Create lists
Create lists for your workflows and projects.
Available on all plans.
Available for all workspace members.
What is a list?
A list is where you add, organize, and track your records in Attio. You can create lists for all of your workflows and projects.
For help choosing the right lists and understanding how they work with objects and views, see Define your data model: objects, lists, and views.
For a video walkthrough of creating and managing lists, see Lists in Attio Academy.
Once you have some records in your list, you can add attributes such as labels, stages, and other fields to organize your data. Visualize your network with different view types like kanban and table views, and use filters to sort and refine your list. Lists can be shared with your team, or kept private.
Create a list
To create a new list, select the + beside Lists in the sidebar. Then choose whether you'd like to start with a template, or click Start from scratch to set up your list manually.
Use a template
When creating a new list you can choose from our templates, organized by popular use cases. When you choose to start with a template, your list will be pre-populated with some useful attributes and views to help you get started. From that starting point, you can edit and further customize your list at any time.
Start from scratch
If you choose to start from scratch, first choose the object you want to use. You can only have one object in your new list. If you're choosing between companies and people, consider whether you will be primarily adding data points about people or their companies, and keep in mind you can only mass send emails to people. Also give your list a unique name.
Then select a view type to start with, either a table or a kanban view. Learn more about view types.
Duplicate lists
You can duplicate an existing list if you'd like to use the same views and attributes but with different records. To duplicate a list, open the list you'd like to duplicate, select the ⋮ icon in the top right corner, then select Duplicate list.
When you duplicate a list, all list-specific attributes and views will be copied into a new list. Records from the original list are not automatically copied during list duplication. If you want to also add the same records to the new list, select them in bulk, then click Add to list and select the new list. Learn more about moving records between lists.
Create a view
Views allow you to see the same list data in different configurable ways. You can easily switch between views and apply filters to get the most out of your list data. Views you create will be visible to everyone who has access to the list. Learn more about list access.
To create a new view:
Open the views dropdown beneath your list name or on an All records page
Select + Create new at the bottom of the dropdown, or select the ⋮
icon next to a view and choose Duplicate to make a copy of it
If you are creating a new view, select the type of view you would like to create and give your view a name
There are two types of views, Table views and Kanban views:
Table views are like super customizable databases in Attio. You can track a list of records, with each of its attributes represented by a column. Learn more about setting up and customizing your table view.
Kanban views let you track records through the stages of a workflow or process. Records appear as cards in your kanban view, and you can move them through your pipeline with drag-and-drop. Learn more about configuring and customizing your kanban view.
Adding records to lists
A record in Attio contains information about a specific item or entity. A specific person or a specific company are the most common examples of records in Attio. In the image above, you can see a typical list populated with records. A record might represent a deal, opportunity, candidate, etc. Records are represented as a row in a table view, or a card in a kanban view. Learn more about views in Attio.
To add a record to a list, hit e within the list and search for the record, or click the + at the top of the first column. You can also hit cmd + k and add a record from the quick actions menu by clicking Add to list. If a record already exists in your workspace, you’ll see their name suggested as you begin to type. If the person or company doesn’t yet exist as a record in your workspace, you’ll be prompted to create one.
When you go to add a record to a list that is already in the list, you will see the option to select the record already in the list to edit the attribute values for the existing instance, or you can click + Add duplicate to add it to the list again. Clicking + Add duplicate here will not create a duplicate record; it is just adding the record to the list again.
Note: To customize which attributes are shown when adding a record to a list, see Create templates (available on Pro and Enterprise plans).
You can also add records in bulk by selecting the checkboxes for the records on Objects pages or in other lists, then clicking Add to List at the bottom of the page. Records can also be added to lists in bulk by CSV import.
Keep in mind that each list can only hold one type of object (e.g. companies or people). You won't be able to add people to a companies list, or vice versa.
Note: You must have at least Read and write access or be an admin in order to add records.
Sharing lists
You can share your lists with your team and collaborate in real-time. Learn more about sharing and collaborating, and managing list access.
Importing and exporting lists
Reference Import data into Attio via CSV for a guide to bringing data into a list, and Export lists and views to export a CSV file of your list data.
Frequently asked questions
All records views under Records (such as views on the People and Companies pages) are good for seeing all contacts that fit certain criteria. Since All records pages hold records for a particular object, as new records are automatically created for people and companies you or your team members email or have calendar events with, they will be included automatically. Some good examples of All records view use cases would be seeing things like all companies in a certain city, or people with large Twitter followings, or people you've emailed/had calendar events with in the last week.
Lists are more intended to represent specific processes or projects. You will need to identify which records are relevant to your list and add them manually. Unlike All records views, which are visible to all members of a workspace, it's possible to restrict who can view a list.
You can create multiple views within the same list, and all views will hold all records in the list, but you can use filters to show/hide different subsets of records on each view. You can create lists with our list templates to see how we've set up the list and different views within the list as examples.
In addition, with lists you can create list attributes, which are data points that will only show in that list but nowhere else in Attio. This allows you to track data that is relevant to records or a process represented in that particular list, but may not be relevant to all records of that specific object across your workspace.
When you are putting the same record through a process more than once, for example if you have more than one deal or opportunity with the same company, you can add it to a list multiple times.
When you go to add a record to a list that is already in the list, you will see the option to select the record already in the list to edit the attribute values for the existing instance, or you can click + Add duplicate to add it to the list again. Clicking + Add duplicate here will not create a duplicate record; it is just adding the record to the list again.
Each time you add the record to the list, you can set different list attribute values to represent different deals or opportunities, etc. Keep in mind, though, that object attribute values are set on the record level, so those values will be consistent for all deals, opportunities, or other entries tied to the same person or company. Learn more about attributes.
Each list is specific to companies or people. When you open a list, you will see Companies or People designated to the right of the list name.
If you are trying to add a record to a list but don't see the list as an option, consider whether you are trying to add a person to a companies list or a company to a people list, which won't be possible.
When you go to create a list from scratch, ask yourself whether it is mainly data about people or companies that you will be tracking in the list.
For example, if you have a "Deal Flow" list, you may want to track things like the number of employees at the company, the company's category, or the company's city. In that case, it's best to use a list of companies rather than a list of people, and you can always pull in your point(s) of contact by adding an attribute column for it.
Alternatively, if you have a "Recruiting" list, it probably makes more sense to have a list of people rather than companies. You can also pull in "Company" as an attribute in your list of people. Learn more about attributes.
All records views (such as views on the People and Companies pages) are good for seeing all contacts that fit certain criteria. As new records are automatically created for people and companies you or your team members email or have calendar events with, they will be included automatically on the People and Companies pages. Some good examples of all records view use cases would be seeing things like all companies in a certain city, or people with large Twitter followings, or people you've emailed/had calendar events with in the last week.
Lists are more intended to represent specific workflows or projects. You will need to identify which records are relevant to your list and add them manually. Unlike object views which are visible to all members of a workspace, it's possible to restrict who can view a list.
You can create multiple views within the same list, and all views will hold all records in the list, but you can use filters to show/hide different subsets of records on each view. You can create lists with our list templates to see how we've set up the list and different views within the list as examples.
In addition, with lists you can create list attributes, which are data points that will only show in that list but nowhere else in Attio. This allows you to track data that is relevant to records in that particular list, but may not be relevant to all people/companies across your workspace.
We generally recommend using different lists only when you're going to be working with entirely different sets of records and tracking different data points - for example, one list for recruiting and another list for a sales deal pipeline. Keep in mind that list attributes are only able to be viewed in the list where they're created.
For seeing different subsets of records within a single list, you can create multiple views, and add filters on each view to narrow down which records are relevant.
For example, you can have a "Recruiting" list with a select attribute for "Role". You can create multiple views, filtering each view using the "Role" attribute to show one role per view. So within your "Recruiting" list, you can have different views for "Marketing specialist", "Customer support specialist", and "Engineering manager", for example. Other list attributes such as "Role level", "Manager", "Stage", and "Potential start date" can be used across all views in the list.
For simple sales processes, using the Sales list (available as a list template) is an easy way to get started. If you're looking for a more robust, scalable solution, we'd recommend using the Deals object. Check out this video for a walkthrough of Deals vs. Sales lists.
The key difference between the Deals object and a Sales list of companies is that a deal record can be your central source of truth for notes, tasks, and attribute values related to that deal. In addition, with deals you can use relationship attributes to link them to records of other objects like people, companies, etc., and you can customize record pages to show the relevant data in a format that makes most sense for your team.
The same cannot be said of entries in a companies list. You can store deal-related information in a company record, but if multiple teams will use companies, that record could become cluttered quickly. A sales person will want to easily see the information that's relevant to them for a specific deal that is in progress, which is easier with Deals, especially if there may be more than one deal in progress with a single company.