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A picklist is the reusable list of allowed values (options) that a dropdown field points at. One admin defines the list once, and every dropdown that references it offers the same choices. Picklists keep your campaign vocabulary consistent, so a utm_source of newsletter always means the same thing across every submission.
Terminus Hub has three kinds of picklist. Two of them, static and hierarchical, are hand-authored. The third, automated, draws its options live from another taxonomy’s records. Hierarchical is not a separate type under the hood: it is a static picklist that links to a parent, so its options narrow based on what was picked higher up the chain.

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When to use each

  • Pick static when you own a fixed vocabulary that changes rarely or needs review before it changes (goals, regions, product lines, priorities).
  • Pick hierarchical when one choice should narrow the next, like medium then source, or country then region. You build it as a parent static picklist plus a child static picklist linked to it.
  • Pick automated when the options already exist as approved records in another taxonomy, and you want the list to grow on its own as that taxonomy grows.

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Comparison

Multi-select (multiple: true on a dropdown) is supported only for flat static picklists. It cannot be combined with a hierarchical or automated picklist. See Dropdown field.

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Browse the types

Static

A hand-authored list of options (code plus an optional label). The most common picklist.

Hierarchical

A static picklist linked to a parent. Child options narrow based on the parent selection.

Automated

Options sourced from approved records in another taxonomy. Grows as that taxonomy grows.

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Core ideas

  • Code: the value saved on the record when an option is chosen. Treat codes as fixed. Renaming a code leaves records that already used the old value without a matching option.
  • Label: the human-readable text shown in the dropdown (the option’s description). Safe to change at any time without affecting saved records.
  • The list is closed: submitters pick from the options the published model offers; they cannot add values from inside a form. When a field’s values change too fast for admin curation, use a Text field with Suggest from past entries instead of a dropdown. See Letting submitters enter new values.
  • Option filters: a dropdown can show only a subset of a picklist’s options, set per taxonomy or overridden per workspace, so different teams see different slices of the same master list.

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Gotchas

  • Hierarchical is built from static. There is no standalone “hierarchical” type to choose. You create a parent static picklist and a child static picklist that links to it. See Hierarchical picklists.
  • Automated options are read-only here. You cannot add, edit, or remove an automated picklist’s options. They reflect the approved records of the source taxonomy. Change the records to change the options.
  • You cannot delete a picklist that is still in use. A picklist referenced by a field, or one that has child picklists, cannot be deleted until those references are removed.