Learning Payload CMS v3: A Practical Guide

Payload CMS v3 has quickly become a popular choice among developers looking for a highly customizable and powerful headless CMS. In this guide, we'll cover the basics of getting started with Payload CMS v3, helping you leverage its strengths for your next project.

What is Payload CMS v3?

Payload CMS is a self-hosted headless CMS built with TypeScript and Node.js, emphasizing simplicity, extensibility, and developer experience. Version 3 introduces significant enhancements, including improved developer ergonomics, streamlined API interactions, and powerful features for content modeling and management.

Getting Started

Installation

To start, ensure Node.js is installed. Then run:

npx create-payload-app

This command scaffolds a new Payload project with default configurations.

Understanding Collections

Collections are central to Payload CMS, defining the shape of your content.

Here's an example of a simple blog post collection:

// payload.config.ts
collections: [
{
slug: 'posts',
fields: [
{ name: 'title', type: 'text' },
{ name: 'content', type: 'richText' },
{ name: 'published', type: 'checkbox' },
],
},
]

Leveraging Custom Components

Payload CMS v3 supports custom React components for rich field rendering in the admin panel:

fields: [
{
name: 'authorBio',
type: 'ui',
admin: {
components: {
Field: CustomAuthorBio,
},
},
},
];

This enhances the editor's experience by embedding interactive components directly within the CMS interface.

REST and GraphQL APIs

Payload offers both REST and GraphQL endpoints out of the box, allowing seamless integration into any front-end framework or application.

Example GraphQL query to retrieve posts:

query {
posts {
docs {
title
content
}
}
}

Authentication and Access Control

Payload CMS simplifies authentication and role-based access control (RBAC). Configure users and permissions clearly within your payload.config.ts:

access: {
read: () => true,
create: ({ req }) => req.user.role === 'editor',
update: ({ req }) => req.user.role === 'admin',
}

Deployment

Payload CMS v3 can be deployed easily using platforms such as Vercel, Heroku, or Docker. An example deployment to Vercel involves connecting your repository and using a provided build command:

npm run build

Conclusion

Payload CMS v3 offers developers powerful tools and flexible customizations, making it an excellent solution for content management in modern web applications. Start exploring Payload and enhance your next project's capabilities!