This feature requires an Enterprise plan.
Custom metadata fields let administrators define a structured schema — required fields, controlled vocabularies, defaults — that automatically applies to every video in scope, so every contributor uploads to the same standard. This article describes how the schema is configured, what field types are supported, how contributors fill values in, how mandatory fields block public sharing, and how to bulk-edit, backfill, filter, and surface non-compliant videos.
In this article:
- What to know before using custom metadata
- Field types and required vs. optional
- How an admin creates a custom metadata field
- How contributors fill in custom metadata
- Mandatory fields and public sharing
- Bulk edit, backfill, and the admin compliance view
- Filtering videos by custom metadata
- API access
- Frequently asked questions
What to know before using custom metadata
- Plan requirement: custom metadata is included with Vimeo Enterprise at no extra charge. It is not included with Vimeo Custom.
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Where it is configured:
- For organizations with Workspaces, custom metadata is configured and enforced at the Workspace level. Each Workspace defines its own schema. See How to edit my Workspace's settings.
- For organizations without Workspaces, custom metadata is configured and enforced at the organization level.
- Who can manage fields: only Workspace Administrators, Organization Owners, and Organization Administrators can create, edit, or delete custom metadata fields.
- Who can fill values: any user with upload or edit access to a video can fill in custom metadata values on that video, at upload time or later from the video settings page.
Field types and required vs. optional
The following field types are supported:
- Text — free-text input.
- Integer — whole numbers.
- Dropdown — single-select from a controlled vocabulary (allowed values).
- Multi-select — multiple selections from a controlled vocabulary.
- Boolean — true / false.
- Date — a calendar date.
Each field can be marked required or optional. Dropdown and multi-select fields support up to 20 allowed values per field.
How an admin creates a custom metadata field
- Navigate to your Workspace (or Organization, if no Workspaces are configured) settings and open the Custom metadata section.
- Select Add field and configure:
- Field name and (optional) description.
- Field type (text, integer, dropdown, multi-select, boolean, or date).
- For dropdown and multi-select: enter the allowed values (up to 20).
- Mark as Required if it must be filled before a video can be shared publicly.
- Default value (applied to new uploads).
- On the next step, choose how to handle existing videos:
- Choose a backfill value for existing videos. This can differ from the default applied to new uploads.
- Decide whether to override videos that already have a value for this field, or leave their existing values untouched.
- Save the field. It immediately becomes available on the video settings page for every video in scope.
You can edit a field's name, description, allowed values, default, or required flag at any time. You can also delete a field — deleting removes it from the schema; videos retain their previously entered values unless you backfill or replace them. Changing a field's type is not supported for most type combinations.
How contributors fill in custom metadata
Custom metadata fields appear in a dedicated Custom metadata section on each video's settings page, dynamically rendered from your schema. Contributors can fill values at upload time or anytime later from the video settings page.
Required fields are clearly marked. The video can be saved without them, but it cannot be shared publicly until they are completed (see below).
Mandatory fields and public sharing
When a contributor attempts to share a video publicly while one or more required fields are still empty, those fields are highlighted in red and the share action is blocked until all required values are provided. This applies to all public-share surfaces (public links, embeds, social, showcases).
Private sharing within the Workspace or Organization is not blocked by missing mandatory fields.
Bulk edit, backfill, and the admin compliance view
- Bulk edit: from the admin settings page, administrators can bulk-edit custom metadata across multiple videos in one action — setting, replacing, or clearing values.
- Backfill at field creation: when adding a new field, choose a backfill value and whether to override existing videos that already have a value for that field.
- Admin compliance view: a dedicated section in admin settings lists all videos missing one or more mandatory fields. Use it to clean up legacy content without cluttering the main library.
Filtering videos by custom metadata
Once fields are defined, you can filter your library and search results by custom field and value (for example, Department = Marketing). Multi-select fields filter on any selected value; boolean and date fields filter on exact match.
API access
All custom metadata operations are available via the Vimeo API:
- Create, read, update, and delete custom metadata field definitions.
- Get and set custom metadata values on video objects programmatically.
For developer documentation, see Vimeo Developers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I require certain custom fields before a video can be shared?
Yes. Mark a field as required, and videos cannot be shared publicly until all required fields are completed.
What field types are supported?
Text, integer, dropdown, multi-select, boolean, and date. Dropdown and multi-select support controlled vocabularies of up to 20 allowed values per field.
Can I edit or delete a custom field after creating it?
Yes. You can edit the name, description, allowed values, default, and required flag at any time. Changing the field type is not supported for most combinations. Deleting a field removes it from the schema; existing videos keep their previously entered values unless you backfill or replace them.
Can I set a different default value for new videos vs. existing videos during backfill?
Yes. The default value (applied to new uploads) and the backfill value (applied to existing videos) are configured independently in the two-step field creation flow.
What happens if I remove an option from a dropdown or multi-select?
You will see a warning before the change is applied. If you continue, any videos that had that option selected will no longer have it.
What happens if I rename a dropdown or multi-select option?
All videos using that option are automatically updated with the new name.
Can I use custom metadata to drive automation (auto-categorize, trigger approvals)?
Automation rules driven by custom metadata are not part of this release. You can build the same logic yourself today using the Vimeo API.