Developer tools for Payload CMS 19

Developer-tooling plugins for Payload CMS: OpenAPI/Swagger docs, GraphQL helpers, MCP servers, REST utilities, CLI and type codegen.

OpenAPI

Autogenerate an OpenAPI specification from a Payload CMS instance and render it with Swagger UI, Redoc, RapiDoc, or Scalar.

Puck visual page builder

Integrate Puck visual page builder with Payload CMS for drag-and-drop editing.

Create Ideal CMS

Interactive CLI that scaffolds a production-ready Payload CMS monorepo preconfigured with FocusReactive plugins.

Dry Run

Test Payload create operations end-to-end without persisting, by rolling back the transaction after hooks and validation run.

OpenAPI

Generates OpenAPI specifications from Payload CMS configurations.

Repository

Wrapper around Payload's Local API providing repository operations.

Markdown documentation sync

Syncs Markdown documentation with Payload CMS using Git.

agent API guide

Generate a live API reference and query guide for Payload CMS.

payload-cli

CLI for direct access to PayloadCMS data for AI agents and humans.

Assist

Provides utilities for DTO management and validation hooks in Payload CMS.

Utilities

Utility functions for Payload CMS to handle validation, ID extraction, and document resolution.

Integration Test Utils

Provides integration test helpers for a ready-to-use Payload instance in vitest.

REST Client

A typesafe REST API client for Payload CMS.

GraphQL View

Adds a GraphQL view with IDE support to Payload collections and globals.

Swagger

Swagger plugin for Payload CMS that generates OpenAPI documentation.

create api docs

Generate OpenAPI 3 documentation for Payload CMS.

OpenAPI

Generate OpenAPI 3 documentation for Payload CMS endpoints.

Query

Type-safe query filters and field selection for Payload, with a REST select parameter plugin.

Resolve alias webpack helper

Payload plugin that injects webpack resolve aliases to stub out server-only modules in the admin bundle.

Developer-tooling plugins make Payload CMS easier to build on and integrate — OpenAPI/Swagger docs, GraphQL helpers, MCP servers, REST utilities and code generation.

What these plugins cover

  • OpenAPI / Swagger documentation
  • GraphQL schema and query tooling
  • MCP servers for AI agents
  • REST helpers and endpoint utilities
  • CLI commands and scaffolding
  • Type generation and codegen

Extending the Payload API

Generate OpenAPI and typed clients from your config, expose an MCP server for agents, and wire external systems through integrations.

See also admin tooling, integrations and migration.

Frequently asked questions

What developer tooling is available for Payload CMS?

Plugins add OpenAPI/Swagger documentation, GraphQL helpers, MCP servers, REST utilities and CLI or codegen tools that build on your Payload config.

Can I generate OpenAPI docs or an MCP server?

Yes — devtools plugins generate OpenAPI specs (and Swagger UI) from your collections, and some expose an MCP server so AI agents can query Payload.

Are these devtools plugins free?

Yes — every developer-tooling plugin on Payload Market is open-source and free to install.