Skip to main content

How to customize field ordering

This guide shows you how to control the order in which attributes and relationships appear in the Infrahub frontend using the order_weight property.

Relationships Support Order Weight

Relationships follow the same order_weight rules as attributes. This includes:

  • Relationships with kind: Attribute - Appear inline with attributes in forms and tables
  • Component relationships (kind: Component) - Determine tab ordering when displayed as tabs
  • All other relationships - Follow the same 1000-increment default pattern

Prerequisites​

  • An existing Infrahub schema loaded into your instance
  • Access to the schema explorer under Object Management > Schemas
  • Understanding of schema basics

Step 1: Check current field ordering​

Before making changes, examine how your fields are currently ordered.

View in the schema explorer​

  1. Navigate to your Infrahub instance's schema explorer: Object Management > Schemas
  2. Find your node type in the list
  3. Click on the node to see its attributes and relationships
  4. Note the current order_weight values (if any are set)

Check default weights​

If you see fields without explicit order_weight values, they follow the default assignment pattern:

  • First field: 1000
  • Second field: 2000
  • Third field: 3000
  • And so on...

Step 2: Plan your field organization​

Before editing your schema, decide on your desired field order and weight strategy.

Common strategies​

Use weights that leave plenty of room for future insertions:

# High priority fields
order_weight: 100   # Most important field
order_weight: 200   # Second most important

# Between defaults
order_weight: 1500  # Between 1st and 2nd default
order_weight: 2500  # Between 2nd and 3rd default

# Low priority
order_weight: 9000  # After all defaults

Step 3: Update your schema​

Promote a field to first position​

To make a field appear first, give it a low order_weight:

schema.yml
nodes:
  - name: Device
    namespace: Infra
    attributes:
      - name: hostname
        order_weight: 100  # Will appear first
        kind: Text
        unique: true
      - name: description  # Gets default: 1000, appears second
        kind: Text
        optional: true

Insert a field between existing ones​

Add a field between two existing fields using an intermediate weight:

Before: Fields have weights 1000, 2000, 3000
# Current order: name (1000), description (2000), model (3000)

# Add serial_number between description and model:
attributes:
  - name: name
    kind: Text           # Already has weight 1000
  - name: description
    kind: Text           # Already has weight 2000
  - name: serial_number
    kind: Text
    order_weight: 2500   # Will appear between description (2000) and model (3000)
  - name: model
    kind: Text           # Already has weight 3000

Reorder multiple fields​

When reorganizing multiple fields, update their weights systematically:

Reorganized Device Schema
nodes:
  - name: Device
    namespace: Infra
    attributes:
      # Primary identification
      - name: hostname
        kind: Text
        order_weight: 100
      - name: serial_number
        kind: Text
        order_weight: 200

      # Technical specifications
      - name: model
        kind: Text
        order_weight: 300
      - name: os_version
        kind: Text
        order_weight: 400

      # Optional metadata
      - name: description
        kind: Text
        optional: true
        order_weight: 500
      - name: notes
        kind: TextArea
        optional: true
        order_weight: 600

Step 4: Load the updated schema​

Update your schema using infrahubctl:

infrahubctl schema load /path/to/your/schema.yml

Step 5: Verify the changes​

Check in the frontend​

  1. Navigate to your node type in the Infrahub UI
  2. View both the list view and detailed view of objects
  3. Confirm fields appear in your desired order

Verify in schema explorer​

  1. Return to the schema explorer
  2. Check that your order_weight values were applied correctly
  3. Ensure no conflicts or unexpected ordering occurred

Common use cases​

Adding a new required field first​

When adding a new mandatory field that should appear first:

Adding a new primary field
nodes:
  - name: Device
    namespace: Infra
    attributes:
      - name: asset_tag      # New field
        kind: Text
        unique: true
        order_weight: 50     # Lower than existing fields
      - name: hostname       # Existing field
        kind: Text
        # order_weight: 100  (existing weight stays)

Group logically related fields using consecutive weights:

Grouping network configuration
attributes:
  # Basic info
  - name: name
    kind: Text
    order_weight: 100

  # Network configuration block
  - name: management_ip
    kind: IPHost
    order_weight: 200
  - name: management_vlan
    kind: Number
    order_weight: 210
  - name: default_gateway
    kind: IPHost
    order_weight: 220

  # Hardware info
  - name: serial_number
    kind: Text
    order_weight: 300

Working with attribute relationships​

Relationships with kind: Attribute appear alongside regular attributes and can be ordered using order_weight:

Mixing attributes and attribute relationships
nodes:
  - name: Device
    namespace: Infra
    attributes:
      - name: hostname
        kind: Text
        order_weight: 100
      - name: description
        kind: Text
        order_weight: 300
    relationships:
      - name: primary_ip4
        peer: InfraIPAddress
        kind: Attribute
        cardinality: one
        order_weight: 200  # Appears between hostname and description
      - name: location
        peer: InfraLocation
        kind: Attribute
        cardinality: one
        order_weight: 400  # Appears after description

Moving a field to the end​

To move a field to appear last, give it a high weight:

attributes:
  - name: internal_notes
    kind: TextArea
    optional: true
    order_weight: 9999  # Will appear after all default fields

Working with inherited fields​

When working with generics, consider the inherited field weights:

Managing inheritance order
generics:
  - name: BaseDevice
    namespace: Infra
    attributes:
      - name: name
        kind: Text
        order_weight: 100   # Will be inherited

nodes:
  - name: Router
    namespace: Infra
    inherit_from: ["InfraBaseDevice"]
    attributes:
      - name: router_id     # New field
        kind: IPHost
        order_weight: 150   # Between inherited name (100) and default range (1000+)

Advanced techniques​

Systematic renumbering​

When your weights become messy, systematically renumber them:

Clean renumbering approach
# Instead of: 100, 150, 175, 1500, 2000, 2100, 9999
# Use consistent increments:

attributes:
  - name: hostname
    order_weight: 100
  - name: ip_address
    order_weight: 200
  - name: model
    order_weight: 300
  - name: serial_number
    order_weight: 400
  - name: description
    order_weight: 500

Handling large schemas​

For schemas with many fields, use range-based organization:

Range-based organization
# 100-199: Identity
# 200-299: Network
# 300-399: Hardware
# 400-499: Software
# 500-599: Location
# 600-699: Metadata

attributes:
  - name: hostname
    order_weight: 100
  - name: fqdn
    order_weight: 110

relationships:
  - name: management_ip    # Attribute relationship
    peer: InfraIPAddress
    kind: Attribute
    order_weight: 200
  - name: management_vlan  # Attribute relationship
    peer: InfraVLAN
    kind: Attribute
    order_weight: 210

attributes:
  - name: model
    order_weight: 300
  - name: serial_number
    order_weight: 310

Ordering component relationship tabs​

Component relationships appear as tabs in the UI, and their order is controlled by order_weight:

Controlling tab order for component relationships
relationships:
  - name: interfaces
    peer: InfraInterface
    kind: Component
    cardinality: many
    order_weight: 1000  # First tab

  - name: ports
    peer: InfraPort
    kind: Component
    cardinality: many
    order_weight: 2000  # Second tab

  - name: cards
    peer: InfraCard
    kind: Component
    cardinality: many
    order_weight: 3000  # Third tab

Troubleshooting​

Field still appears in wrong position​

Check for conflicting weights:

# Use schema explorer to find all current weights
# Look for duplicate or unexpected values

Verify schema was loaded:

infrahubctl schema check /path/to/schema.yml
# Should show your order_weight changes

Order doesn't match expectations​

Remember the sorting rule: Lower numbers appear first

# This order:
order_weight: 300  # Appears first
order_weight: 100  # Appears second
order_weight: 200  # Appears third

# Should be:
order_weight: 100  # Appears first
order_weight: 200  # Appears second
order_weight: 300  # Appears third

Changes not visible in UI​

  1. Clear browser cache - Frontend may cache schema information
  2. Check branch - Ensure you're viewing the correct branch
  3. Verify data - Create a new object to see field ordering in forms

Best practices summary​

  • Start with defaults: Let defaults work, only customize when needed
  • Leave gaps: Use increments like 100, 200, 300 for better insertion
  • Group logically: Keep related fields close together numerically
  • Document decisions: Comment your schema with weight rationale
  • Test thoroughly: Verify both list and detail views after changes

For more information about how order weights work internally, see Understanding order weight.