Standard Data Type schema reference
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This page is a field-by-field reference for the YAML documents behind entries in the My Standard Types tab of Settings. It's aimed at anyone hand-editing or reviewing a Standard Data Type definition rather than just using the UI. Each entry is a single YAML document; an account-scoped entry with the same key as a Global (built-in) entry overrides it for that account.

Data Type entry

FieldRequiredTypeNotes
key Required string Entry identity within account scope. Overrides a Global entry of the same key.
name Required string May embed a ${variant} placeholder token.
kind Required enum One of BYTE, CHAR, SHORT, INTEGER, LONG, BOOLEAN, FLOAT, DOUBLE, NUMERIC, DATETIME, TIME, STRING, TEXT. Matching is case-insensitive - YAML in practice uses lowercase (e.g. "numeric").
base-units Required string Free-form - not restricted to an enum (observed examples: m/s, degC, hPa, ug/m^3). Paired with attributes.display-units to convert to a display unit, e.g. base m/s → display km/h.
profiles Optional list of enum (profile code) e.g. ["A"], ["A", "T"] - single-letter codes from the Profiles table. If omitted, the data type is treated as applicable to all profiles.
description Optional string Longer-form explanation shown alongside name. In practice only set on entries whose name is abbreviated (e.g. name: "Min. Air Temperature" → description: "Minimum Air Temperature") - most entries omit it and rely on name alone.
variant-type Optional string (key ref) External reference — must match a Data Variant Type key (global or account scope). A dangling reference is flagged.
modulo Optional boolean Despite the name, this is a boolean flag rather than a modulus number - e.g. physical/heading sets modulo: true to mark that its valid-range ([0, 360]) wraps rather than clamps.
valid-range Optional tuple [lower, upper] Must be exactly 2 numbers if present.
synonyms Optional list of strings Legacy/alternate field-name aliases for migration and lookup, e.g. ["windSpeed"], ["lat"].
deprecated Optional boolean Soft-deprecation flag - hides/flags the entry without deleting it.
attributes Optional object See Data Type attributes below. Unlike the top-level Device Config document, this object isn't restricted to a known key set - unrecognised keys are accepted and passed through.

Data Type attributes (nested object, all fields optional)

Structurally validated - the client checks type, shape, and enum membership.
FieldType
display-units{si, imperial}, each a display-scale string, e.g. si: "0.1 km/h".
display-units-unicode{si, imperial}, unicode display of the unit symbol, e.g. si: '°C'.
payload-encoding{si, imperial}, each integer 0–15 - number of encoded bytes/precision slots for the wire payload.
display-orderenum: lowest, low, medium, high, highest - relative priority for ordering the data type in a UI list.
display-plot-style{colour: enum c0–c7, fill: boolean} - plot line colour slot and whether the area under the line is filled.
display-stats-styleenum: min-only, min-max, avg-only, min-avg-max, max-only.
display-allowedlist, values restricted to live, tracker, plot, hist, map, qc, dashboard - the UI surfaces the data type is displayed on.
display-axis-range{lower, upper} (numeric, required), step (numeric, optional) - e.g. {lower: 0, upper: 360, step: 30} sizes axis tick/gridline spacing.
spike-filter{delta, max-repeats} (numeric) - a jump of more than delta between consecutive readings is treated as a spike and suppressed for up to max-repeats occurrences.
Free-form - accepted and passed through, but not structurally validated client-side.
FieldObserved usage
display-axis-labelsMap of numeric axis value → short label string, for compass-style axes, e.g. {0: "N", 90: "E", 180: "S", 270: "W"}.
editing-allowedBoolean, present on almost every entry. Whether the value is user-editable in the app (true for planned/target/manual-entry values) vs. read-only/derived (false).
relative-toString - reference datum for a vertical measurement, e.g. "MSL" (mean sea level) on altitude/depth types.
positiveString, "up" or "down" - direction of increasing value relative to relative-to.
angle-conventionString, e.g. "degrees_north" - which compass convention the angle is measured against.
vector-componentsList of related data type keys forming a vector pair, e.g. ["sensed/wind-speed", "sensed/wind-direction"].
related-data-typesList of related data type keys shown together in the UI (e.g. a value and its planned/applied counterpart, or a min/max pair).

Data Variant Type entry

FieldRequiredTypeNotes
key Required string Entry identity. Referenced by a Data Type's variant-type.
name Required string Display name of the variant group, e.g. "Spreading Material".
description Optional string Longer-form explanation of the variant group; most entries omit it in favour of name.
deprecated Optional boolean Soft-deprecation flag, same semantics as the Data Type field.
values Required non-empty list of {key, name} Internal nested structure: the variant's selectable option set, e.g. {key: "lime", name: "Lime"}.

Cross-entry rules

  • Reference — a Data Type's variant-type points to a Data Variant Type's key (many-to-one).
  • Integrity constraint — a Data Variant Type referenced by any Data Type cannot be deleted while it's still referenced.
  • Scope override — an account entry with the same key as a Global entry supersedes it for that account; non-matching keys are additive.
  • Key composition — a Data Type key may embed a ${variant} token linking it to the referenced variant type's keyspace.

Example

key: "sensed/particulate-matter/10"
name: "10um Particulate Matter"
kind: "double"
base-units: "ug/m^3"
profiles: ["E", "W"]
attributes:
  display-allowed: ["dashboard", "hist", "live", "map", "plot"]
  display-order: "high"
  display-plot-style:
    colour: "c1"
    fill: "false"
  display-stats-style: "min-avg-max"
  display-units:
    imperial: "ug/m^3"
    si: "ug/m^3"
  editing-allowed: "true"