# Manual setting of object ID in flows

**URL:** <https://community.appfarm.io/t/manual-setting-of-object-id-in-flows/2465>\
**Category:** Ask the community\
**Created:** [October 13, 2026, 10:33am UTC](https://community.appfarm.io/t/manual-setting-of-object-id-in-flows/2465 "2026-10-13T10:33:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Joanna](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.appfarm.io/joanna/32/122_2.png) [@Joanna](https://community.appfarm.io/u/Joanna)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 10:33am UTC](https://community.appfarm.io/t/manual-setting-of-object-id-in-flows/2465/1 "2026-10-13T10:33:47Z")

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Is it intentional that Flows allow for manual setting of Object ID?

 ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/appfarm/original/2X/1/18eb98f30395feeddf1889f21f159393215e43f9.png)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Olav](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.appfarm.io/olav/32/63_2.png) [@Olav](https://community.appfarm.io/u/Olav)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 10:51am UTC](https://community.appfarm.io/t/manual-setting-of-object-id-in-flows/2465/2 "2026-10-13T10:51:17Z")

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Hi Joanna,

Yes, that’s intentional. Being able to set the ID on **Create Object** in Flows was added so Flows can do the same as Services, where you can map the ID when writing incoming data into a data source. It’s mainly useful when you sync data from an external system and want the Appfarm objects to keep that system’s IDs, for example, when a flow endpoint receives records that already have IDs.

A few things to keep in mind:

- **Leave it empty in most cases.** The object then gets an ID generated automatically, just like before.
- **If you do set it, use a valid ObjectId:** a 24-character hexadecimal string (e.g. `65f1a2b3c4d5e6f708192a3b`). Other values (like `"123"`) can cause problems later, for example when you try to reference the object.
- Only set it when you have a specific reason to control the ID.

We agree the UI doesn’t explain this well right now. It doesn’t say what happens if you leave the field empty or what the field is for. We have an improvement in our backlog to make this clearer.

Thanks for flagging it!