A Workspace is a custom interface you build inside Forest, tailored to a specific use case. Instead of navigating between multiple collections, operators get a single focused view that shows exactly what they need and lets them take action immediately.
Think of a Workspace as the difference between a generic spreadsheet and a purpose-built tool: same data, dramatically better experience.
Why use workspaces
The default “Data” tab gives operators access to all your collections, but it’s generic. Workspaces let you:
- Focus - show only the data relevant to a specific task
- Contextualize - display related information side by side without navigating away
- Act faster - put action buttons directly next to the data that triggers them
- Guide - add text, sections, and structure to guide users through a workflow
Workspaces are built with a drag-and-drop editor, no code required for most use cases.
Building a workspace
Step 1, Create a new workspace
Click on + Add New in the left sidebar, select Workspace, and give it a descriptive name that reflects the use case (e.g. “Customer Onboarding”, “KYC Review”).
Step 2, Add a Collection component
Drag a Collection from the sidebar onto the canvas. Select which collection to display and optionally apply a segment. Set the row click behavior to “Select a record” to enable dynamic updates across all connected components.
Step 3, Add context with Field components
Drag Field components onto the canvas. Link them to your Collection and select which fields to display. When an operator clicks a row, these fields update to show the selected record’s values.
Step 4, Add Actions
Drag an Action and link it to your Collection. Now operators can click a row and immediately trigger the right action, no need to open the record detail.
Step 5, Exit the builder and test it
Click “Exit builder” to switch to the operator view. Test the workflow by clicking rows and triggering actions.
Components reference
A Workspace is composed of components that you drag onto a canvas and configure. They fall into 5 categories.
Layout & Guidance
Components to structure your workspace and guide operators through it.
| Component | Purpose |
|---|
| Text | Headers, instructions, labels, supports templating |
| Section | Groups related components; visibility can be controlled as a unit |
| Tabs | Tabbed area holding up to 10 tabs; only the active tab’s components are rendered |
| Link | Link to a record detail page, external URL, or another workspace |
| Divider | Horizontal or vertical visual separator |
Source
Source components set the data context for the rest of the workspace. Data & Action components subscribe to a Source to know which record to act on.
| Component | Purpose |
|---|
| Search | Lets operators search for a record by a specified field |
| Collection | Displays records in a table; operators can select a row to feed connected components |
| Inbox | Surfaces the next task from the operator’s Inbox |
| Dropdown | A selector that dynamically filters connected components |
| Date Picker | A date selector that filters connected components |
| Toggle | A boolean switch used to apply or remove a filter |
| Input | Free text/number input used to filter connected components |
Dropdown modes
The Dropdown component has three modes:
- Static, You hardcode a list of values. Reorder them with drag handles.
- Dynamic > Simple, Choose a collection and a field; the dropdown is populated from your data, with an optional filter.
- Dynamic > Smart, Fetches values from an external endpoint. The expected response format is:
{
"data": ["value1", "value2"]
}
Enable the “Search” option on any mode to add a search input, useful when the list is long.
Date Picker
Set minimum and/or maximum selectable dates, hardcoded or using templating:
Minimum: {{currentDate.subtract.days.1}}
Maximum: {{currentDate.add.days.1}}
Toggle
Pick a value type (String, Number, Boolean, etc.) and set the value for the “toggled on” state. When toggled off, the component’s value is undefined and any filter using it is ignored.
Example: a Boolean toggle with value true filtering on isEmailVerified, combined with a String toggle with value "onboarding" filtering on status.
Data & Actions
| Component | Purpose |
|---|
| Field | Displays the value of a specific field from a selected record |
| Action | Triggers a global, single, or bulk action on a selected record |
| Workflow | Triggers or resumes a Workflow on a selected record |
{{country.headquarter.address}}
Analytics
| Component | Purpose |
|---|
| Chart | Embeds any chart, single value, distribution, time-based, etc. |
| Metabase | Embeds a Metabase dashboard |
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| URL | Your Metabase instance URL (e.g. https://myanalytics.mycompany.com) |
| Token | A JWT signed with your METABASE_SECRET_KEY, containing {"resource": {"dashboard": <ID>}, "params": {}} |
| Query | Optional query string parameters passed to the dashboard, supports templating (e.g. projectId={{search1.selectedRecord.id}}) |
Custom
The Custom component lets you write your own component in HTML/JS for advanced display logic not covered by the built-in set.
Templating
Templating lets components reference values from other components dynamically. Type {{ in any text input, filter, or link field to open the autocomplete.
| Syntax | Result |
|---|
{{collection1.selectedRecord.email}} | Field value from the selected row |
{{currentUser.fullName}} | Logged-in operator’s name |
{{currentUser.email}} | Logged-in operator’s email |
{{currentUser.team}} | Logged-in operator’s team |
{{currentUser.tags.some-tag}} | Value of a specific user tag |
{{currentDate}} | Today’s date |
{{currentDate.subtract.days.7}} | 7 days ago |
{{currentDate.startOf.months}} | First day of current month |
When you rename a component, all templating references to it update automatically.
Filtering charts with templating
Charts in a workspace can be filtered using other components’ values. In the chart’s filter configuration, reference a source component:
company_id = {{collection1.selectedRecord.id}}
Visibility rules
Every component has a Visible option at the bottom of its settings panel.
| Option | Behavior |
|---|
| Always | Component is always visible. Filters using undefined templating values are silently ignored. |
| Only when a component is visible | Component appears only when another specified component is also visible, useful for dividers and section titles. |
| Only when dynamic variables are defined | Component appears only when all its templating variables have a value, prevents showing empty states. |
{{collection1.selectedRecord.id}} with visibility set to “Only when dynamic variables are defined” will stay hidden until an operator selects a row in collection1.
Sharing workspaces
Workspaces are available to all operators in your project by default. Use Roles & Permissions to limit visibility to specific teams.
Operators can share a Workspace URL with a pre-applied filter state, letting them hand off specific work items directly.
For complete, step-by-step examples, see Example 1: KYC and Example 2: Incident Management. 
