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      • Main vs External Databases

      The differences between main databases and external databases in NocoBase are primarily reflected in four aspects: database type support, collection type support, field type support, and backup and migration capabilities.

      1. Database Type Support

      For more details, see: Data Source Manager

      Database Types

      Database TypeMain Database SupportExternal Database Support
      PostgreSQL✅✅
      MySQL✅✅
      MariaDB✅✅
      KingbaseES✅✅
      MSSQL❌✅
      Oracle❌✅

      Collection Management

      Collection ManagementMain Database SupportExternal Database Support
      Basic Management✅✅
      Visual Management✅❌

      2. Collection Type Support

      For more details, see: Collections

      Collection TypeMain DatabaseExternal DatabaseDescription
      General✅✅Basic collection
      View✅✅Data source view
      Inheritance✅❌Supports data model inheritance, master data source only
      File✅❌Supports file uploads, master data source only
      Comment✅❌Built-in comment system, master data source only
      Calendar✅❌Collection for calendar views
      Expression✅❌Supports formula calculations
      Tree✅❌For tree structure data modeling
      SQL✅❌Collection defined through SQL
      External Connection✅❌Connection collection for external data sources, limited functionality

      3. Field Type Support

      For more details, see: Collection Fields

      Basic Types

      Field TypeMain DatabaseExternal Database
      Single Line Text✅✅
      Long Text✅✅
      Phone✅✅
      Email✅✅
      URL✅✅
      Integer✅✅
      Number✅✅
      Percentage✅✅
      Password✅✅
      Color✅✅
      Icon✅✅

      Choice Types

      Field TypeMain DatabaseExternal Database
      Checkbox✅✅
      Single select✅✅
      Multiple Select✅✅
      Radio Group✅✅
      Checkbox group✅✅
      China region✅❌

      Media Types

      Field TypeMain DatabaseExternal Database
      Media✅✅
      Markdown✅✅
      Markdown(Vditor)✅✅
      Rich Text✅✅
      Attachment(Association)✅❌
      Attachment(URL)✅✅

      Date & Time Types

      Field TypeMain DatabaseExternal Database
      Datetime(with time zone)✅✅
      Datetime(without time zone)✅✅
      Unix timestamp✅✅
      Date(without time)✅✅
      Time✅✅

      Geometric Types

      Field TypeMain DatabaseExternal Database
      Point✅✅
      Line✅✅
      Circle✅✅
      Polygon✅✅

      Advanced Types

      Field TypeMain DatabaseExternal Database
      UUID✅✅
      Nano ID✅✅
      Sort✅✅
      Formula✅✅
      Sequence✅✅
      JSON✅✅
      Collection selector✅❌
      Encryption✅✅

      System Info Fields

      Field TypeMain DatabaseExternal Database
      Created at✅✅
      Last updated at✅✅
      Created by✅❌
      Last updated by✅❌
      Table OID✅❌

      Association Types

      Field TypeMain DatabaseExternal Database
      One-to-one✅✅
      One-to-many✅✅
      Many-to-one✅✅
      Many-to-many✅✅
      Many-to-many (array)✅✅
      Info

      Attachment fields depend on file collections, which are only supported by main databases. Therefore, external databases do not currently support attachment fields.

      4. Backup and Migration Support Comparison

      FeatureMain DatabaseExternal Database
      Backup & Restore✅❌ (User managed)
      Migration Management✅❌ (User managed)
      Info

      NocoBase provides backup, restore, and structure migration capabilities for main databases. For external databases, these operations need to be completed independently by users according to their own database environments. NocoBase does not provide built-in support.

      Summary Comparison

      Comparison ItemMain DatabaseExternal Database
      Database TypesPostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, KingbaseESPostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MSSQL, Oracle, KingbaseES
      Collection Type SupportAll collection typesOnly general and view collections
      Field Type SupportAll field typesAll field types except attachment fields
      Backup & MigrationBuilt-in supportUser managed

      Recommendations

      • If you are using NocoBase to build a new business system, please use the main database, which will allow you to use NocoBase's complete functionality.
      • If you are using NocoBase to connect to other systems' databases for basic CRUD operations, then use external databases.