> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.qrtub.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Keywords

> The core Keywords field: entering multiple values, why the chips are colored, and the comma-versus-semicolon difference between the form and CSV

Keywords is the core field that holds a list of values rather than a single one. It is where
cross-cutting labels go — `site-a`, `hired-in`, `needs-service` — the kind of thing you would
not create a dedicated field for.

## Entering keywords

By default Keywords is a plain text box and you type your values separated by commas:

```text theme={null}
site-a, hired-in, needs-service
```

Each value is trimmed, empty entries are dropped, and duplicates are removed, so
`site-a, , site-a` is stored as the single keyword `site-a`.

## Turning Keywords into a picker

Add Allowed Values to the Keywords field in the Collection's Fields tab and the text box becomes a
multi-select list of those options. This is what you want once a team is sharing a Collection —
it stops `site-a`, `Site A` and `sitea` from all existing at once.

Keywords ships with **Allow new values** turned on, so even as a picker it keeps an "Add new\..."
box in the dropdown: someone can still add a value that is not on the list, and it is registered
for everyone to reuse. Turn Allow new values off and both the item form and CSV import reject
any value outside the list.

## Why the chips are colored

Chip colors come from the Allowed Values list, not from the Item. Each allowed value can be given
a color, and that color is used wherever the value is rendered — the items table and the Page
someone sees after scanning. Configure the color once on the field and it applies everywhere.

A value that was typed freely and has no matching allowed value simply renders with no color. That
is the usual reason a chip looks plain next to colored siblings.

On a Page, both the Keywords section and the ItemHeader section's chips default to the
`{{item.tags}}` binding, so keywords show up without you configuring anything.

## Keywords in CSV files

Keywords use a **semicolon** in CSV, not a comma — commas separate columns:

```text theme={null}
name,tags
Excavator 203,site-a; hired-in
```

Exports join the values with `; `, and imports accept them with or without the space after the
semicolon. A cell with no semicolon is imported as a single-value list.

## Related

* [What Is an Item?](/items/overview)
* [Allowed Values](/fields/allowed-values)
* [Allow New Values](/fields/allow-new-values)
* [Importing Items from CSV](/import-export/importing-items)

<Note>
  The field is labelled **Keywords**, but its binding keeps the stable code name — write
  `{{item.tags}}`, not `{{item.keywords}}`. Renaming a user-facing label never changes a binding;
  see [Renaming a Field](/fields/renaming-a-field).
</Note>