PocketBase Data Modeling

Overview

Use this skill for collection design, schema evolution, and data integrity in PocketBase.

When to Use

• Creating new collections/fields
• Adding relations and constraints
• Designing indexes and query patterns
• Planning breaking/non-breaking schema changes

Workflow

1. Define access pattern first:

• Key reads, writes, filters, and sorting requirements
• Expected cardinality and data growth

2. Model collections:

• Use one collection per aggregate boundary
• Use relation fields instead of denormalizing blindly
• Keep metadata fields explicit (status, createdBy, updatedBy)

3. Define validation and integrity:

• Required fields and field-level constraints
• Enum-like constraints via select fields
• Unique indexes for identity fields

4. Add migration plan:

• Backward-compatible change first
• Data backfill/transform step
• Cleanup/deprecation step in later release

5. Validate with representative queries:

• Filtering, sorting, relation expansion, and pagination costs

6. Handoff:

• Rule implications -> pocketbase-auth-and-access
• API usage optimization -> pocketbase-api-and-sdk
• Migration safety and backups -> pocketbase-operations

References

• schema-patterns.md
• migration-playbook.md
• index-guidelines.md

Common Mistakes

• Using one mega collection for unrelated entities
• Shipping breaking schema changes without staged migrations
• Adding relations without considering expansion/query performance