GROQ: Resolve only reference elements in array, keep objects intact

Perfect! The article actually covers your exact use case. When you have an array with mixed content (some references, some inline objects), you can use the coalesce() function with the @ operator.

Here's the solution:

*[_type == "page" && pageMetadata.slug == 'test'][0]{
  pageBuilderComponents[]{
    ...coalesce(@->, @)
  }
}

How this works:

• @ represents the current element in the array
• @-> attempts to dereference the current element (only works if it's a reference)
• coalesce(@->, @) tries to resolve as a reference first (@->), and if that returns null (because it's not a reference), it falls back to the original object (@)
• The spread operator ... expands all the fields from whichever result coalesce returns

This pattern is mentioned in the Reference Access Operator documentation as the recommended approach for handling mixed content types in arrays.

Alternative approach if you want more explicit control:

*[_type == "page" && pageMetadata.slug == 'test'][0]{
  pageBuilderComponents[]{
    _type,
    select(
      defined(_ref) => @->,
      !defined(_ref) => @
    )
  }
}

This uses select() to check if the element has a _ref field (indicating it's a reference) and conditionally resolves it. However, the coalesce approach is cleaner and more idiomatic for this use case.