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Local API

The Payload Local API gives you the ability to execute the same operations that are available through REST and GraphQL within Node, directly on your server. Here, you don't need to deal with server latency or network speed whatsoever and can interact directly with your database.

Here are some common examples of how you can use the Local API:

  • Seeding data via Node seed scripts that you write and maintain
  • Opening custom Express routes which feature additional functionality but still rely on Payload
  • Within access control and hook functions

Accessing payload

You can gain access to the currently running payload object via two ways:

Importing it

You can import or require payload into your own files after it's been initialized, but you need to make sure that your import / require statements come after you call payload.init()—otherwise Payload won't have been initialized yet. That might be obvious. To us, it's usually not.

Example:

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import payload from 'payload'
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import { CollectionAfterChangeHook } from 'payload/types'
3
4
const afterChangeHook: CollectionAfterChangeHook = async () => {
5
const posts = await payload.find({
6
collection: 'posts',
7
})
8
}
Accessing from the req

Payload is available anywhere you have access to the Express req - including within your access control and hook functions.

Example:

1
const afterChangeHook: CollectionAfterChangeHook = async ({ req: { payload } }) => {
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const posts = await payload.find({
3
collection: 'posts',
4
})
5
}

Local options available

You can specify more options within the Local API vs. REST or GraphQL due to the server-only context that they are executed in.

Local OptionDescription
collectionRequired for Collection operations. Specifies the Collection slug to operate against.
dataThe data to use within the operation. Required for create, update.
depthControl auto-population of nested relationship and upload fields.
localeSpecify locale for any returned documents.
fallbackLocaleSpecify a fallback locale to use for any returned documents.
overrideAccessSkip access control. By default, this property is set to true within all Local API operations.
userIf you set overrideAccess to false, you can pass a user to use against the access control checks.
showHiddenFieldsOpt-in to receiving hidden fields. By default, they are hidden from returned documents in accordance to your config.
paginationSet to false to return all documents and avoid querying for document counts.
contextContext, which will then be passed to context and req.context, which can be read by hooks. Useful if you want to pass additional information to the hooks which shouldn't be necessarily part of the document, for example a triggerBeforeChange option which can be read by the BeforeChange hook to determine if it should run or not.

There are more options available on an operation by operation basis outlined below.

Collections

The following Collection operations are available through the Local API:

Create
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// The created Post document is returned
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const post = await payload.create({
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collection: 'posts', // required
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data: {
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// required
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title: 'sure',
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description: 'maybe',
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},
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locale: 'en',
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fallbackLocale: false,
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user: dummyUserDoc,
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overrideAccess: true,
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showHiddenFields: false,
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// If creating verification-enabled auth doc,
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// you can optionally disable the email that is auto-sent
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disableVerificationEmail: true,
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// If your collection supports uploads, you can upload
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// a file directly through the Local API by providing
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// its full, absolute file path.
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filePath: path.resolve(__dirname, './path-to-image.jpg'),
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// Alternatively, you can directly pass a File,
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// if file is provided, filePath will be omitted
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file: uploadedFile,
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})

Find
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// Result will be a paginated set of Posts.
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// See /docs/queries/pagination for more.
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const result = await payload.find({
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collection: 'posts', // required
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depth: 2,
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page: 1,
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limit: 10,
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pagination: false, // If you want to disable pagination count, etc.
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where: {}, // pass a `where` query here
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sort: '-title',
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locale: 'en',
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fallbackLocale: false,
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user: dummyUser,
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overrideAccess: false,
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showHiddenFields: true,
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})

Find by ID
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// Result will be a Post document.
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const result = await payload.findByID({
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collection: 'posts', // required
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id: '507f1f77bcf86cd799439011', // required
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depth: 2,
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locale: 'en',
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fallbackLocale: false,
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user: dummyUser,
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overrideAccess: false,
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showHiddenFields: true,
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})

Count
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// Result will be an object with:
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// {
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// totalDocs: 10, // count of the documents satisfies query
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// }
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const result = await payload.count({
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collection: 'posts', // required
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locale: 'en',
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where: {}, // pass a `where` query here
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user: dummyUser,
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overrideAccess: false,
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})

Update by ID
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// Result will be the updated Post document.
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const result = await payload.update({
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collection: 'posts', // required
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id: '507f1f77bcf86cd799439011', // required
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data: {
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// required
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title: 'sure',
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description: 'maybe',
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},
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depth: 2,
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locale: 'en',
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fallbackLocale: false,
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user: dummyUser,
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overrideAccess: false,
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showHiddenFields: true,
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// If your collection supports uploads, you can upload
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// a file directly through the Local API by providing
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// its full, absolute file path.
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filePath: path.resolve(__dirname, './path-to-image.jpg'),
21
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// If you are uploading a file and would like to replace
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// the existing file instead of generating a new filename,
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// you can set the following property to `true`
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overwriteExistingFiles: true,
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})

Update Many
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// Result will be an object with:
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// {
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// docs: [], // each document that was updated
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// errors: [], // each error also includes the id of the document
5
// }
6
const result = await payload.update({
7
collection: 'posts', // required
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where: {
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// required
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fieldName: { equals: 'value' },
11
},
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data: {
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// required
14
title: 'sure',
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description: 'maybe',
16
},
17
depth: 0,
18
locale: 'en',
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fallbackLocale: false,
20
user: dummyUser,
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overrideAccess: false,
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showHiddenFields: true,
23
24
// If your collection supports uploads, you can upload
25
// a file directly through the Local API by providing
26
// its full, absolute file path.
27
filePath: path.resolve(__dirname, './path-to-image.jpg'),
28
29
// If you are uploading a file and would like to replace
30
// the existing file instead of generating a new filename,
31
// you can set the following property to `true`
32
overwriteExistingFiles: true,
33
})

Delete
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// Result will be the now-deleted Post document.
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const result = await payload.delete({
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collection: 'posts', // required
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id: '507f1f77bcf86cd799439011', // required
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depth: 2,
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locale: 'en',
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fallbackLocale: false,
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user: dummyUser,
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overrideAccess: false,
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showHiddenFields: true,
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})

Delete Many
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// Result will be an object with:
2
// {
3
// docs: [], // each document that is now deleted
4
// errors: [], // any errors that occurred, including the id of the errored on document
5
// }
6
const result = await payload.delete({
7
collection: 'posts', // required
8
where: {
9
// required
10
fieldName: { equals: 'value' },
11
},
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depth: 0,
13
locale: 'en',
14
fallbackLocale: false,
15
user: dummyUser,
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overrideAccess: false,
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showHiddenFields: true,
18
})

Auth Operations

If a collection has Authentication enabled, additional Local API operations will be available:

Login
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// result will be formatted as follows:
2
// {
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// token: 'o38jf0q34jfij43f3f...', // JWT used for auth
4
// user: { ... } // the user document that just logged in
5
// exp: 1609619861 // the UNIX timestamp when the JWT will expire
6
// }
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8
const result = await payload.login({
9
collection: 'users', // required
10
data: {
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// required
12
email: 'dev@payloadcms.com',
13
password: 'rip',
14
},
15
req: req, // pass an Express `req` which will be provided to all hooks
16
res: res, // used to automatically set an HTTP-only auth cookie
17
depth: 2,
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locale: 'en',
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fallbackLocale: false,
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overrideAccess: false,
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showHiddenFields: true,
22
})

Forgot Password
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// Returned token will allow for a password reset
2
const token = await payload.forgotPassword({
3
collection: 'users', // required
4
data: {
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// required
6
email: 'dev@payloadcms.com',
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},
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req: req, // pass an Express `req` which will be provided to all hooks
9
})

Reset Password
1
// Result will be formatted as follows:
2
// {
3
// token: 'o38jf0q34jfij43f3f...', // JWT used for auth
4
// user: { ... } // the user document that just logged in
5
// }
6
const result = await payload.resetPassword({
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collection: 'users', // required
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data: {
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// required
10
password: req.body.password, // the new password to set
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token: 'afh3o2jf2p3f...', // the token generated from the forgotPassword operation
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},
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req: req, // pass an Express `req` which will be provided to all hooks
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res: res, // used to automatically set an HTTP-only auth cookie
15
})

Unlock
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// Returned result will be a boolean representing success or failure
2
const result = await payload.unlock({
3
collection: 'users', // required
4
data: {
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// required
6
email: 'dev@payloadcms.com',
7
},
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req: req, // pass an Express `req` which will be provided to all hooks
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overrideAccess: true,
10
})

Verify
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// Returned result will be a boolean representing success or failure
2
const result = await payload.verifyEmail({
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collection: 'users', // required
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token: 'afh3o2jf2p3f...', // the token saved on the user as `_verificationToken`
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})

Globals

The following Global operations are available through the Local API:

Find
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// Result will be the Header Global.
2
const result = await payload.findGlobal({
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slug: 'header', // required
4
depth: 2,
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locale: 'en',
6
fallbackLocale: false,
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user: dummyUser,
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overrideAccess: false,
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showHiddenFields: true,
10
})

Update
1
// Result will be the updated Header Global.
2
const result = await payload.updateGlobal({
3
slug: 'header', // required
4
data: {
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// required
6
nav: [
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{
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url: 'https://google.com',
9
},
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{
11
url: 'https://payloadcms.com',
12
},
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],
14
},
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depth: 2,
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locale: 'en',
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fallbackLocale: false,
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user: dummyUser,
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overrideAccess: false,
20
showHiddenFields: true,
21
})

Next.js Conflict with Local API

There is a known issue when using the Local API with Next.js version 13.4.13 and higher. Next.js executes within a separate child process, and Payload has not been initalized yet in these instances. That means that unless you explicitly initialize Payload within your operation, it will not be running and return no data / an empty object.

As a workaround, we recommend leveraging the following pattern to determine and ensure Payload is initalized:

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import dotenv from 'dotenv'
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import path from 'path'
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import type { Payload } from 'payload'
4
import payload from 'payload'
5
import type { InitOptions } from 'payload/config'
6
import { seed as seedData } from './seed'
7
8
dotenv.config({
9
path: path.resolve(__dirname, '../.env'),
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})
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let cached = (global as any).payload
13
14
if (!cached) {
15
cached = (global as any).payload = { client: null, promise: null }
16
}
17
18
interface Args {
19
initOptions?: Partial<InitOptions>
20
seed?: boolean
21
}
22
23
export const getPayloadClient = async ({ initOptions, seed }: Args = {}): Promise<Payload> => {
24
if (!process.env.DATABASE_URI) {
25
throw new Error('DATABASE_URI environment variable is missing')
26
}
27
if (!process.env.PAYLOAD_SECRET) {
28
throw new Error('PAYLOAD_SECRET environment variable is missing')
29
}
30
if (cached.client) {
31
return cached.client
32
}
33
if (!cached.promise) {
34
cached.promise = payload.init({
35
mongoURL: process.env.DATABASE_URI,
36
secret: process.env.PAYLOAD_SECRET,
37
local: initOptions?.express ? false : true,
38
...(initOptions || {}),
39
})
40
}
41
try {
42
process.env.PAYLOAD_DROP_DATABASE = seed ? 'true' : 'false'
43
cached.client = await cached.promise
44
if (seed) {
45
payload.logger.info('---- SEEDING DATABASE ----')
46
await seedData(payload)
47
}
48
} catch (e: unknown) {
49
cached.promise = null
50
throw e
51
}
52
return cached.client
53
}

To checkout how this works in a project, take a look at our custom server example.

Example Script using Local API

The Local API is especially useful for running scripts

1
import payload from 'payload'
2
import path from 'path'
3
import dotenv from 'dotenv'
4
5
dotenv.config({
6
path: path.resolve(__dirname, '../.env'),
7
})
8
9
const { PAYLOAD_SECRET } = process.env
10
11
const doAction = async (): Promise<void> => {
12
await payload.init({
13
secret: PAYLOAD_SECRET,
14
local: true, // Enables local mode, doesn't spin up a server or frontend
15
})
16
17
// Perform any Local API operations here
18
await payload.find({
19
collection: 'posts',
20
// where: {} // optional
21
})
22
23
await payload.create({
24
collection: 'posts',
25
data: {},
26
})
27
}
28
29
doAction()

TypeScript

Local API calls will automatically infer your generated types.

Here is an example of usage:

1
// Properly inferred as `Post` type
2
const post = await payload.create({
3
collection: 'posts',
4
5
// Data will now be typed as Post and give you type hints
6
data: {
7
title: 'my title',
8
description: 'my description',
9
},
10
})
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