Reference Properties

Reference Properties let you add structured metadata directly to references (relationships) between objects. While a standard attribute on a type describes the objects themselves, a Reference Property describes the link between two objects — similar to properties on edges in a graph database.

Key terms:

• Reference — an attribute of type REFERENCE on a type, pointing to one or more objects of another type (or the same type, for self-references).
• Reference Property — a property defined on a Reference attribute, with its own type (Text, Date, Integer, etc.) describing what can be stored for each relationship.
• Reference Value — the actual set of objects referenced by a given object through that attribute.
• Reference Property Value — the values assigned to the Reference Properties for one specific reference within a Reference Value.

Why use Reference Properties

Adding properties to relationships, not just objects, unlocks more expressive data models:

Scenario	Relationship	Example properties
Social networks	Friendship between two users	Since (Date), Interaction Frequency (Integer)
Recommendations	User purchased Product	Purchase Date, Quantity, Rating
Supply chain	Supplier → Manufacturer transaction	Transaction Date, Volume, Cost
Fraud detection	Account transferred funds to Account	Amount, Timestamp, Transaction Type
Research	Researcher authored Publication	Role, Contribution %, Publication Date
Telecom	User called Device/User	Call Duration, Call Type, Timestamp

Configuring a Reference Property

1. Go to your space → Types → select the type that has (or will have) a Reference attribute.
2. Edit or create an attribute of type Reference (Object Reference).
3. In the attribute configuration panel, open Properties — this appears only for REFERENCE attributes.
4. Add one or more properties: give each a name (e.g. Since, Rating), choose a reference type, optionally write a description, and save.

Working with values

• Users with the right permissions can add or edit property values when hovering over a referenced object, or from the object details view.
• Each individual reference (each linked object) has its own independent set of property values.
• Reference Property columns can be used in StarQL, and displayed, filtered, sorted, and aggregated (average rating, count of high-strength links, etc.) in views, sites, widgets, automations, and exports.

Limitations

• Only available on attributes of type Reference.
• Supported property types today: Text, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, Date, DateTime.
• Bulk editing of reference property values isn't supported in the UI — use the API instead.

See also: Attribute, Reference Attribute Type.