# UI Schemas

UI Schemas customize how Contextual renders Object Type records in the admin experience.

At a high level, Contextual uses JSON Forms-style UI schemas for form layouts, but it also supports additional styles and options that go beyond vanilla JSON Forms.

## Supported styles

Contextual UI Schemas can define different layouts for different experiences:

* `createStyle` - layout for creating a new record
* `updateStyle` - layout for editing an existing record
* `readStyle` - layout for read-only record views
* `duplicateStyle` - layout used when duplicating an existing record
* `listStyle` - table/list configuration for collections of records
* `relatedStyle` - related-record presentation used by relation-aware views

## How this differs from vanilla JSON Forms

The form-oriented styles (`createStyle`, `updateStyle`, `readStyle`) follow the usual JSON Forms idea of composing controls and layouts.

Contextual also adds platform-specific styles and behavior, especially for:

* list/table configuration
* duplicate views
* related-record views
* specialized renderers selected by schema `renderer` values or UI schema `options.renderer`

## List-style configuration

`listStyle` controls how records appear in grids and list views. In the current product, it supports concepts such as:

* `columns`
* default `order`
* pagination options such as including or excluding the total-count request
* column sizing such as `width`, `minWidth`, `maxWidth`, and `flex`

When you do not define a custom list schema, Contextual generates a default one from the scalar properties in your Object Type and uses the `primaryKey` as the default sort.

## Custom renderers

Contextual supports custom renderers that are not part of standard JSON Forms. Examples visible in the current admin console include `code-editor`, `relation`, and `flow-relation`.

These renderers can be selected either:

* directly on a schema property via `renderer`
* through UI schema options such as `options.renderer`

For schema-level extensions that drive these behaviors, see [Contextual Schema Extensions](/documentation-and-resources/components-and-data/object-types/object-type-details/data-schema/contextual-schema-extensions.md).

## Practical guidance

* start with the generated defaults and customize only where the default UX is not sufficient
* use form styles for layout and grouping
* use `listStyle` when the record grid needs custom columns, order, or pagination behavior
* use renderer-driven customization sparingly and intentionally, since it couples the schema to Contextual-specific UI behavior

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