# Working with Groups
Groups in BCMS are reusable building blocks made up of multiple properties. They help you organize and nest structured content in Templates and Widgets.
A group is like a mini-template: defined once and reused anywhere. You can use groups:
- Inside templates
- Inside widgets
- Inside other groups (nested groups)
This makes groups powerful for representing repeating or nested content structures, such as FAQs, social links, testimonials, or sections with shared structure.
---
## Creating and Editing a Group
To create a group in the BCMS dashboard:
1. Navigate to Groups in the sidebar.
2. Click Create New Group.
3. Set a label and optional description.
4. Add properties by dragging field types into the group builder.
To edit a group:
- Click on the group name to open it.
- Use Edit Group to rename or update the description.
- Modify its properties directly in the builder interface.
---
## Adding Properties to a Group
You can add any supported BCMS field type to a group, including:
- String
- Media
- Rich text
- Boolean
- Number
- Date
- Entry pointer
- Other groups (for nesting)
Each property becomes part of the reusable group definition and can be type-safe in code thanks to BCMS’s automatic type generation.
---
## Groups in Templates, Widgets, and Other Groups
Groups can be used almost anywhere:
- In templates: Add a group field to create a shared block of properties used in every entry.
- In widgets: For modular content blocks that need structured fields.
- In other groups: To create nested, reusable patterns of data.
You can also make a group repeatable (an array), which is useful for:
- Testimonials
- Steps in a guide
- Features or pricing tiers
- FAQs
---
## Type-safe usage in code
BCMS generates TypeScript types for every group you define. You can import and use these types for full type safety when rendering entries:
```TSX
import type { TestimonialGroup } from '@bcms-types/ts';
type Props = {
data: TestimonialGroup[];
};
export const Testimonials = ({ data }: Props) => (
{data.map((testimonial) => (
{testimonial.quote}
))}
);
```
---
## Example: Group inside a template
Imagine you have a Team Member template, and you want each member to have multiple social links. You can create a SocialLink group with properties like platform, url, and icon.
Then add the group to your template as a repeatable field.
```TYPESCRIPT
import { bcms } from '@/bcms';
import type { TeamMemberEntryMetaItem } from '@bcms-types/ts';
const entry = await bcms.entry.getById(
'team-member-slug',
'team-member'
);
entry.meta.social_links.forEach((link) => {
console.log(link.platform, link.url);
});
```
---
## Finding where a Group is used
To programmatically find out where a group is used, call:
```TYPESCRIPT
const usage = await bcms.group.whereIsItUsed('group_id');
console.log(usage);
// Output: list of templates, widgets, and groups where this group is referenced
```
This is helpful for impact analysis before deleting or updating a group.
---
## Fetching Groups via SDK
You can retrieve group definitions directly in your code using the @thebcms/client:
```TYPESCRIPT
// Get all groups
const groups = await bcms.group.getAll();
// Get one group by ID
const group = await bcms.group.getById('group_id');
```
The SDK uses in-memory caching for performance. Use skipCache: true to force-refresh data.
## Deleting a Group
To delete a group:
1. Open the group from the Groups section.
2. Click Edit Group.
3. Click Delete Group.
⚠️ Deleting a group will remove it from any template, widget, or group that uses it. Check where it's used before deleting, especially in production.
---
## Conclusion
Groups are a core part of creating structured, maintainable, and scalable content models in BCMS.
Use them to:
- Define reusable, structured patterns of fields
- Organize complex templates
- Avoid duplication
- Render type-safe components in your frontend
Combined with BCMS's automatic type generation and content parsing utilities, groups make content modeling clean and developer-friendly.