CiviCRM has a flexible custom data system which allows nearly any entity to be extended. It comes in two distinct flavors: Single-record and Multi-record. For more background see the user guide chapter: [Creating Custom Fields](https://docs.civicrm.org/user/en/latest/organising-your-data/creating-custom-fields/).
## Single-record custom data
## Single-Record Custom Data
Because single-record fields extend an entity 1-to-1, the api treats the custom fields as an extension of the regular fields. For example, normally an Event has fields like `id`, `title`, `start_date`, `end_date`, etc. Adding a custom group named "Event_Extra" and a field named "Room_number" would be accessable from the api as "Event_Extra.Room_number". You would retrieve it and set it as if it were any other field. Note that the `name` of a field is not to be confused with the `label` The api refers to custom groups/fields by name and not user-facing labels which are subject to translation and alteration.
Because single-record fields extend an entity 1-to-1, the API treats the custom fields as an extension of the regular fields. For example, normally an Event has fields like `id`, `title`, `start_date`, `end_date`, etc. Adding a custom group named "Event_Extra" and a field named "Room_number" would be accessible from the API as "Event_Extra.Room_number". You would retrieve it and set it as if it were any other field. Note that the `name` of a field is not to be confused with the `label` The API refers to custom groups/fields by name and not user-facing labels which are subject to translation and alteration.
For setting custom date fields, date format is anything understood by `strtotime`, e.g. "now" or "-1 week" or "2020-12-25".
## Multi-record custom data
## Multi-Record Custom Data
Multiple record custom data sets are treated by the api as entities, which work similarly to other entities attached to contacts (Phone, Email, Address, etc.). For example, creating a multi-record set named "Work_history" could then be accessed via the api as an entity named "Custom_Work_history". Creating a record would be done like so:
Multiple record custom data sets are treated by the API as entities, which work similarly to other entities attached to contacts (Phone, Email, Address, etc.). For example, creating a multi-record set named "Work_History" could then be accessed via the API as an entity named "Custom_Work_History". Creating a record would be done like so:
Once you have created some custom data in your system, look for it in the api explorer. Single-record data will appear as fields on the entities they extend, and multi-record data will appear in the list of entities (look under "C" alphabetically as they all start with the prefix "Custom_".
Once you have created some custom data in your system, look for it in the API explorer. Single-record data will appear as fields on the entities they extend, and multi-record data will appear in the list of entities (look under "C" alphabetically as they all start with the prefix "Custom_".