> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.twenty.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Navigation Menu Items

> Add custom entries to the workspace sidebar — links to saved views or external URLs.

A **navigation menu item** is an entry in the left sidebar. Use `defineNavigationMenuItem()` to ship custom sidebar links — typically one per [view](/developers/extend/apps/layout/views) you ship — or to point at external URLs.

```ts src/navigation-menu-items/example-navigation-menu-item.ts theme={null}
import { defineNavigationMenuItem, NavigationMenuItemType } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
import { EXAMPLE_VIEW_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER } from '../views/example-view';

export default defineNavigationMenuItem({
  universalIdentifier: '9327db91-afa1-41b6-bd9d-2b51a26efb4c',
  name: 'example-navigation-menu-item',
  icon: 'IconList',
  color: 'blue',
  position: 0,
  type: NavigationMenuItemType.VIEW,
  viewUniversalIdentifier: EXAMPLE_VIEW_UNIVERSAL_IDENTIFIER,
});
```

## Key points

* `type` determines what the menu item links to. Each type pairs with a specific identifier field:

  | Type                                 | What it does                         | Required field                                                                |
  | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
  | `NavigationMenuItemType.VIEW`        | Opens a saved view                   | `viewUniversalIdentifier`                                                     |
  | `NavigationMenuItemType.LINK`        | Opens an external URL                | `link`                                                                        |
  | `NavigationMenuItemType.FOLDER`      | Groups nested items under a label    | `name` (and child items reference the folder via `folderUniversalIdentifier`) |
  | `NavigationMenuItemType.OBJECT`      | Opens an object's default index page | `targetObjectUniversalIdentifier`                                             |
  | `NavigationMenuItemType.PAGE_LAYOUT` | Opens a standalone page layout       | `pageLayoutUniversalIdentifier`                                               |

* `position` controls ordering in the sidebar.

* `icon` and `color` are optional and customize how the entry looks.

* `folderUniversalIdentifier` is also available on any item to nest it inside a `FOLDER`-type parent.

<Note>
  **Common pitfall:** creating an object without an associated view + navigation menu item makes that object invisible to users. Unless it's a technical/internal object, every custom object should have a default view *and* a sidebar entry pointing at it.
</Note>