Articles on: Records

How To Avoid Duplicates With Unique Identifiers

Mark any field as a unique identifier so Breakcold prevents duplicate records from being created — automatically.


What Is a Unique Identifier?

A unique identifier is a field whose value must be different across every record in an object. When a field is marked as unique, Breakcold will block the creation of any new record that has the same value in that field as an existing one.


This is useful for fields that naturally identify a record — like a company website, a LinkedIn URL, an email address, or a record name. Unique identifiers also serve a second purpose: they are used during data imports to match incoming rows against existing records, preventing accidental duplication when re-importing updated data.

Works on any field type — You can mark any field as a unique identifier — Text, Email, URL, LinkedIn, and more. Most system fields like Website and LinkedIn already have it enabled by default.

Step 1 — Open the Field Settings

  1. Go to Settings → Records and click on the object you want to configure (e.g. Companies).
  2. Scroll to the Fields section. Fields that already have a unique identifier enabled show a Unique badge next to their name.
  3. Click the ••• menu on the field you want to make unique, then select Edit.

The Companies fields list — the Unique badge is already applied to Website and LinkedIn by default.

Step 2 — Enable "Use as Unique Identifier"

  1. In the Edit Field modal, scroll down to find the Use as unique identifier toggle.
  2. Toggle it ON. The description confirms: "Value must be unique in this object. Used to match existing records on import."
  3. Click Save Changes.

The Edit Field modal — the "Use as unique identifier" toggle is enabled. It also notes this field is used to match records during imports.
Saving the change — a "Field updated" toast confirms the setting was applied successfully.

Step 3 — Verify the Badge in the Fields List

After saving, return to the fields list. The field now displays a Unique badge, confirming it is enforced as a unique identifier across all records in that object.


The fields list updated — the Name field now shows the "Unique" badge alongside its other tags.

How Duplicate Prevention Works in Practice

Once a field is marked as unique, Breakcold actively checks for conflicts whenever a new record is created. If someone tries to create a record with a value that already exists in a unique field, they will see an inline error message blocking the submission.


Duplicate prevention in action — when a value already exists in a unique field, Breakcold shows a red warning and prevents the record from being created.

Tip — You can also see which fields are unique identifiers directly from the record list view. Hover over a column header marked with a unique icon to see the "Unique Identifier" tooltip.

Unique identifier fields are visually marked in the record list view with a tooltip for easy identification.


Unique Identifiers and Data Imports

Unique identifier fields play a key role during CSV imports. When importing data into Breakcold, the system uses these fields to detect whether an incoming row matches an existing record:

  • If a match is found → the existing record is updated with the new data.
  • If no match is found → a new record is created.

This prevents duplicates when re-importing updated contact or company lists, and ensures your CRM stays clean even with bulk operations.

Important — For import deduplication to work correctly, make sure the unique field you are matching on is consistently filled across both your existing records and your import file.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which fields have unique identifiers enabled by default?
In the Companies object, Website and LinkedIn are unique by default. In the People object, Email and LinkedIn are unique by default. The Name field is not unique by default but can be enabled.
Can I mark multiple fields as unique on the same object?
Yes. You can enable unique identifiers on as many fields as you need. Each one independently prevents duplicates for its respective value.
Can I disable unique identifiers after enabling them?
Yes. Open the field's Edit modal, toggle "Use as unique identifier" off, and save. The restriction is removed immediately.
What happens if existing records already have duplicate values when I enable this?
Enabling the toggle does not retroactively remove or flag existing duplicates. It only prevents new duplicates from being created going forward.
Does this work on custom fields too?
Yes — you can enable unique identifiers on any custom field you've added to an object, not just system fields.

Updated on: 30/03/2026