# Copy a content entry to another project

Copy a saved content entry into a different Hygraph project you belong to, matching fields and locales into a model there.

Copy a saved content entry into a different project you belong to, without leaving the entry you're working on. Hygraph saves a draft in the target project. It does not publish the copied entry automatically.

If you want to make a copy of a content entry in the same project, you can [duplicate the entry](https://hygraph.com/docs/developer-guides/content/duplicating-content).

## Permissions

- You must belong to the target project to copy an entry into it. 
- You need to have permission to create entries in the target model. 

## Steps

You cannot copy an entry to another project from a new, unsaved entry form, from assets, or from variants.

1. Open a saved content entry.
2. Click **⋯** (**More actions**) in the entry title bar, then click **Copy to project**.
3. In the **Copy entry to another project** dialog, choose the following:
        - **Project**: Only projects you belong to appear in **Project**.
        - **Environment**: If a project has more than one environment, you can select the environment you want to copy into.
        - **Model**: Only models you can create entries in appear in **Model**. The Model list isn't filtered by schema compatibility. You can select any model you can create entries in, even one with no matching fields.
4. Click **Continue**. Depending on the schema in the source and target projects, one of the following happens:
        
**The entry is copied and saved**

Hygraph saves the entry in the target project as a draft. Click **Open entry** to view the entry in a new tab. If the target project has a content freeze, the entry is saved as read-only until the freeze is lifted.

[Video: Copy and save an entry to another project](https://eu-central-1-shared-euc1-02.graphassets.com/AvHQ3RDvFSousA8iwElOKz/cmubcpfzi0f0706vzhubjk31j)

**The entry is saved, but some content was skipped**

Some values are skipped per the [copy rules](#copy-rules), such as locales the target doesn't have or references that can't cross projects. Hygraph still saves the entry in the target project as a draft with everything else copied. 

[Video: Copy and save an entry to another project, with some values skipped](https://eu-central-1-shared-euc1-02.graphassets.com/AvHQ3RDvFSousA8iwElOKz/cmubdtmyi483v06vziwg26j9o)

**The entry is copied but not saved**

The entry is successfully copied into the other project, but the target project rejects it when Hygraph tries to save it. This may be because of a required field the source model doesn't have, a required relation that got skipped, or a unique title or slug that already exists. Click **Continue in <i>target project name</i>** to fix the problem there and save the entry. However, if there is a content freeze in the target project, the entry can only be saved after the freeze is lifted.

[Video: Copy an entry to another project, but the save fails](https://eu-central-1-shared-euc1-02.graphassets.com/AvHQ3RDvFSousA8iwElOKz/cmubdtcgs4aoy07vyevyy1xuh)

**The entry is not copied**

Hygraph opens a **Can't copy this entry** dialog with a **Schema doesn't match** alert: "This entry can't be copied to `{model}`. Some fields don't match the target schema." Below it, a **Fields** list names every conflicting field and why, such as a field whose copied value is localized when the target field isn't. Click **Back** to choose a different project or model, or you can modify the target model's schema first. 

[Video: The entry cannot be copied due to schema mismatch](https://eu-central-1-shared-euc1-02.graphassets.com/AvHQ3RDvFSousA8iwElOKz/cmube83ku53vl07vyde94wzb0)

## Copy rules

Hygraph matches fields by the API ID. You can copy an entry from an `Article` model into a `Page` model, as long as the fields match by API ID. Extra fields that only exist on the target model stay empty.

Use this as a reference for exactly which options block a copy, which ones get skipped silently, and which ones don't matter at all.

**Does not copy the entry**

Hygraph opens the **Can't copy this entry** dialog if there is a mismatch in any of the following options between the source and target field. Extra fields that exist only on the target do not block the copy and stay empty.
| Option | Must match |
| --- | --- |
| Field API ID | The source field must exist on the target, under the same API ID. |
| Field type | String, number, boolean, date, rich text, enumeration, taxonomy, component, relation, and union. |
| List vs. single | The **Allow multiple values** setting. |
| Localized field | The **Localize field** option must match for fields and for localized components. |
| Target field visibility | The target field must be editable. Read-only or hidden fields block the copy. |
| Enum values in use | The selected values must exist on the target enumeration, by value API ID. Unused extra values on the source do not block the copy. |
| Taxonomy nodes in use | The selected nodes must exist on the target. Unused extra nodes on the source do not block the copy. |
| Component type | That component's API ID must be allowed on the target field. |
| Relation's related model | The target field must accept that model's API ID. If it does, the related **entries** are still skipped, because they live in another project. |
| Rich text embeds | If the source entry actually embeds models in rich text, the target must allow embeds and those models. |
| Component list length | Must fit within the target project's component list limit. |

**Does not affect copying**

These can differ between source and target without blocking the copy. Hygraph creates a draft when the rest of the entry matches. Some of these are enforced only while saving the entry. You might need to finish creating the entry in the target project manually.

**Enforced only on save:**
- **Make field required.** An empty required field on the target can prevent save, including a required field that exists only on the target, or a required relation that was skipped.
- **Set field as unique.** Save can fail if that value already exists in the target.
- Field validations such as regex or length.

**Ignored for matching and for save:**
- **Use as title field.** The value is copied as-is.
- Initial value for required fields (for models that do not have any content entries yet).
- Migration value for required fields (for models that already have content entries).
- Conditional visibility.
- Enable variants. Variant entries cannot be copied to another project.
- Model API ID. You can copy from `Article` into `Page` if the fields match.
- Display name.
- Description.
- Renderer and app field configuration. The target field's renderer is used.
- Remote fields and remote sources. These are not copied.

**Skips field values and saves a draft**

These are left out when they cannot be represented in the target project. Matching still succeeds, and Hygraph saves the entry as a draft with everything else copied. Studio lists what was skipped.
- References and relations. These are always skipped, because the related entries live in another project.
- Rich text that includes embedded entries. The written text is copied, but the embeds are left out, because those entries live in the other project. If the target field does not allow those embeds at all, Hygraph blocks the copy instead.
- Locales the target doesn't have, or that you can't edit there.
- An empty relation is not shown as skipped, since there's nothing to skip.

### Localized fields

Before copying, Hygraph checks the following localization settings on a field:

- The **Localize field** option must match. If a field is localized in the source model and not localized in the target model, or the reverse, that's a schema mismatch. Hygraph blocks the copy. The same rule applies to a component's own localized setting.
- The set of languages doesn't have to match. Once a field's **Localize field** option matches, Hygraph matches individual locales by API ID, such as `en` or `de`. The languages available on each project need not be the same.

| Condition | Outcome |
| --- | --- |
| Same locale on both projects, and you can edit it in the target | Copied |
| Source has a locale the target doesn't, such as `fr` | That locale is skipped. Other matching locales still copy, and Hygraph creates the draft. |
| Target has a locale the source doesn't, such as `es` | That locale stays empty on the new draft. |
| The locale exists on the target, but you can't edit it there | Skipped as a permission restriction, not a schema error. |
| The target's default locale | Always enabled on the draft, even if the source entry never used it. |

### Required fields

Hygraph ignores the **Make field required** setting while checking whether the entry matches the target model. A field that's optional in one project and required in the other doesn't block the copy, as long as the field itself is the same field type.

If the target model has a required field the source model doesn't have, that field stays empty, and auto-saving the draft in the target project does not work. In this case, you need to manually update the required field value in the copied content entry in the target project, and then save the content entry.

### Title field

Hygraph ignores the **Use as title field** setting while matching. It isn't compared, and the values are copied like any other string field as long as the API IDs match.

Hygraph does not check for field value uniqueness while matching. If the target's title or slug must be unique and that value already exists on another entry in the target project, saving the entry can fail. In this case, you need to manually update the title or slug value in the copied content entry in the target project, and then save the content entry.

## What this does not do

- Copy the entry into the same project. Use [Duplicate content](https://hygraph.com/docs/developer-guides/content/duplicating-content) instead to create another entry in the same project.
- Copy assets or variants.
- Publish the new entry automatically.
- Copy related entries or schema along with the content. Use [Import schema](https://hygraph.com/docs/developer-guides/schema/import-schema) to bring over structure, or [Clone your project](https://hygraph.com/docs/developer-guides/project/clone-your-project) to copy an entire project.
- Copy remote fields.
- Merge into or overwrite an existing entry in the target project.