Custom Attributes
What it is
A Custom Attribute is a user-defined field added to a record type without code. An operator might add "Risk Level" to a Task, "Funding Round" to a Company, or "Department" to an Employee.
When to use it
Use custom attributes to extend built-in records with domain-specific information your organization needs to track. For example:
- Add "Risk Level" and "Reviewer" fields to Tasks
- Add "Funding Stage" and "Burn Rate" fields to Companies
- Add "Start Date" and "Manager" fields to Employees
Where to find it
Custom attributes are managed in the Tenet admin space. Navigate to Ontology or Administrator settings and look for Attributes.
How it works
Creating an attribute:
- In Tenet, go to Attributes (or equivalent in your admin space).
- Click New attribute.
- Choose the record type (Task, Company, Employee, etc.).
- Enter a field name and label.
- Choose a field type: text, email, date, single-select, multi-select, decimal, currency, file, etc.
- Set validation rules if needed.
- Choose whether it appears on create/edit forms or is agent-only.
- Click Create.
Using the attribute:
- The attribute appears as a column in data tables.
- It appears as a field in forms when you create or edit records.
- Agents can read and write the attribute through their tools.
- It can be exported to CSV/Excel.
- It can be used in dashboard widgets and filters.
Agent-only attributes:
If you make an attribute agent-only (hidden from human forms), it's still available to Agents. This is useful for AI-computed fields or fields you don't want human editors to change.
External Sync — mapping attributes to an HR provider field:
When an attribute belongs to a record type that Hub can sync from an external provider (today, that's Employee records pulled in by HR Provider Sync), the attribute form has an External Sync card with a Source path field. Filling it in tells Hub which provider field to copy into this attribute on every sync.
- Use a dotted path to point at a value inside the provider's payload — for example,
individual.dobfor an employee's date of birth,employment.department.namefor their department, oremployment.location.namefor their work location. - Use the shortcut
_preferred_emailor_preferred_phoneto pick the best work email or work phone the provider returns (Hub falls back to the personal one if no work value is available). - Leave the field blank for attributes that should only be edited by hand inside Hub.
Each sync run rewrites the attribute with the value from the provider, so if you edit a synced attribute manually it will be overwritten on the next refresh.
Related
- Custom Attributes — how they work
- Data Tables — where attributes appear as columns
- Agents — read and write attributes
- HR Provider Sync — how source paths feed Employee attributes
- Adding a Custom Attribute — step-by-step guide