---
id: reference.metadata-context
title: Metadata and context
summary: Use record context and metadata fields to make Teammately cases easier to filter, review, and analyze.
kind: reference
product_area: reference
status: stable
updated: 2026-09-07
canonical: /docs/reference/metadata-and-context
---

# Metadata and context

## Definition

Metadata and context are the supporting fields that make records and cases understandable after they move through import, review, coverage, and benchmark workflows. Context explains the situation; metadata helps filter, segment, trace, and compare it.

Use this page when a case is technically present but not useful because reviewers cannot see why it belongs in a behavior slice or what source information should be considered.

## Fields, states, or lifecycle rules

- Context should preserve the information a reviewer needs to judge the case.
- Metadata should support filtering, coverage planning, benchmark segmentation, and run interpretation.
- Metadata is not a substitute for output identity or source context.
- Dropped or inconsistent metadata can make coverage look balanced while hiding a missing behavior segment.
- This page does not define a public metadata schema or export format.

## Related objects

Metadata and context should be read with [Cases](/docs/assets/cases), [Importing cases](/docs/operating-manual/import-and-prepare-cases), [Case versions](/docs/governance/case-versioning), and [Coverage Engineering](/docs/coverage-engineering).

{% example-demo title="Metadata and context boundary" %}
Raw record: A support transcript includes a customer request, account tier, candidate answer, and later human correction.

Context: The account tier and correction explain why the answer was unsafe.

Metadata: The case can be segmented as exception request, enterprise tier, and human-corrected source.

Interpretation: If that context or metadata is dropped, review and coverage work can still run but the evidence becomes harder to trust.
{% /example-demo %}

## Source confidence

Code-backed: Cases and record presentation expose contextual fields to reviewers, while Case Pool column mapping and upload-queue types show how imported columns become usable record context. Field availability depends on Project configuration; this is not a universal metadata schema.

## Related task pages

{% related-card-grid title="Related task pages" %}
- [Cases](/docs/assets/cases)
- [Importing cases](/docs/operating-manual/import-and-prepare-cases)
- [Connect model outputs](/docs/integrations/connect-model-outputs)
- [Product quickstart](/docs/quickstart)
- [Task index](/docs/operating-manual/task-index)
{% /related-card-grid %}