payloadcms/payload

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Payload is the first-ever Next.js native CMS that can install directly in your existing /app folder. It's the start of a new era for headless CMS.

Benefits over a regular CMS

It's both an app framework & headless CMS
Deploy anywhere, including serverless on Vercel for free
Combine your front+backend in the same /app folder if you want
Don't sign up for yet another SaaS - Payload is open source
Query your database in React Server Components
Both admin and backend are 100% extensible
No vendor lock-in
Never touch ancient WP code again
Build faster, never hit a roadblock

Quickstart

Before beginning to work with Payload, make sure you have all of the required software.

pnpx create-payload-app@latest

If you're new to Payload, you should start with the website template (pnpx create-payload-app@latest -t website). It shows how to do everything - including custom Rich Text blocks, on-demand revalidation, live preview, and more. It comes with a frontend built with Tailwind all in one /app folder.

One-click deployment options

You can deploy Payload serverlessly in one-click via Vercel and Cloudflare—giving everything you need without the hassle of the plumbing.

Deploy on Cloudflare

Fully self-contained — one click to deploy Payload with Workers, R2 for uploads, and D1 for a globally replicated database.

Deploy on Vercel

All-in-one on Vercel — one click to deploy Payload with a Next.js front end, Neon database, and Vercel Blob for media storage.

One-click templates

Jumpstart your next project with a ready-to-go template. These are production-ready, end-to-end solutions designed to get you to market fast. Build any kind of website, ecommerce store, blog, or portfolio — complete with a modern front end built using React Server Components and Tailwind.

🌐 Website

🛍️ Ecommerce 🎉 NEW 🎉

We're constantly adding more templates to our Templates Directory. If you maintain your own, add the payload-template topic to your GitHub repo so others can discover it.

🔗 Explore more:

✨ Payload Features

Completely free and open-source
Next.js native, built to run inside your /app folder
Use server components to extend Payload UI
Query your database directly in server comp

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README