# Attributes

An **attribute** is a field on a record: a name, a type, and the value it holds.

## Adding one

**Settings, then Data, then Objects**, pick the object, open its **Attributes**
tab. You give it a name, an optional description, and a
[type](/core-concepts/attribute-types).

## The choice you cannot undo

**The type cannot be changed after the attribute exists.** The stored values depend
on it. If you get it wrong, create a second attribute, move the values over, and
delete the first.

Text is not a safe default. An amount kept as text cannot be summed, and a stage
kept as text cannot become a board column.

## Rules and defaults

- **Required.** The record cannot be saved with this field empty. Use it sparingly:
  every required field is a reason to abandon a half-finished entry.
- **Unique.** No two records may hold the same value. This is what keeps one
  customer from existing twice.
- **Default value.** A new record arrives with this already filled in.