Custom Fields

Custom fields let you extend a contact’s record with any data point that matters to your business. Think birthday, account number, subscription tier, loyalty points, preferred language — anything you’d otherwise keep in a separate spreadsheet.

Why custom fields matter

Custom fields are what make WhatsApp messaging feel personal at scale. Once a field exists, you can:

Show the data on the contact form for every team member.
Import the data in bulk from CSV.
Capture the data via Bot Flows and store it back on the contact.

Custom field values are stored on each contact in a single JSON object keyed by the field’s slug.

The six field types

Xobito supports six custom-field types — pick the right one when you create the field:

Type	What it stores	Typical use
Text Field	Single-line free text (max 255)	Short notes, IDs, short labels
Text Area	Multi-line text (max 2000)	Longer notes, addresses, descriptions
Number Field	Numeric value	Loyalty points, account balance, age
Date Field	A calendar date	Birthday, renewal date, sign-up date
Dropdown	One value from a fixed list	Plan tier, region, priority
Multi-select Checkboxes	Multiple values from a fixed list	Preferences, interests, opt-in categories

Use Dropdown whenever the values come from a short, fixed list — it keeps your data clean and prevents typos like “pro”, “PRO”, and “proo”. Use Checkboxes when more than one value can apply at once (e.g. “Interested in: Offers, Newsletter, Events”).

What’s on a custom field

Each custom field has these attributes:

Attribute	Description
Field label	The human-readable name shown on the contact form.
Field name (slug)	The machine-friendly name — used as the CSV column name and the key in the contact’s JSON data.
Field type	One of the six types above.
Options	For Dropdown and Checkboxes — the list of allowed values.
Placeholder	Grey hint text shown inside empty inputs.
Description	Help text shown below the field on the contact form.
Default value	Pre-filled when creating a new contact.
Is required	If on, the field must be filled before a contact can be saved.
Display order	Determines where the field appears on the form — managed automatically per workspace.
Is active	Lets you hide a field without deleting it.
Show on table	Whether the field appears as a column on the main contact list.

Open the Custom Fields library

In the sidebar, go to Contacts → Custom Fields. You’ll see every custom field your workspace has defined, along with its slug, field type, and options.

Create a custom field

Click 'Add Custom Field'

Opens the field form.

Enter a label

The human-readable name, e.g. “Birthday” or “Plan Tier”.

Set the slug

The slug is auto-generated from the label (e.g. birthday). It’s used as the CSV column name and is how the value is stored on each contact. Use lowercase letters, digits, and underscores.

Choose the field type

Pick from Text, Text Area, Number, Date, Dropdown, or Multi-select Checkboxes.

Add options (Dropdown / Checkboxes only)

If you picked Dropdown or Checkboxes, list the allowed values one per line.

Fill in helper settings (optional)

Placeholder, description, and default value to guide your team as they fill out contacts.

Mark as required (optional)

If this field must be filled for every new contact, tick Required. Required fields block saving a contact if left empty, and reject CSV rows that don’t include the column.

Toggle 'Show on table' (optional)

If you want this field to appear as a column on the main contact list, turn this on.

Save

The field appears immediately on the contact form, CSV imports, and (if enabled) the contact-list columns.

Edit or delete a custom field

Open Custom Fields library

Find the field in the list.

Edit or Delete

Editing lets you change the label, options, placeholder, description, required, active, or show-on-table settings. Deleting removes the field and every contact’s value for it permanently.

Deleting a custom field wipes all values stored for it across every contact. Export your contacts first if you might need the data later.

Fill in a custom field value

On the contact form

Every active custom field appears below the standard fields on the add-contact and edit-contact forms. Fill them in when adding or editing a contact.

During CSV import

Add a column whose header matches the field’s slug (not the label). See Import from CSV.

firstname,lastname,type,phone,status_id,source_id,plan,birthday,loyalty_points
Alex,Morgan,customer,+14155551234,2,1,Pro,1990-05-12,500
Priya,Shah,lead,+919876543210,1,3,Basic,1988-11-02,120

Via a Bot Flow

A Bot Flow can ask the contact a question and store their reply in a custom field. Example: “What’s your account number?” → store the reply in the account_number field. See Bot Flows.

Data type rules

Type	Accepted input
Text Field	Any text up to 255 characters.
Text Area	Any text up to 2000 characters.
Number Field	Numeric values only — `500`, `49.99`. Text like “five hundred” is rejected.
Date Field	A valid date. Invalid dates are rejected on the form and skipped in CSV.
Dropdown	Must match one of the options you defined.
Multi-select Checkboxes	One or more values from the defined options.

Invalid values on the contact form show an inline error. Invalid values in a CSV cause the row to be skipped — with the exact reason in the import log.

Custom fields in the API

Custom fields are stored on each contact, but are not currently serialised into the contact API response. If you call Xobito’s contact list or read API, the custom-field values will not be included in the payload. This is a known limitation — for now, custom fields are most useful inside the Xobito UI, in CSV imports, and in Bot Flows. See Developer API for the latest details.

Best practices

Plan your fields before importing

Create every custom field you need before your first CSV import. Retrofitting fields after import means re-uploading data.

Use slug-friendly labels

Slugs like plan_tier or last_purchase_date are easier to use in CSV and in automations than “Plan Tier (2026)”.

Be careful with 'required'

Required custom fields block manual entry and reject CSV rows without the column. Only mark a field required if you truly have data for every contact, every time.

Avoid storing sensitive data

Don’t store passwords, full payment details, or government ID numbers in custom fields. Xobito is a messaging platform — not a secure vault.

Dynamic templates

Merge contact data into template variables at send time.

Import from CSV

Populate custom fields in bulk from a spreadsheet.

Bot flows

Capture contact replies and store them in custom fields.

Developer API

Read and write contact data programmatically.

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FAQ

Why custom fields matter

The six field types

What’s on a custom field

Open the Custom Fields library

Create a custom field

Edit or delete a custom field

Fill in a custom field value

On the contact form

During CSV import

Via a Bot Flow

Data type rules

Custom fields in the API

Best practices

Dynamic templates

Import from CSV

Bot flows

Developer API

​Why custom fields matter

​The six field types

​What’s on a custom field

​Open the Custom Fields library

​Create a custom field

​Edit or delete a custom field

​Fill in a custom field value

​On the contact form

​During CSV import

​Via a Bot Flow

​Data type rules

​Custom fields in the API

​Best practices

​Related

Dynamic templates

Import from CSV

Bot flows

Developer API

Why custom fields matter

The six field types

What’s on a custom field

Open the Custom Fields library

Create a custom field

Edit or delete a custom field

Fill in a custom field value

On the contact form

During CSV import

Via a Bot Flow

Data type rules

Custom fields in the API

Best practices

Related