Content Lake (Datastore)
Common Sanity document types
Reference documentation for common Sanity document shapes.
The example document shapes in this article are presented in JSON as reference. Keep in mind that you can adjust the shape of query responses using GROQ projections.
Project datasets
The following document types are found when querying a project's dataset.
Schema-based Sanity documents
Your documents differ based on your schema. In addition to the schema you define, the basic Sanity document has the following shape.
{
"_createdAt": "2022-11-23T20:00:13Z",
"_id": "004fecc4-d324-49b5-b78c-7216f539b3d5",
"_originalId": "004fecc4-d324-49b5-b78c-7216f539b3d5",
"_rev": "O2LflXWjWDt48mytHz2LFT",
"_type": "your-document-type",
"_updatedAt": "2025-05-15T14:31:46Z",
// ...rest of schema
}Assets
Learn more about assets in Content Lake, or how to query them in your front end. Asset type is detected at upload and will be either sanity.imageAsset or sanity.fileAsset.
{
"_createdAt": "2022-06-14T13:21:36Z",
"_id": "image-000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1-2132x1876-png",
"_originalId": "image-000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1-2132x1876-png",
"_rev": "6uwRxsZd4dJaf44JVxaEuT",
"_type": "sanity.imageAsset",
"_updatedAt": "2022-06-14T13:21:36Z",
"assetId": "000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1",
"extension": "png",
"metadata": {
"_type": "sanity.imageMetadata",
"blurHash": "e03SL--?vJRNR1?dj^Mwj=fkvcMwIux^S7abk8o#WEe:MHt6NNIVRj",
"dimensions": {
"_type": "sanity.imageDimensions",
"aspectRatio": 1.1364605543710022,
"height": 1876,
"width": 2132
},
"hasAlpha": true,
"isOpaque": false,
"lqip": "data:image/png;base64...",
"palette": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePalette",
"darkMuted": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#3a385e",
"foreground": "#fff",
"population": 0.09,
"title": "#fff"
},
"darkVibrant": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#14245c",
"foreground": "#fff",
"population": 0,
"title": "#fff"
},
"dominant": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#bfc9d1",
"foreground": "#000",
"population": 1.36,
"title": "#fff"
},
"lightMuted": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#bfc9d1",
"foreground": "#000",
"population": 1.36,
"title": "#fff"
},
"lightVibrant": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#92a5e7",
"foreground": "#000",
"population": 0,
"title": "#fff"
},
"muted": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#50698f",
"foreground": "#fff",
"population": 0.16,
"title": "#fff"
},
"vibrant": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#2d51d1",
"foreground": "#fff",
"population": 0,
"title": "#fff"
}
}
},
"mimeType": "image/png",
"originalFilename": "example.png",
"path": "images/3do82whm/next/000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1-2132x1876.png",
"sha1hash": "000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1",
"size": 458453,
"uploadId": "ewspz9k52x2uIex0RXIdqUwctLPio2Rf",
"url": "https://cdn.sanity.io/images/3do82whm/next/000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1-2132x1876.png"
}{
"_createdAt": "2024-01-22T12:27:32Z",
"_id": "file-050de1efeee92e61ed7d8210a6ed9c598128e59e-csv",
"_originalId": "file-050de1efeee92e61ed7d8210a6ed9c598128e59e-csv",
"_rev": "YgFRxBViy44CfW0H4Ry4Qp",
"_type": "sanity.fileAsset",
"_updatedAt": "2024-01-22T12:27:33Z",
"assetId": "050de1efeee92e61ed7d8210a6ed9c598128e59e",
"extension": "csv",
"mimeType": "text/csv",
"originalFilename": "050de1efeee92e61ed7d8210a6ed9c598128e59e.csv",
"path": "files/3do82whm/next/050de1efeee92e61ed7d8210a6ed9c598128e59e.csv",
"sha1hash": "050de1efeee92e61ed7d8210a6ed9c598128e59e",
"size": 18193,
"uploadId": "SjqHLO18Iz5bAIF9vDtsufIFFKcz1aoO",
"url": "https://cdn.sanity.io/files/3do82whm/next/050de1efeee92e61ed7d8210a6ed9c598128e59e.csv"
}An asset linked from Media Library is also a sanity.imageAsset document in your project's dataset. It carries two fields an uploaded asset doesn't have: a media reference back to the library, and a source object naming Media Library as the origin. The media._ref points to the asset version in the library, while source.id holds the ID of the sanity.asset container.
{
"_createdAt": "2026-06-14T13:21:36Z",
"_id": "image-000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1-2132x1876-png",
"_rev": "6uwRxsZd4dJaf44JVxaEuT",
"_type": "sanity.imageAsset",
"_updatedAt": "2026-06-14T13:21:36Z",
"assetId": "000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1",
"extension": "png",
"media": {
"_ref": "media-library:mlNBkjZ8wqSZ:image-000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1-2132x1876-png",
"_type": "globalDocumentReference",
"_weak": true
},
"metadata": {
// ...same shape as an uploaded image asset
},
"mimeType": "image/png",
"originalFilename": "example.png",
"path": "images/3do82whm/next/000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1-2132x1876.png",
"sha1hash": "000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1",
"size": 458453,
"source": {
"id": "34fMJaofTI5ptNBZFOYoBNfy6NM",
"name": "sanity-media-library"
},
"uploadId": "ml-link-Cd5sOgKhAgs8WHdlNg1tGgRnYial74Ue",
"url": "https://cdn.sanity.io/images/3do82whm/next/000d3a19d7bb022f39de0b0b7baff6ed95c2b7f1-2132x1876.png"
}The media reference is the reliable signal
The source field is optional and some Media Library links don't carry it, so an asset without a source.name of sanity-media-library isn't necessarily stored in your dataset. Check media._ref for the media-library: prefix as well.
Content release system document
The system.release document type is used for Content Releases and scheduled drafts. This contains information about the release itself. After publishing, the document also contains the _ids of affected documents.
{
"_createdAt": "2025-11-05T21:29:26Z",
"_id": "_.releases.rD1Xd4ncd",
"_rev": "dr42QZx7KPEhsymkMySD7L",
"_type": "system.release",
"_updatedAt": "2025-11-06T15:17:25Z",
"metadata": {
"description": "",
"releaseType": "undecided",
"title": "📝 docs: Document shape reference"
},
"name": "rD1Xd4ncd",
"state": "active"
}{
"_createdAt": "2025-11-05T21:29:26Z",
"_id": "_.releases.rD1Xd4ncd",
"_rev": "dr42QZx7KPEhsymkMySD7L",
"_type": "system.release",
"_updatedAt": "2025-11-06T15:17:25Z",
"metadata": {
"description": "",
"releaseType": "scheduled",
"intendedPublishAt": "2025-12-19T13:04:00.000Z",
"title": "📝 docs: Document shape reference"
},
"name": "rD1Xd4ncd",
"state": "active"
}{
"_createdAt": "2025-10-27T17:04:11Z",
"_id": "_.releases.r0NTEBzIk",
"_rev": "3yqUckHTy25h67wlKTbN4l",
"_type": "system.release",
"_updatedAt": "2025-10-27T17:33:46Z",
"finalDocumentStates": [
{
"id": "versions.r0NTEBzIk.237c16b0-a9f4-4e82-b595-49c16488987b"
}
],
"metadata": {
"description": "",
"releaseType": "asap",
"title": "docs: custom auth updates"
},
"name": "r0NTEBzIk",
"publishAt": "2025-10-27T17:33:43.286273143Z",
"publishedAt": "2025-10-27T17:33:46.857738394Z",
"state": "published",
"userId": "pplmUjjS1"
}{
"_createdAt": "2025-02-07T11:59:48Z",
"_id": "_.releases.r0bFlTPnM",
"_rev": "CTPe2v8JIKtoV0Y6xK47fi",
"_type": "system.release",
"_updatedAt": "2025-02-07T12:00:38Z",
"metadata": {
"description": "",
"releaseType": "asap",
"title": "Archived release title"
},
"name": "r0bFlTPnM",
"state": "archived",
"userId": "p70uuxnEh"
}{
"_createdAt": "2025-11-18T21:50:09Z",
"_id": "_.releases.rl1x5tuDA",
"_originalId": "_.releases.rl1x5tuDA",
"_rev": "5qJ56lhgtn32Bpl4tfE4FQ",
"_type": "system.release",
"_updatedAt": "2025-11-18T21:50:12Z",
"metadata": {
"cardinality": "one",
"description": "",
"intendedPublishAt": "2025-11-29T21:50:00.000Z",
"releaseType": "scheduled",
"title": "Scheduled publish"
},
"name": "rl1x5tuDA",
"publishAt": "2025-11-29T21:50:00Z",
"state": "scheduled",
"userId": "pplmUjjS1",
"workflowId": "release-rl1x5tuDA-K76KLi6SbRI9Qep6KPCyRr"
}Media Library
The following document types are found when querying your organization's Media Library.
These documents live in the Media Library's own dataset, not in a project dataset. The source field on a Media Library asset records how that asset entered the library, so it names the upload source rather than the library itself. The copy created in a project dataset when you link the asset is a different document, with a source.name of sanity-media-library, shown in the "Project datasets" section.
Assets
sanity.asset: The container for Media Library assets, this contains details about the asset, versions, and aspects.sanity.imageAsset: The document for an individual image asset version. It contains metadata from the image file as well as the URL.sanity.fileAsset: The document for an individual file asset version.
{
"_createdAt": "2025-10-27T21:21:41Z",
"_id": "34fMJaofTI5ptNBZFOYoBNfy6NM",
"_rev": "eefe4de2-7ec8-4307-aecc-1b0e890fa4e6",
"_system": {
"createdBy": "gvRshKueQ"
},
"_type": "sanity.asset",
"_updatedAt": "2025-11-05T19:19:24Z",
"aspects": {
"photographer": {
"_ref": "dataset:y856rro4.production:200e44f2-14a9-4c7a-a621-a4ca4d9b559c",
"_type": "globalDocumentReference",
"_weak": true
}
},
"assetType": "sanity.imageAsset",
"cdnAccessPolicy": "public",
"currentVersion": {
"_ref": "image-5e510a718d122013621f6f2ac5c8fefda767181b-2410x1940-png",
"_type": "reference"
},
"title": "agent-context.png",
"versions": [
{
"_key": "34fMJa5D3oyeodCbUK85oqzmRCh",
"_type": "sanity.asset.version",
"instance": {
"_ref": "image-5e510a718d122013621f6f2ac5c8fefda767181b-2410x1940-png",
"_type": "reference"
},
"title": "agent-context.png"
}
]
}{
"_createdAt": "2025-05-05T16:17:18Z",
"_id": "image-049cdf41569df83dae668a4578e5d768ab0e3af7-4000x6000-jpg",
"_rev": "jvG3hn4E5wAByM2zqNN5yk",
"_system": {
"createdBy": "gvRshKueQ"
},
"_type": "sanity.imageAsset",
"_updatedAt": "2025-05-05T16:17:23Z",
"extension": "jpg",
"metadata": {
"_type": "sanity.imageMetadata",
"blurHash": "dfCZ^dtlRPj[?wtSaejYWCt7t7aeIUaeozfQV@RjWBkC",
"dimensions": {
"_type": "sanity.imageDimensions",
"aspectRatio": 0.6666666666666666,
"height": 6000,
"width": 4000
},
"exif": {
"ApertureValue": 2.970854,
"ColorSpace": 65535,
"Contrast": 2,
"CustomRendered": 1,
"DateTimeDigitized": "2025-01-23T22:36:48.000Z",
"DateTimeOriginal": "2025-01-23T22:36:48.000Z",
"ExposureBiasValue": 0,
"ExposureMode": 0,
"ExposureProgram": 3,
"ExposureTime": 0.00125,
"FNumber": 2.8,
"Flash": 16,
"FocalLength": 26,
"FocalLengthIn35mmFormat": 40,
"FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": 3,
"FocalPlaneXResolution": 2556.533905029297,
"FocalPlaneYResolution": 2556.533905029297,
"ISO": 100,
"LensModel": "GR LENS 26mm F2.8",
"MeteringMode": 255,
"Saturation": 0,
"SceneCaptureType": 0,
"SensingMethod": 2,
"SensitivityType": 1,
"Sharpness": 0,
"ShutterSpeedValue": 9.643856,
"StandardOutputSensitivity": 100,
"SubjectDistanceRange": 3,
"WhiteBalance": 1,
"_type": "sanity.imageExifMetadata"
},
"hasAlpha": false,
"image": {
"Copyright": "MARK MICHON",
"ExifOffset": 256,
"GPSInfo": 784,
"Make": "RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD.",
"Model": "RICOH GR IIIx",
"ModifyDate": "2025-02-21T18:37:52.000Z",
"ResolutionUnit": 2,
"Software": "Adobe Lightroom 8.2 (Macintosh)",
"XResolution": 240,
"YResolution": 240,
"_type": "sanity.imageExifTags"
},
"isOpaque": true,
"keywords": [
"landscape",
"hillside",
"trees",
"foliage",
"bare branches",
"clear sky",
"architecture",
"building",
"outdoor",
"daytime",
"natural light",
"scenic",
"rural",
"countryside",
"hill",
"vegetation",
"nature",
"exterior",
"structure",
"view",
"scenery"
],
"location": {
"_type": "geopoint",
"alt": 0,
"lat": 35.188269,
"lng": 139.135506
},
"lqip": "data:image/jpeg;base64...",
"palette": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePalette",
"darkMuted": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#604c32",
"foreground": "#fff",
"population": 3.89,
"title": "#fff"
},
"darkVibrant": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#261b04",
"foreground": "#fff",
"population": 1.13,
"title": "#fff"
},
"dominant": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#604c32",
"foreground": "#fff",
"population": 3.89,
"title": "#fff"
},
"lightMuted": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#abccd2",
"foreground": "#000",
"population": 3.5,
"title": "#fff"
},
"lightVibrant": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#aad1e5",
"foreground": "#000",
"population": 0.04,
"title": "#fff"
},
"muted": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#8a7f74",
"foreground": "#fff",
"population": 2.6,
"title": "#fff"
},
"vibrant": {
"_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch",
"background": "#706532",
"foreground": "#fff",
"population": 0.01,
"title": "#fff"
}
}
},
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"originalFilename": "japan-2025-08.JPG",
"path": "media-libraries/mlNBkjZ8wqSZ/images/049cdf41569df83dae668a4578e5d768ab0e3af7-4000x6000.jpg",
"sha1hash": "049cdf41569df83dae668a4578e5d768ab0e3af7",
"size": 16096156,
"source": {
"id": "sanity-image-image-049cdf41569df83dae668a4578e5d768ab0e3af7-4000x6000-jpg",
"name": "sanity-image",
"url": "https://cdn.sanity.io/media-libraries/mlNBkjZ8wqSZ/images/049cdf41569df83dae668a4578e5d768ab0e3af7-4000x6000.jpg"
},
"state": "ready",
"url": "https://cdn.sanity.io/media-libraries/mlNBkjZ8wqSZ/images/049cdf41569df83dae668a4578e5d768ab0e3af7-4000x6000.jpg"
}{
"_createdAt": "2025-06-17T15:22:03Z",
"_id": "file-6476df3aac780622368173fe6e768a2edc3932c8-txt",
"_rev": "zOr4hk5Ojjq0FM4nUeCABF",
"_system": {
"createdBy": "gvRshKueQ"
},
"_type": "sanity.fileAsset",
"_updatedAt": "2025-06-17T15:22:03Z",
"extension": "txt",
"metadata": {
"_type": "sanity.fileMetadata"
},
"mimeType": "text/plain; charset=utf-8",
"originalFilename": "text-file.txt",
"path": "media-libraries/mlNBkjZ8wqSZ/files/6476df3aac780622368173fe6e768a2edc3932c8.txt",
"sha1hash": "6476df3aac780622368173fe6e768a2edc3932c8",
"size": 15,
"source": {
"id": "sanity-file-file-6476df3aac780622368173fe6e768a2edc3932c8-txt",
"name": "sanity-file",
"url": "https://cdn.sanity.io/media-libraries/mlNBkjZ8wqSZ/files/6476df3aac780622368173fe6e768a2edc3932c8.txt"
},
"state": "ready",
"url": "https://cdn.sanity.io/media-libraries/mlNBkjZ8wqSZ/files/6476df3aac780622368173fe6e768a2edc3932c8.txt"
}Aspects
The following is the shape of an aspect document (sanity.asset.aspect), along with the aspect schema used to create it.
{
"_createdAt": "2025-04-25T16:18:31Z",
"_id": "copyright",
"_rev": "jvG3hn4E5wAByM2zqNPrvO",
"_system": {
"createdBy": "gvRshKueQ"
},
"_type": "sanity.asset.aspect",
"_updatedAt": "2025-05-05T16:21:56Z",
"definition": {
"fields": [
{
"name": "copyrightHolder",
"title": "Copyright Holder",
"type": "string"
},
{
"name": "copyrightDate",
"title": "Date",
"type": "date"
}
],
"name": "copyright",
"title": "copyright",
"type": "object"
}
},import {defineAssetAspect, defineField} from 'sanity'
export default defineAssetAspect({
name: 'copyright',
title: 'copyright',
type: 'object',
fields: [
defineField({
name: 'copyrightHolder',
title: 'Copyright Holder',
type: 'string',
}),
defineField({
name: 'copyrightDate',
title: 'Date',
type: 'date',
}),
],
})Hierarchy
The following document types are part of the hierarchy primitive, and are used for folders in Media Library.
sanity.tree: The root of a hierarchy. One per logical grouping (in Media Library, one per library).sanity.directory: A folder. Has anameand aparentreference to asanity.treeor anothersanity.directory.sanity.symlink: A pointer document. Used by Media Library to implement shortcuts that make a single asset appear in more than one folder.
{
"_createdAt": "2026-04-15T10:00:00Z",
"_id": "tree.ml123",
"_rev": "abc123",
"_type": "sanity.tree",
"_updatedAt": "2026-04-15T10:00:00Z",
"name": "folders"
}{
"_createdAt": "2026-04-15T10:01:00Z",
"_id": "directory-marketing",
"_rev": "def456",
"_type": "sanity.directory",
"_updatedAt": "2026-04-15T10:01:00Z",
"name": "Marketing",
"parent": {
"_ref": "root-tree",
"_type": "reference"
}
}{
"_createdAt": "2026-04-15T10:05:00Z",
"_id": "symlink-abc",
"_rev": "ghi789",
"_type": "sanity.symlink",
"_updatedAt": "2026-04-15T10:05:00Z",
"parent": {
"_ref": "directory-campaigns",
"_type": "reference"
},
"target": {
"_ref": "34fMJaofTI5ptNBZFOYoBNfy6NM",
"_type": "reference"
}
}For full validation rules and the error reference, see Hierarchy.