How to map authors to posts on BaseBuddy
Connect your existing author records to posts so BaseBuddy can show and save one author assignment per post.
Use this guide when each post has one author, writer, profile, or byline record in your existing database and you want BaseBuddy to show that author in the post editor.
Authors are content records. Members are people who can sign in to BaseBuddy. They can refer to the same real person, but they are not the same thing. Map authors to posts first, then handle member access separately only if someone needs to sign in and work on assigned authored content.
For the full distinction, see Authors vs members: what is the difference?.
Before you start
Map your posts table first and confirm one post opens correctly in the editor. Author mapping depends on the saved posts mapping because BaseBuddy needs to know which table stores posts before it can connect those posts to author records.
The built-in Author field is for one author assignment per post. It works best when your post row stores one stable author reference, such as author_id, that points to an author table.
Do not use this built-in field to promise multi-author editing. If your schema supports multiple authors through a join table, keep that out of this basic author mapping flow unless BaseBuddy shows a safe supported setup for your project.
What BaseBuddy needs
BaseBuddy needs two pieces of information:
| What to map | Example |
|---|---|
| The post-side author assignment | posts.author_id |
| The author record fields editors should recognize | authors.name, authors.email, authors.bio, authors.slug |
Use the stable ID or unique value for the relationship. Use a readable field, usually Name, so editors do not have to choose from raw IDs.
BaseBuddy does not create a new authors table, rename columns, or move byline data into BaseBuddy-owned tables. After you save the mapping, the saved mapping is the source of truth for reads, selectors, validation, and writes.
Open Authors mapping
- Open your BaseBuddy project.
- Select Project Settings in the sidebar.
- Open Content Mapping.
- Confirm Posts mapping is connected.
- Find Authors mapping.
- Click Open Authors mapping.
If the button says Map Posts first, open Posts mapping, finish the posts setup, save it, then return to Authors mapping.
Connect the post author field
In the Authors mapping step, use the Author field to choose where the post stores its author assignment.
For the most common setup, choose the post column that points to your author table, such as author_id, writer_id, or profile_id.
If BaseBuddy detects the foreign key, it can use the related author table for the selector. If the column is unclear, inline-only, generated, view-derived, or trigger-owned, keep the mapping read-only or unsupported until you know the safe write path.
Map readable author fields
In Author fields, choose the fields editors should see for each author record.
| Author field | Good choices |
|---|---|
| Name | name, full_name, display_name, author_name, writer_name |
email, author_email, writer_email | |
| Bio | bio, about, description, summary |
| Slug | slug, handle, username |
The Name field is the most important because it makes the post editor selector readable. Email, bio, and slug are useful only if your team needs them for display or author management.
Save the mapping
- Click Finish.
- Review the Save content mapping? confirmation.
- Click Save mapping.
Team members with access to the project will be able to view and edit content from the sources you connected, so make sure the author source is the right content table before saving.
After saving, BaseBuddy reloads from the latest saved mapping. Normal Save writes only dirty mapped fields. Changing the author on a post should write only the mapped author assignment, not publish, unpublish, archive, reshape your tables, or convert the relation into another storage shape.
Check the post editor
Open a known post after the mapping is saved. The post sidebar should show Author with the expected author selected.
To test safely:
- Open a draft, internal test post, or another low-risk post.
- Change the Author field to another known author.
- Click Save.
- Inspect the same post in Supabase or your database client.
- Confirm only the mapped author assignment changed.
If the wrong author appears, review the author relation before inviting author-scoped members. Author-scoped access depends on this mapping being correct.
Keep authors and members separate
An author is a content or byline record. A member is a signed-in BaseBuddy user.
Only invite someone as a member when they need to sign in to BaseBuddy. If a contributor should only work on their own authored posts, first verify this post-author mapping, then assign member access and author scopes.
For that next step, use How to set up authors on BaseBuddy, How to invite users to your BaseBuddy project, and Permissions and roles: how BaseBuddy handles them.
What this guide does not cover
This guide does not cover creating author records, inviting members, assigning author scopes, or setting up multi-author post editing.
It also does not cover reshaping your schema. BaseBuddy maps the author storage you already have. If your current author relationship is unsafe or unsupported, leave it read-only until the database owner confirms the correct write path.
Related guides
- Authors vs members: what is the difference?
- How to set up authors on BaseBuddy
- How to map a posts table
- How mapping works on BaseBuddy
- How to fix a field showing as read-only