twenty/packages/twenty-docs/developers/extend/apps/layout.mdx

---
title: Layout
description: Define views, navigation menu items, and page layouts to shape how your app appears in Twenty.
icon: "table-columns"
---

Layout entities control how your app surfaces inside Twenty's UI — what lives in the sidebar, which saved views ship with the app, and how a record detail page is arranged.

## Layout concepts

| Concept | What it controls | Entity |
|---------|------------------|--------|
| **View** | A saved list configuration for an object — visible fields, order, filters, groups | `defineView` |
| **Navigation Menu Item** | An entry in the left sidebar that links to a view or an external URL | `defineNavigationMenuItem` |
| **Page Layout** | The tabs and widgets that make up a record's detail page | `definePageLayout` |
| **Page Layout Tab** | A standalone tab attached to an existing page layout (standard or your own app's) | `definePageLayoutTab` |

Views, navigation items, and page layouts reference each other by `universalIdentifier`:

- A **navigation menu item** of type `VIEW` points at a `defineView` identifier, so the sidebar link opens that saved view.
- A **page layout** of type `RECORD_PAGE` targets an object and can embed [front components](/developers/extend/apps/front-components) inside its tabs as widgets.

<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="defineView" description="Define saved views for objects">

Views are saved configurations for how records of an object are displayed — including which fields are visible, their order, and any filters or groups applied. Use `defineView()` to ship pre-configured views with your app:

```ts src/views/example-view.ts
import { defineView, ViewKey } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { EXAMPLE_OBJECT_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER } from '../objects/example-object';
import { NAME_FIELD_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER } from '../objects/example-object';

export default defineView({
  universalIdentifier: 'a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890',
  name: 'All example items',
  objectUniversalIdentifier: EXAMPLE_OBJECT_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER,
  icon: 'IconList',
  key: ViewKey.INDEX,
  position: 0,
  fields: [
    {
      universalIdentifier: 'f926bdb7-6af7-4683-9a09-adbca56c29f0',
      fieldMetadataUniversalIdentifier: NAME_FIELD_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER,
      position: 0,
      isVisible: true,
      size: 200,
    },
  ],
});
```

Key points:
- `objectUniversalIdentifier` specifies which object this view applies to.
- `key` determines the view type (e.g., `ViewKey.INDEX` for the main list view).
- `fields` controls which columns appear and their order. Each field references a `fieldMetadataUniversalIdentifier`.
- You can also define `filters`, `filterGroups`, `groups`, and `fieldGroups` for more advanced configurations.
- `position` controls the ordering when multiple views exist for the same object.

</Accordion>
<Accordion title="defineNavigationMenuItem" description="Define sidebar navigation links">

Navigation menu items add custom entries to the workspace sidebar. Use `defineNavigationMenuItem()` to link to views, external URLs, or objects:

```ts src/navigation-menu-items/example-navigation-menu-item.ts
import { defineNavigationMenuItem, NavigationMenuItemType } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { EXAMPLE_VIEW_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER } from '../views/example-view';

export default defineNavigationMenuItem({
  universalIdentifier: '9327db91-afa1-41b6-bd9d-2b51a26efb4c',
  name: 'example-navigation-menu-item',
  icon: 'IconList',
  color: 'blue',
  position: 0,
  type: NavigationMenuItemType.VIEW,
  viewUniversalIdentifier: EXAMPLE_VIEW_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER,
});
```

Key points:
- `type` determines what the menu item links to: `NavigationMenuItemType.VIEW` for a saved view, or `NavigationMenuItemType.LINK` for an external URL.
- For view links, set `viewUniversalIdentifier`. For external links, set `link`.
- `position` controls the ordering in the sidebar.
- `icon` and `color` (optional) customize the appearance.

</Accordion>
<Accordion title="definePageLayout" description="Define custom page layouts for record views">

Page layouts let you customize how a record detail page looks — which tabs appear, what widgets are inside each tab, and how they are arranged. Use `definePageLayout()` to ship custom layouts with your app:

```ts src/page-layouts/example-record-page-layout.ts
import { definePageLayout, PageLayoutTabLayoutMode } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { EXAMPLE_OBJECT_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER } from '../objects/example-object';
import { HELLO_WORLD_FRONT_COMPONENT_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER } from '../front-components/hello-world';

export default definePageLayout({
  universalIdentifier: '203aeb94-6701-46d6-9af1-be2bbcc9e134',
  name: 'Example Record Page',
  type: 'RECORD_PAGE',
  objectUniversalIdentifier: EXAMPLE_OBJECT_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER,
  tabs: [
    {
      universalIdentifier: '6ed26b60-a51d-4ad7-86dd-1c04c7f3cac5',
      title: 'Hello World',
      position: 50,
      icon: 'IconWorld',
      layoutMode: PageLayoutTabLayoutMode.CANVAS,
      widgets: [
        {
          universalIdentifier: 'aa4234e0-2e5f-4c02-a96a-573449e2351d',
          title: 'Hello World',
          type: 'FRONT_COMPONENT',
          configuration: {
            configurationType: 'FRONT_COMPONENT',
            frontComponentUniversalIdentifier:
              HELLO_WORLD_FRONT_COMPONENT_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER,
          },
        },
      ],
    },
  ],
});
```

Key points:
- `type` is typically `'RECORD_PAGE'` to customize the detail view of a specific object.
- `objectUniversalIdentifier` specifies which object this layout applies to.
- Each `tab` defines a section of the page with a `title`, `position`, and `layoutMode` (`CANVAS` for free-form layout).
- Each `widget` inside a tab can render a front component, a relation list, or other built-in widget types.
- `position` on tabs controls their order. Use higher values (e.g., 50) to place custom tabs after built-in ones.

</Accordion>
<Accordion title="definePageLayoutTab" description="Add a tab to an existing page layout">

`definePageLayoutTab` lets your app attach a single tab — with optional widgets — to an **existing** page layout. The most common use case is adding a custom tab (for example, an analytics or AI summary tab) to one of Twenty's built-in record pages, or to a page layout your own app already ships.

The targeted page layout must be either a **standard** Twenty page layout or one defined by **your own app**; cross-app references to page layouts owned by another installed app are not supported today.

```ts src/page-layouts/example-extra-tab.ts
import {
  definePageLayoutTab,
  PageLayoutTabLayoutMode,
} from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { HELLO_WORLD_FRONT_COMPONENT_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER } from '../front-components/hello-world';

const COMPANY_RECORD_PAGE_LAYOUT_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER =
  '20202020-ab01-4001-8001-c0aba11c0100';

export default definePageLayoutTab({
  universalIdentifier: 'b1b2b3b4-b5b6-4000-8000-000000000001',
  pageLayoutUniversalIdentifier:
    COMPANY_RECORD_PAGE_LAYOUT_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER,
  title: 'Hello World',
  position: 1000,
  icon: 'IconWorld',
  layoutMode: PageLayoutTabLayoutMode.CANVAS,
  widgets: [
    {
      universalIdentifier: 'b1b2b3b4-b5b6-4000-8000-000000000002',
      title: 'Hello World',
      type: 'FRONT_COMPONENT',
      configuration: {
        configurationType: 'FRONT_COMPONENT',
        frontComponentUniversalIdentifier:
          HELLO_WORLD_FRONT_COMPONENT_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER,
      },
    },
  ],
});
```

Key points:
- `pageLayoutUniversalIdentifier` is **required** when using `definePageLayoutTab` and must point to a page layout that already exists at install time (standard or your app's). When the parent page layout is missing, installation fails with a clear validation error.
- `widgets` are scoped to this tab only — they reference front components, views, etc. exactly like widgets defined inline in `definePageLayout`.
- `position` controls ordering against existing tabs on the targeted layout. Pick a value that places your tab where you want it relative to built-in tabs.
- Use this instead of `definePageLayout` when you only want to **add** to an existing layout. Use `definePageLayout` when you own the entire layout (typically a `RECORD_PAGE` for an object you ship in your app, or a `STANDALONE_PAGE`).

</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>