n8n Payload CMS Node

A dynamic n8n node for Payload CMS that automatically discovers collections and operations, allowing you to interact with any Payload CMS instance via the REST API.

Built with Cline & Anthropic Claude API

Features

• Dynamic Collection Discovery: Automatically discovers available collections from your Payload CMS instance
• Dynamic Global Discovery: Automatically discovers available globals from your Payload CMS instance
• Full CRUD Operations: Support for all standard operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete, Count)
• Advanced Query Support: Includes support for filtering, sorting, pagination, depth control, and localization
• Flexible Authentication: Uses API key authentication with configurable API prefix
• Error Handling: Robust error handling with detailed error messages

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Build the node:

   npm run build
   

4. Install the node in your n8n instance by copying the built files to your n8n custom nodes directory

Configuration

Credentials Setup

1. In n8n, create new credentials of type "Payload CMS API"
2. Configure the following fields:
   • Base URL: The base URL of your Payload CMS instance (e.g., https://your-payload-instance.com)
   • Email: Your PayloadCMS user email
   • Password: Your PayloadCMS user password
   • User Collection: The collection slug for users (default: users)
   • API Prefix: The API route prefix (default: /api)

Getting Credentials

Use any valid user account from your PayloadCMS instance. The node will automatically:

• Login when first used
• Cache the authentication token for 1 hour
• Refresh tokens as needed
• Handle session management transparently

No API keys are required - the node uses PayloadCMS's standard login authentication flow.

Usage

Collection Operations

The node supports the following operations on collections:

• Find: Retrieve multiple documents from a collection
• Find by ID: Retrieve a specific document by its ID
• Create: Create a new document in a collection
• Update: Update multiple documents in a collection (requires where clause)
• Update by ID: Update a specific document by its ID
• Delete: Delete multiple documents from a collection (requires where clause)
• Delete by ID: Delete a specific document by its ID
• Count: Count documents in a collection

Global Operations

The node supports the following operations on globals:

• Get: Retrieve global data
• Update: Update global data

Auth Operations

The node supports the following authentication operations:

• Login: Authenticate a user with email and password
• Logout: Log out the current user
• Me: Get current authenticated user information
• Refresh Token: Refresh the authentication token
• Forgot Password: Send a forgot password email
• Reset Password: Reset user password with a token
• Verify: Verify user account with a verification token
• Unlock: Unlock a user account

Query Parameters

The node supports all standard Payload CMS query parameters:

• Depth: Control how deep to populate relationships (default: 1)
• Limit: Maximum number of documents to return (default: 10)
• Page: Page number for pagination (default: 1)
• Sort: Sort field (use - prefix for descending, e.g., -createdAt)
• Where: JSON object for filtering documents
• Select: Comma-separated list of fields to include in the response
• Locale: Locale for localized content

Example Usage

Finding Posts with Filtering

{
  "resource": "collection",
  "collection": "posts",
  "operation": "find",
  "additionalOptions": {
    "where": {
      "status": {
        "equals": "published"
      }
    },
    "limit": 20,
    "sort": "-createdAt"
  }
}

Creating a New Document

{
  "resource": "collection",
  "collection": "posts",
  "operation": "create",
  "data": {
    "title": "My New Post",
    "content": "This is the content of my new post",
    "status": "draft"
  }
}

Updating Global Settings

{
  "resource": "global",
  "global": "settings",
  "operation": "update",
  "data": {
    "siteName": "My Updated Site Name",
    "siteDescription": "Updated description"
  }
}

Dynamic Discovery

The node automatically discovers available collections and globals from your Payload CMS instance using the following methods:

1. Primary Method: Attempts to fetch collections/globals from admin endpoints (/api/collections, /api/globals)
2. Fallback Method: Tests common collection/global names to discover what's available

Common Collections Tested

• users
• posts
• pages
• media
• categories
• tags

Common Globals Tested

• settings
• config
• navigation
• footer
• header

Error Handling

The node includes comprehensive error handling:

• Connection Errors: Clear messages when unable to connect to Payload CMS
• Authentication Errors: Specific messages for API key issues
• Discovery Errors: Helpful messages when collections/globals cannot be discovered
• Operation Errors: Detailed error information for failed operations

Development

Building

npm run build

Development Mode

npm run dev

Linting

npm run lint

Formatting

npm run format

Payload CMS REST API Reference

This node is built according to the official Payload CMS REST API documentation:
https://payloadcms.com/docs/rest-api/overview

Supported Payload CMS Versions

This node is designed to work with Payload CMS v2.x and v3.x. It uses the standard REST API endpoints that are consistent across versions.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Support

For issues and questions:

1. Check the Payload CMS documentation: https://payloadcms.com/docs
2. Review the n8n node development documentation
3. Open an issue in this repository

Changelog

v1.2.0

• Simplified Authentication: Removed API key authentication, now uses username/password only
• Cleaner Interface: Simplified credentials configuration with fewer options
• Focused on PayloadCMS Standards: Aligned with PayloadCMS's primary authentication method
• Reduced Complexity: Streamlined codebase by removing unused authentication paths

v1.1.0

• Automatic Authentication: Added support for username/password authentication with automatic login
• Token Caching: Implemented 1-hour token caching for improved performance
• Session Management: Automatic token refresh and session handling
• Backward Compatibility: Maintained support for API key authentication
• Enhanced Credentials: New authentication method selection in credentials configuration

v1.0.0

• Initial release
• Dynamic collection and global discovery
• Full CRUD operations support
• Advanced query parameter support
• Robust error handling