Feature request: Prevent deletion or renaming of referenced items

[smn-cds]

Summary

When a collection item (or asset) is referenced via a relation widget, it should not be possible to delete or rename that item without addressing existing references. This would prevent broken relations and invalid content states.

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Problem statement

Currently, Sveltia CMS allows users to rename or delete items that are referenced elsewhere via a relation widget. This can easily lead to broken references and runtime errors.

Example scenario

• Collection Categories
• Collection Products
• Products reference categories using a relation widget (based on the category filename)

If a user renames or deletes a category:

• Existing product entries still reference the old filename
• The reference now points to a non-existent item
• This results in broken data and errors in the CMS and/or frontend

This is especially problematic in larger projects where editors may not be aware of all downstream dependencies.

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Proposed solutions

Option 1: Blocking with explicit warning (minimum safeguard)

When a user attempts to rename or delete an item that is still referenced:

• Show a very visible warning

• Clearly list:

  • Which collections reference this item
  • How many entries are affected (ideally with links)

• Require explicit confirmation before proceeding

This at least makes the action intentional and informed.

Option 2: Hard prevention (recommended)

Disallow renaming or deleting items that are referenced via a relation widget.
This could be a feature that is enabled through a config setting on a relation field.

Possible UX:

• Disable the delete/rename action

• Show an explanation such as:

  “This item is currently referenced by 12 product entries and cannot be deleted or renamed.”

This guarantees referential integrity and avoids accidental breakage entirely.

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Extended ideas / enhancements

1. Reference awareness UI

Expose references directly in the editor UI:

• Show a “Referenced by” section on an entry
• Display linked items that depend on it

This improves transparency and editor confidence.

2. Optional cascading updates

For renaming (not deletion), an optional advanced feature:

• Automatically update all references when a filename changes
• Similar to “rename symbol” in code editors

This could be opt-in per project or per collection.

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Broader scope: assets and file references

The same concept applies beyond collection items.

Images and files

• If an image or file is referenced by one or more entries:

  • Prevent deletion, or
  • Warn clearly and list all referencing entries

This would:

• Prevent broken media links
• Avoid invisible content regressions
• Align CMS behavior with database-like referential integrity

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Why this matters

• Prevents silent data corruption
• Reduces editor errors in multi-author environments
• Makes Sveltia CMS safer for larger, more complex content models
• Brings CMS behavior closer to modern schema-aware systems

[kyoshino]

Cascade updates and deletes, including the ability to prevent deletion, are certainly on our roadmap. I think it can be implemented in v2.0.