Payload CMS Has a Free API That Makes WordPress Look Ancient

#cms #typescript #api #webdev

Payload CMS is the open-source headless CMS that gives you a full REST and GraphQL API out of the box — with TypeScript, authentication, access control, and file uploads built in.

What Is Payload CMS?

Payload is a TypeScript-first headless CMS built on top of Express and MongoDB/PostgreSQL. Unlike WordPress, everything is code-defined — your content schema IS your TypeScript code.

The API

Every collection you define automatically gets REST and GraphQL endpoints.

Define a Collection

// collections/Posts.ts
import { CollectionConfig } from 'payload/types'

const Posts: CollectionConfig = {
  slug: 'posts',
  access: {
    read: () => true,
    create: ({ req: { user } }) => Boolean(user),
  },
  fields: [
    { name: 'title', type: 'text', required: true },
    { name: 'content', type: 'richText' },
    { name: 'author', type: 'relationship', relationTo: 'users' },
    { name: 'publishedAt', type: 'date' },
    { name: 'tags', type: 'array', fields: [{ name: 'tag', type: 'text' }] },
  ],
}

export default Posts

REST API (auto-generated)

# Get all posts
curl https://your-app.com/api/posts

# Get single post
curl https://your-app.com/api/posts/POST_ID

# Create post (authenticated)
curl -X POST https://your-app.com/api/posts \
  -H 'Authorization: JWT your-token' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"title": "My Post", "content": [{"type": "paragraph", "children": [{"text": "Hello"}]}]}'

# Query with filters
curl 'https://your-app.com/api/posts?where[tags][contains]=javascript&sort=-publishedAt&limit=10'

GraphQL API

query {
  Posts(where: { tags: { contains: "javascript" } }, sort: "-publishedAt", limit: 10) {
    docs {
      id
      title
      author { name email }
      publishedAt
    }
    totalDocs
    totalPages
  }
}

Why Payload Over WordPress?

Feature	Payload CMS	WordPress
Type safety	Full TypeScript	None
API	REST + GraphQL	REST (plugin)
Auth	Built-in JWT	Plugin
Database	MongoDB/Postgres	MySQL only
Admin UI	Auto-generated	Manual
Self-hosted	Yes	Yes
Performance	Fast (Node.js)	Slow (PHP)

Real Use Case: Blog with Auth

import payload from 'payload'

// Login
const { token } = await payload.login({
  collection: 'users',
  data: { email: 'admin@example.com', password: 'secret' },
})

// Create post
const post = await payload.create({
  collection: 'posts',
  data: {
    title: 'Payload CMS is Amazing',
    content: [{ type: 'paragraph', children: [{ text: 'Built with TypeScript!' }] }],
    publishedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
  },
})

console.log(`Created: ${post.id}`)

Getting Started

npx create-payload-app@latest my-app
cd my-app && npm run dev

Your API is live at http://localhost:3000/api. Admin panel at /admin.

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