# Collaborators

## User Perspective
Collaborators are people who appear in videos (guests, co-hosts, sponsors). Defining them centrally allows description templates to include their links automatically via tokens.

### Collaborator Fields
- Name (required)
- YouTube link (full URL)
- Twitch, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, Bluesky links
- Discord handle
- Aliases (alternate names/handles)
- Notes

### Usage in Descriptions
In Variable-type blocks, use tokens like `{collab.youtube}`, `{collab.name}` etc. These are resolved based on which collaborators are assigned to the video via `Video.collaboratorIds`.

## Developer Perspective

### Tracking
Collaborators are assigned to videos via `Video.collaboratorIds` — a JSON string array on the `Video` row. There is no separate join table. This single field drives both description rendering and the `collaboratorId` filter on the video list. Use the `array_contains` Prisma operator when querying it.

### Token Mapping
| Token | Resolves to |
|---|---|
| `{collab.name}` | Collaborator.name |
| `{collab.youtube}` | Full URL: `https://www.youtube.com/@handle` (not just handle) |
| `{collab.twitch}` | Collaborator.twitchLink |
| `{collab.instagram}` | Collaborator.instagramLink |
| `{collab.tiktok}` | Collaborator.tiktokLink |
| `{collab.twitter}` | Collaborator.twitterLink |
| `{collab.bluesky}` | Collaborator.blueskyLink |
| `{collab.discord}` | Collaborator.discordHandle |
| `{collab.aliases}` | Joined alias list |
| `{collab.notes}` | Collaborator.notes |

**Note:** `{collab.handle}` is a deprecated token. It was renamed to `{collab.youtube}`. Blocks still using `{collab.handle}` will not resolve.

## Related
- [[02 - Description Engine]]
- [[05 - Collaborators API]]
- [[07 - Render Engine]] (architecture)