Type reference array with "Create new" button for multiple categories

You're observing a difference in how Sanity Studio handles inline document creation between single reference fields and arrays of references. When you have a single category reference, you see a "Create new" button, but when you have an array of category references, that button doesn't appear in the same way.

While I cannot find explicit documentation that explains this specific UI behavior difference, this appears to be how the Studio's interface currently works. The array fields documentation shows that arrays support features like drag-and-drop reordering, copy/paste operations, and multiple member types, which suggests the array item selection interface is optimized for choosing from existing documents rather than inline creation.

Practical Solutions

Here are some approaches you can use to work with category creation in an array context:

1. Two-Tab Workflow

Open Sanity Studio in a separate browser tab to create new categories, then return to your page document to select them. This is the most straightforward approach that works with the current Studio interface.

2. Initial Value Templates

Set up initial value templates for your category documents. This can speed up category creation by pre-filling common fields, making the tab-switching workflow less disruptive:

export default {
  name: 'category',
  type: 'document',
  initialValue: {
    status: 'active'
  }
}

3. Custom Input Component

For a more integrated experience, you could build a custom input component for your categories array that includes its own "Create new category" functionality. This requires custom React code but would give you control over the creation workflow within the array interface itself.

4. Rethink Your Content Workflow

Consider whether your team's workflow might benefit from creating categories as a separate step before building pages. Sometimes establishing your taxonomy first can be a more natural content authoring flow.

Getting More Help

If this limitation significantly impacts your workflow, I'd recommend:

• Checking the Sanity Community to see if others have built custom solutions
• Joining the Community Slack to discuss workarounds with other developers
• Considering whether a custom input component might be worth the development effort for your specific use case

The behavior you're experiencing seems to be how the current Studio interface handles these different field types, rather than something you can change through schema configuration alone.