@cmsmcp/payload

MCP server for Payload CMS -- 21 tools for managing collections, entries, globals, media, access control, versions, and bulk operations.

Quick Start

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "payload": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@cmsmcp/payload"],
      "env": {
        "PAYLOAD_URL": "http://localhost:3000",
        "PAYLOAD_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add payload -e PAYLOAD_URL=http://localhost:3000 -e PAYLOAD_API_KEY=your-key -- npx -y @cmsmcp/payload

Cursor / Windsurf / Any MCP Client

Same JSON config format -- add to your client's MCP settings file.

Configuration

| Variable | Required | Description | |----------|----------|-------------| | PAYLOAD_URL | Yes | Payload CMS server URL | | PAYLOAD_API_KEY | Yes | Payload API key |

Available Tools (21 tools)

Content (9 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | payload_list_collections | List all collections with their schemas | | payload_list_entries | List entries in a collection with pagination | | payload_get_entry | Get a single entry by ID | | payload_create_entry | Create a new entry in a collection | | payload_update_entry | Update an existing entry | | payload_delete_entry | Delete an entry | | payload_get_version | Get a specific version of an entry | | payload_publish_entry | Publish a draft entry | | payload_unpublish_entry | Unpublish a published entry |

Globals (3 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | payload_list_globals | List all global documents | | payload_get_global | Get a global document by slug | | payload_update_global | Update a global document |

Media (2 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | payload_list_media | List uploaded media files | | payload_upload_media | Upload a media file |

Access & System (4 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | payload_get_access | Get current access control permissions | | payload_list_versions | List versions for a collection entry | | payload_restore_version | Restore a previous version | | payload_get_current_user | Get the currently authenticated user |

Bulk Operations (3 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | payload_bulk_create | Bulk create multiple entries at once | | payload_bulk_update | Bulk update multiple entries | | payload_bulk_delete | Bulk delete multiple entries |

Examples

You: "List all collections in my Payload CMS"
AI: Uses payload_list_collections to show all registered collections and their field schemas.

You: "Create a new blog post"
AI: Uses payload_create_entry with the blog collection slug and the post data.

You: "Restore the previous version of this page"
AI: Uses payload_list_versions to find available versions,
    then payload_restore_version to roll back to the selected version.

Development

# Build
npx turbo build --filter=@cmsmcp/payload

# Test
npx turbo test --filter=@cmsmcp/payload

# Dev mode
npx turbo dev --filter=@cmsmcp/payload

# Test with MCP Inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node packages/payload-mcp/dist/index.js

License

MIT