Payload

Quick Start

npx create-payload-app@latest my-app
cd my-app
pnpm dev

Minimal Config

import { buildConfig } from 'payload'
import { mongooseAdapter } from '@payloadcms/db-mongodb'
import { lexicalEditor } from '@payloadcms/richtext-lexical'
import path from 'path'
import { fileURLToPath } from 'url'

const filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)
const dirname = path.dirname(filename)

export default buildConfig({
  admin: {
    user: 'users',
    importMap: {
      baseDir: path.resolve(dirname),
    },
  },
  collections: [Users, Media],
  editor: lexicalEditor(),
  secret: process.env.PAYLOAD_SECRET,
  typescript: {
    outputFile: path.resolve(dirname, 'payload-types.ts'),
  },
  db: mongooseAdapter({
    url: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  }),
})

Essential Patterns

Basic Collection

import type { CollectionConfig } from 'payload'

export const Posts: CollectionConfig = {
  slug: 'posts',
  admin: {
    useAsTitle: 'title',
    defaultColumns: ['title', 'author', 'status', 'createdAt'],
  },
  fields: [
    { name: 'title', type: 'text', required: true },
    { name: 'slug', type: 'text', unique: true, index: true },
    { name: 'content', type: 'richText' },
    { name: 'author', type: 'relationship', relationTo: 'users' },
  ],
  timestamps: true,
}

For more collection patterns (auth, upload, drafts, live preview), see COLLECTIONS.md.

Common Fields

// Text field
{ name: 'title', type: 'text', required: true }

// Relationship
{ name: 'author', type: 'relationship', relationTo: 'users', required: true }

// Rich text
{ name: 'content', type: 'richText', required: true }

// Select
{ name: 'status', type: 'select', options: ['draft', 'published'], defaultValue: 'draft' }

// Upload
{ name: 'image', type: 'upload', relationTo: 'media' }

For all field types (array, blocks, point, join, virtual, conditional, etc.), see FIELDS.md.

Hook Example

export const Posts: CollectionConfig = {
  slug: 'posts',
  hooks: {
    beforeChange: [
      async ({ data, operation }) => {
        if (operation === 'create') {
          data.slug = slugify(data.title)
        }
        return data
      },
    ],
  },
  fields: [{ name: 'title', type: 'text' }],
}

For all hook patterns, see HOOKS.md. For access control, see ACCESS-CONTROL.md.

Access Control with Type Safety

import type { Access } from 'payload'
import type { User } from '@/payload-types'

// Type-safe access control
export const adminOnly: Access = ({ req }) => {
  const user = req.user as User
  return user?.roles?.includes('admin') || false
}

// Row-level access control
export const ownPostsOnly: Access = ({ req }) => {
  const user = req.user as User
  if (!user) return false
  if (user.roles?.includes('admin')) return true

  return {
    author: { equals: user.id },
  }
}

Query Example

// Local API
const posts = await payload.find({
  collection: 'posts',
  where: {
    status: { equals: 'published' },
    'author.name': { contains: 'john' },
  },
  depth: 2,
  limit: 10,
  sort: '-createdAt',
})

// Query with populated relationships
const post = await payload.findByID({
  collection: 'posts',
  id: '123',
  depth: 2, // Populates relationships (default is 2)
})
// Returns: { author: { id: "user123", name: "John" } }

// Without depth, relationships return IDs only
const post = await payload.findByID({
  collection: 'posts',
  id: '123',
  depth: 0,
})
// Returns: { author: "user123" }

For all query operators and REST/GraphQL examples, see QUERIES.md.

Getting Payload Instance

// In API routes (Next.js)
import { getPayload } from 'payload'
import config from '@payload-config'

export async function GET() {
  const payload = await getPayload({ config })

  const posts = await payload.find({
    collection: 'posts',
  })

  return Response.json(posts)
}

// In Server Components
import { getPayload } from 'payload'
import config from '@payload-config'

export default async function Page() {
  const payload = await getPayload({ config })
  const { docs } = await payload.find({ collection: 'posts' })

  return <div>{docs.map(post => <h1 key={post.id}>{post.title}</h1>)}</div>
}

Security Pitfalls

1. Local API Access Control (CRITICAL)

By default, Local API operations bypass ALL access control, even when passing a user.

// ❌ SECURITY BUG: Passes user but ignores their permissions
await payload.find({
  collection: 'posts',
  user: someUser, // Access control is BYPASSED!
})

// ✅ SECURE: Actually enforces the user's permissions
await payload.find({
  collection: 'posts',
  user: someUser,
  overrideAccess: false, // REQUIRED for access control
})

When to use each:

• overrideAccess: true (default) - Server-side operations you trust (cron jobs, system tasks)
• overrideAccess: false - When operating on behalf of a user (API routes, webhooks)

See QUERIES.md#access-control-in-local-api.

2. Transaction Failures in Hooks

Nested operations in hooks without req break transaction atomicity.

// ❌ DATA CORRUPTION RISK: Separate transaction