Payload OpenAPI Plugin

Autogenerate an OpenAPI specification from your Payload CMS instance and use it for documentation or to generate client SDKs.

Roadmap

• Complete description of collection CRUD endpoints
• Complete description of globals CRUD endpoints
• Integrated Swagger UI and Rapidoc
• Authentication endpoints and specification
• Preferences endpoints
• Support Payload CMS 3.x
• Support generating both OpenAPI 3.0 and 3.1
• Collection and global filtering
• Custom endpoints

Installation

You can install the plugin using your preferred package manager:

• pnpm add payload-oapi
• npm install payload-oapi
• yarn add payload-oapi

Setup

1. Add the OpenAPI core plugin

To add the OpenAPI specification endpoint to your Payload app, simply import the openapi plugin and add it to your payload configuration:

import { openapi } from 'payload-oapi'

buildConfig({
  plugins: [
    openapi({ openapiVersion: '3.0', metadata: { title: 'Dev API', version: '0.0.1' } }),
  ],
  // ...
})

2. Add a documentation UI plugin (optional)

To provide a user interface for your API documentation, you can add one of the following plugins:

• scalar
• swaggerUI
• rapidoc
• redoc

Example usage:

import { openapi, scalar, swaggerUI, rapidoc, redoc } from 'payload-oapi'

// Choose one documentation UI plugins as needed
buildConfig({
  plugins: [
    openapi(/* ... */),
    // Uncomment the UI you want to use:
    scalar({ /* ...options */ }),
    // swaggerUI({ /* ...options */ }),
    // rapidoc({ /* ...options */ }),
    // redoc({ /* ...options */ }),
  ],
  // ...
})

3. Filter collections and globals (optional)

Control which collections and globals appear in the OpenAPI spec using the filters option:

• includeCollections / excludeCollections — filter collections by slug
• includeGlobals / excludeGlobals — filter globals by slug
• hideInternalCollections — exclude payload-* collections

Example:

openapi({
  openapiVersion: '3.0',
  metadata: { title: 'Dev API', version: '0.0.1' },
  filters: {
    includeCollections: ['posts', 'categories'],
    excludeGlobals: ['footer'],
    hideInternalCollections: true,
  },
})

4. Override the API base path (optional)

Generated operation paths are prefixed with your Payload routes.api setting. Set apiBasePath if clients reach the API under a different prefix, e.g. behind a reverse proxy:

openapi({
  openapiVersion: '3.0',
  metadata: { title: 'Dev API', version: '0.0.1' },
  apiBasePath: '/public-api',
})

5. Document your own endpoints (optional)

Payload endpoints — on a collection, a global or the config root — are documented when they carry an OpenAPI operation under custom.openapi. Anything you do not set is filled in for you (tags, operationId, summary, and a security requirement, since the generator cannot inspect a custom handler's access control):

import type { CustomEndpointDocumentation } from 'payload-oapi'

const Pets: CollectionConfig = {
  slug: 'pets',
  endpoints: [
    {
      path: '/by-status/:status',
      method: 'get',
      handler: myHandler,
      custom: {
        openapi: {
          summary: 'List pets by status',
          security: [],
          parameters: [{ in: 'path', name: 'status', required: true, schema: { type: 'string' } }],
          responses: {
            200: {
              description: 'Pets with the requested status',
              content: {
                'application/json': {
                  schema: { type: 'array', items: { $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pet' } },
                },
              },
            },
          },
        } satisfies CustomEndpointDocumentation,
      },
    },
  ],
  // ...
}

Write these in OpenAPI 3.1 syntax whatever openapiVersion you configured — a 3.0 spec is down-converted on the way out. $ref pointers to generated components work as shown; to add schemas of your own, declare them through Payload's typescript.schema and reference them the same way.

Auth endpoints

Collections with auth get their login, logout, refresh, verification and password-reset operations documented automatically, following that collection's auth config — disableLocalStrategy drops the password operations, loginWithUsername decides whether the login body takes an email or a username, maxLoginAttempts: 0 drops /unlock, and verify adds /verify/{id}.

Usage

Unless you configured it otherwise, your spec will be accessible via https://your-payload.com/api/openapi.json. If you added a documentation UI, that will be accessible via https://your-payload.com/api/docs (this is also configurable).