Methodologydesign

content-modeling-best-practices

Structured content modeling guidance for schema design, content architecture, content reuse, references versus embedded objects, separation of concerns, and taxonomies across Sanity and other headless CMSes. Use this skill when designing or refactoring content types, deciding field shapes, debating reusable versus nested content, planning omnichannel content models, or reviewing whether a schema is too page-shaped or presentation-driven.

sanity-io/agent-toolkit

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Install

npx skills add https://github.com/sanity-io/agent-toolkit --skill content-modeling-best-practices

Use with your agent

Install the content-modeling-best-practices skill, then use it as build context. Run: npx skills add https://github.com/sanity-io/agent-toolkit --skill content-modeling-best-practices. Then read the installed skill.md and follow its guidance to build or refactor my project.

Content Modeling Best Practices

Principles for designing structured content that's flexible, reusable, and maintainable. These concepts apply to any headless CMS but include Sanity-specific implementation notes.

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

Starting a new project and designing the content model
Evaluating whether content should be structured or free-form
Deciding between references and embedded content
Planning for multi-channel content delivery
Refactoring existing content structures

Core Principles

Content is data, not pages — Structure content for meaning, not presentation
Single source of truth — Avoid content duplication
Future-proof — Design for channels that don't exist yet
Editor-centric — Optimize for the people creating content

References

Start with the reference that matches the modeling decision in front of you, instead of loading every topic at once. See references/ for detailed guidance on specific topics:

references/separation-of-concerns.md — Separating content from presentation
references/reference-vs-embedding.md — When to use references vs embedded objects
references/content-reuse.md — Content reuse patterns and the reuse spectrum
references/taxonomy-classification.md — Flat, hierarchical, and faceted classification