)	Operator class for GIN indexes.	✅
unique	Creates a unique index. Also valid directly on a field, optionally scoped with unique(per=...).	✅
nulls_distinct (index)	Whether null values collide in a unique index. Only allowed on unique indexes.	✅
default	Sets the default value for both the model and the database. This keyword cannot be used with relation. On an enum, sets the fallback for unknown values.	✅	✅	✅
defaultModel	Sets the default value for the model side. This keyword cannot be used with relation.	✅	✅
defaultPersist	Sets the default value for the database side. This keyword cannot be used with relation and !persist.	✅
extends	Specifies a parent class or exception of the same kind to inherit from.	✅	✅
sealed	Boolean flag to create a sealed class or exception hierarchy, enabling exhaustive type checking.	✅	✅

Related

• Working with models: how each keyword works, with examples.
• Field types: YAML types mapped to Dart, Postgres, SQLite, and JSON.
• Dynamic fields: store and transfer values whose type varies at runtime.
• Serializable exceptions: define, inherit, throw, and catch application errors.
• Database tables: the database-specific keywords (table, relation, persist, and indexing).