- Umbraco Collection
- What is it?
- A Collection displays a list of entities in the Umbraco backoffice with built-in support for multiple views (table, grid), filtering, pagination, selection, and bulk actions. Collections connect to a repository for data and provide a standardized way to browse and interact with lists of items.
- Documentation
- Always fetch the latest docs before implementing:
- Main docs
- :
- https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/customizing/extending-overview/extension-types/collections
- Collection View
- :
- https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/customizing/extending-overview/extension-types/collections/collection-view
- Foundation
- :
- https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/customizing/foundation
- Extension Registry
- :
- https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/customizing/extending-overview/extension-registry
- Collection Architecture
- A complete collection consists of these components:
- collection/
- ├── manifests.ts # Main collection manifest
- ├── constants.ts # Alias constants
- ├── types.ts # Item and filter types
- ├── my-collection.context.ts # Collection context (extends UmbDefaultCollectionContext)
- ├── my-collection.element.ts # Collection element (extends UmbCollectionDefaultElement)
- ├── repository/
- │ ├── manifests.ts
- │ ├── my-collection.repository.ts # Implements UmbCollectionRepository
- │ └── my-collection.data-source.ts # API calls
- ├── views/
- │ ├── manifests.ts
- │ └── table/
- │ └── my-table-view.element.ts # Table view
- └── action/
- ├── manifests.ts
- └── my-action.element.ts # Collection action
- Reference Example
- The Umbraco source includes a working example:
- Location
- :
- /Umbraco-CMS/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/examples/collection/
- This example demonstrates a complete custom collection with repository, views, and context. Study this for production patterns.
- Related Foundation Skills
- Repository Pattern
-
- Collections require a repository for data access
- Reference skill:
- umbraco-repository-pattern
- Context API
-
- For accessing collection context in views
- Reference skill:
- umbraco-context-api
- State Management
- For understanding observables and reactive data
Reference skill:
umbraco-state-management
Workflow
Fetch docs
- Use WebFetch on the URLs above
Ask questions
- What entities? What repository? What views needed? What actions?
Define types
- Create item model and filter model interfaces
Create repository
- Implement data source and repository
Create context
- Extend
UmbDefaultCollectionContext
if custom behavior needed
Create views
- Implement table/grid views
Create actions
- Add collection actions (create, refresh, etc.)
Explain
- Show what was created and how to test
Complete Example
1. Constants (constants.ts)
export
const
MY_COLLECTION_ALIAS
=
'My.Collection'
;
export
const
MY_COLLECTION_REPOSITORY_ALIAS
=
'My.Collection.Repository'
;
2. Types (types.ts)
export
interface
MyCollectionItemModel
{
unique
:
string
;
entityType
:
string
;
name
:
string
;
// Add other fields
}
export
interface
MyCollectionFilterModel
{
skip
?
:
number
;
take
?
:
number
;
filter
?
:
string
;
orderBy
?
:
string
;
orderDirection
?
:
'asc'
|
'desc'
;
// Add custom filters
}
3. Data Source (repository/my-collection.data-source.ts)
import
type
{
MyCollectionItemModel
,
MyCollectionFilterModel
}
from
'../types.js'
;
import
type
{
UmbCollectionDataSource
}
from
'@umbraco-cms/backoffice/collection'
;
import
type
{
UmbControllerHost
}
from
'@umbraco-cms/backoffice/controller-api'
;
export
class
MyCollectionDataSource
implements
UmbCollectionDataSource
<
MyCollectionItemModel
{
host
: UmbControllerHost ; constructor ( host : UmbControllerHost ) { this .
host
=
host
;
}
async
getCollection
(
filter
:
MyCollectionFilterModel
)
{
// Call your API here
const
response
=
await
fetch
(
/api/my-items?skip=
${
filter
.
skip
}
&take=
${
filter
.
take
}
)
;
const
data
=
await
response
.
json
(
)
;
const
items
:
MyCollectionItemModel
[
]
=
data
.
items
.
map
(
(
item
:
any
)
=>
(
{
unique
:
item
.
id
,
entityType
:
'my-entity'
,
name
:
item
.
name
,
}
)
)
;
return
{
data
:
{
items
,
total
:
data
.
total
}
}
;
}
}
4. Repository (repository/my-collection.repository.ts)
import
type
{
MyCollectionFilterModel
}
from
'../types.js'
;
import
{
MyCollectionDataSource
}
from
'./my-collection.data-source.js'
;
import
{
UmbRepositoryBase
}
from
'@umbraco-cms/backoffice/repository'
;
import
type
{
UmbCollectionRepository
}
from
'@umbraco-cms/backoffice/collection'
;
import
type
{
UmbControllerHost
}
from
'@umbraco-cms/backoffice/controller-api'
;
export
class
MyCollectionRepository
extends
UmbRepositoryBase
implements
UmbCollectionRepository
{
dataSource
: MyCollectionDataSource ; constructor ( host : UmbControllerHost ) { super ( host ) ; this .
dataSource
= new MyCollectionDataSource ( host ) ; } async requestCollection ( filter : MyCollectionFilterModel ) { return this .
dataSource
. getCollection ( filter ) ; } } export default MyCollectionRepository ; 5. Repository Manifest (repository/manifests.ts) import { MY_COLLECTION_REPOSITORY_ALIAS } from '../constants.js' ; export const manifests : Array < UmbExtensionManifest
= [ { type : 'repository' , alias : MY_COLLECTION_REPOSITORY_ALIAS , name : 'My Collection Repository' , api : ( ) => import ( './my-collection.repository.js' ) , } , ] ; 6. Collection Context (my-collection.context.ts) import type { MyCollectionItemModel , MyCollectionFilterModel } from './types.js' ; import { UmbDefaultCollectionContext } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/collection' ; import type { UmbControllerHost } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/controller-api' ; // Default view alias - must match one of your collectionView aliases const MY_TABLE_VIEW_ALIAS = 'My.CollectionView.Table' ; export class MyCollectionContext extends UmbDefaultCollectionContext < MyCollectionItemModel , MyCollectionFilterModel
{ constructor ( host : UmbControllerHost ) { super ( host , MY_TABLE_VIEW_ALIAS ) ; } // Override or add custom methods if needed } export { MyCollectionContext as api } ; 7. Collection Element (my-collection.element.ts) import { customElement } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/external/lit' ; import { UmbCollectionDefaultElement } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/collection' ; @ customElement ( 'my-collection' ) export class MyCollectionElement extends UmbCollectionDefaultElement { // Override renderToolbar() to customize header // protected override renderToolbar() { // return html
<umb-collection-toolbar slot="header"></umb-collection-toolbar>; // } } export default MyCollectionElement ; export { MyCollectionElement as element } ; declare global { interface HTMLElementTagNameMap { 'my-collection' : MyCollectionElement ; } } 8. Table View (views/table/my-table-view.element.ts) import type { MyCollectionItemModel } from '../../types.js' ; import { UMB_COLLECTION_CONTEXT } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/collection' ; import { css , customElement , html , state } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/external/lit' ; import { UmbLitElement } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/lit-element' ; import type { UmbTableColumn , UmbTableConfig , UmbTableItem } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/components' ; @ customElement ( 'my-table-collection-view' ) export class MyTableCollectionViewElement extends UmbLitElement { @ state ( ) private _tableItems : Array < UmbTableItem= [ ] ; @ state ( ) private _selection : Array < string
= [ ] ;
collectionContext
? : typeof UMB_COLLECTION_CONTEXT . TYPE ; private _tableConfig : UmbTableConfig = { allowSelection : true , } ; private _tableColumns : Array < UmbTableColumn
= [ { name : 'Name' , alias : 'name' , allowSorting : true } , { name : '' , alias : 'entityActions' , align : 'right' } , ] ; constructor ( ) { super ( ) ; this . consumeContext ( UMB_COLLECTION_CONTEXT , ( context ) => { this .
collectionContext
= context ; // IMPORTANT: Call setupView for workspace modal routing context ?. setupView ( this ) ; this .
observeItems
( ) ; this .
observeSelection
( ) ; } ) ; }
observeItems
( ) { if ( ! this .
collectionContext
) return ; this . observe ( this .
collectionContext
. items , ( items ) => { this . _tableItems = ( items as MyCollectionItemModel [ ] ) . map ( ( item ) => ( { id : item . unique , icon : 'icon-document' , entityType : item . entityType , data : [ { columnAlias : 'name' , value : item . name } , { columnAlias : 'entityActions' , value : html ` <umb-entity-actions-table-column-view .value= ${ { entityType : item . entityType , unique : item . unique } }
` , } , ] , } ) ) ; } , '_observeItems' , ) ; }
observeSelection
( ) { if ( ! this .
collectionContext
) return ; this . observe ( this .
collectionContext
. selection . selection , ( selection ) => { this . _selection = selection as string [ ] ; } , '_observeSelection' , ) ; }
handleSelect
( event : CustomEvent ) { event . stopPropagation ( ) ; const table = event . target as any ; this .
collectionContext
?. selection . setSelection ( table . selection ) ; }
handleDeselect
( event : CustomEvent ) { event . stopPropagation ( ) ; const table = event . target as any ; this .
collectionContext
?. selection . setSelection ( table . selection ) ; } override render ( ) { return html ` <umb-table .config= ${ this . _tableConfig } .columns= ${ this . _tableColumns } .items= ${ this . _tableItems } .selection= ${ this . _selection } @selected= ${ this .
handleSelect
} @deselected= ${ this .
handleDeselect
}
` ; } } export default MyTableCollectionViewElement ; declare global { interface HTMLElementTagNameMap { 'my-table-collection-view' : MyTableCollectionViewElement ; } } 9. Views Manifest (views/manifests.ts) import { MY_COLLECTION_ALIAS } from '../constants.js' ; import { UMB_COLLECTION_ALIAS_CONDITION } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/collection' ; export const manifests : Array < UmbExtensionManifest
= [ { type : 'collectionView' , alias : 'My.CollectionView.Table' , name : 'My Table Collection View' , element : ( ) => import ( './table/my-table-view.element.js' ) , weight : 200 , meta : { label : 'Table' , icon : 'icon-list' , pathName : 'table' , } , conditions : [ { alias : UMB_COLLECTION_ALIAS_CONDITION , match : MY_COLLECTION_ALIAS , } , ] , } , ] ; 10. Collection Action (action/manifests.ts) import { MY_COLLECTION_ALIAS } from '../constants.js' ; import { UMB_COLLECTION_ALIAS_CONDITION } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/collection' ; export const manifests : Array < UmbExtensionManifest
= [ { type : 'collectionAction' , kind : 'button' , alias : 'My.CollectionAction.Refresh' , name : 'Refresh Collection Action' , element : ( ) => import ( './refresh-action.element.js' ) , weight : 100 , meta : { label : 'Refresh' , } , conditions : [ { alias : UMB_COLLECTION_ALIAS_CONDITION , match : MY_COLLECTION_ALIAS , } , ] , } , ] ; 11. Main Collection Manifest (manifests.ts) import { manifests as repositoryManifests } from './repository/manifests.js' ; import { manifests as viewManifests } from './views/manifests.js' ; import { manifests as actionManifests } from './action/manifests.js' ; import { MY_COLLECTION_ALIAS , MY_COLLECTION_REPOSITORY_ALIAS } from './constants.js' ; export const manifests : Array < UmbExtensionManifest
= [ { type : 'collection' , alias : MY_COLLECTION_ALIAS , name : 'My Collection' , api : ( ) => import ( './my-collection.context.js' ) , element : ( ) => import ( './my-collection.element.js' ) , meta : { repositoryAlias : MY_COLLECTION_REPOSITORY_ALIAS , } , } , ... repositoryManifests , ... viewManifests , ... actionManifests , ] ; Rendering a Collection in a Dashboard import { html , customElement } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/external/lit' ; import { UmbLitElement } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/lit-element' ; @ customElement ( 'my-dashboard' ) export class MyDashboardElement extends UmbLitElement { override render ( ) { return html
<umb-collection alias="My.Collection"></umb-collection>; } } Built-in Features The collection system provides these features automatically: Feature Description Selection UmbSelectionManager on context.selection Pagination UmbPaginationManager on context.pagination Loading state Observable via context.loading Items Observable via context.items Total count Observable via context.totalItems Filtering Via context.setFilter() method View switching Multiple views with UmbCollectionViewManager Key Condition Use UMB_COLLECTION_ALIAS_CONDITION to target your collection: import { UMB_COLLECTION_ALIAS_CONDITION } from '@umbraco-cms/backoffice/collection' ; conditions : [ { alias : UMB_COLLECTION_ALIAS_CONDITION , match : 'My.Collection' , } , ] , That's it! Always fetch fresh docs, keep examples minimal, generate complete working code.