DocTypes

A DocType is Frappe's core model — like a database table, but with a schema, permissions, lifecycle hooks, and a generated UI.

Property	Purpose
Name	Singular form by convention (Sales Invoice, not Sales Invoices)
Module	Which app/module it belongs to
Fields	Columns — each has a type, label, and properties (see Field Types below)
Permissions	Per-role access rules
Naming	How new records get their primary key (Naming Series, hash, by-field)
Workflow	Optional state machine

Type	Use
Document	Has a DB table; users create many records
Single	One record only — for settings (System Settings, Email Settings)
Child Table	Embedded inside a parent — Sales Invoice Item lives in Sales Invoice
Submittable	Has a Submit action; submitted records are immutable, changes require Cancel + Amend

Type	Origin
Standard	Defined by an app — shipped with code in `<app>/<module>/doctype/`
Custom	Created in the Desk by an admin — stored in the database

For one-off needs, a Custom DocType is fast. For reusable models across multiple sites, write a Frappe app. See Developers.

DocTypes are singular: Sales Invoice, not Sales Invoices
Field names are snake_case: customer_name, posting_date
Use Title Case in labels (what users see) and snake_case in fieldnames (what code uses)

Field Types

When defining a DocType, every field has a type that controls storage and rendering.

Type	Storage	Use
Data	varchar(140)	Short strings — names, codes
Small Text	text	Up to ~64KB
Long Text	longtext	Up to 4GB — articles, content
Text Editor	longtext	Rich HTML editing
Code	longtext	Code with syntax highlighting
Markdown Editor	longtext	Markdown with preview
HTML Editor	longtext	Direct HTML editing

Type	Format
Date	YYYY-MM-DD
Time	HH:MM:SS
Datetime	YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
Duration	Hours/minutes/seconds — interval

Type	Use
Select	Drop-down with a fixed list of options
Link	Link to another DocType — autocomplete
Dynamic Link	Link where the target DocType is itself a field
Table	Child table — embedded list of records
Table MultiSelect	Multi-select from another DocType
Autocomplete	Free text with suggestions

Type	Use
Attach	File link — stores URL
Attach Image	Same with image preview
Color	Color picker — hex value
Signature	Drawing canvas, stored as image

Type	Use
Section Break	Visual grouping
Column Break	New column in current section
Tab Break	Top-level tab
Fold	Collapsible group
HTML	Static HTML in the form
Heading	Visual heading

Type	Use
Check	Boolean — 0 or 1
Password	Encrypted at rest
JSON	Stores valid JSON; validated on save
Geolocation	Map picker
Rating	Star rating widget
Read Only	Pure-display, no input
Barcode	Renders barcode from value