---
title: Local API
label: Overview
order: 10
desc: The Payload Local API allows you to interact with your database and execute the same operations that are available through REST and GraphQL within Node, directly on your server.
keywords: local api, config, configuration, documentation, Content Management System, cms, headless, javascript, node, react, express
---

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.

<Banner type="success">
  <strong>Tip:</strong>
  <br />
  The Local API is incredibly powerful when used with server-side rendering app frameworks like
  NextJS. With other headless CMS, you need to request your data from third-party servers which can
  add significant loading time to your server-rendered pages. With Payload, you don't have to leave
  your server to gather the data you need. It can be incredibly fast and is definitely a game
  changer.
</Banner>

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:

```ts
import payload from 'payload'
import { CollectionAfterChangeHook } from 'payload/types'

const afterChangeHook: CollectionAfterChangeHook = async () => {
  const posts = await payload.find({
    collection: 'posts',
  })
}
```

##### Accessing from the `req`

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

Example:

```ts
const afterChangeHook: CollectionAfterChangeHook = async ({ req: { payload } }) => {
  const posts = await payload.find({
    collection: 'posts',
  })
}
```

### 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 Option       | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `collection`       | Required for Collection operations. Specifies the Collection slug to operate against.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| `data`             | The data to use within the operation. Required for `create`, `update`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| `depth`            | [Control auto-population](/docs/getting-started/concepts#depth) of nested relationship and upload fields.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| `locale`           | Specify [locale](/docs/configuration/localization) for any returned documents.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| `fallbackLocale`   | Specify a [fallback locale](/docs/configuration/localization) to use for any returned documents.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| `overrideAccess`   | Skip access control. By default, this property is set to true within all Local API operations.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| `user`             | If you set `overrideAccess` to `false`, you can pass a user to use against the access control checks.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| `showHiddenFields` | Opt-in to receiving hidden fields. By default, they are hidden from returned documents in accordance to your config.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| `pagination`       | Set to false to return all documents and avoid querying for document counts.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| `context`          | [Context](/docs/hooks/context), 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._

<Banner type="warning">
  <strong>Note:</strong>
  <br />
  By default, all access control checks are disabled in the Local API, but you can re-enable them if
  you'd like, as well as pass a specific user to run the operation with.
</Banner>

## Collections

The following Collection operations are available through the Local API:

#### Create

```js
// The created Post document is returned
const post = await payload.create({
  collection: 'posts', // required
  data: {
    // required
    title: 'sure',
    description: 'maybe',
  },
  locale: 'en',
  fallbackLocale: false,
  user: dummyUserDoc,
  overrideAccess: true,
  showHiddenFields: false,

  // If creating verification-enabled auth doc,
  // you can optionally disable the email that is auto-sent
  disableVerificationEmail: true,

  // If your collection supports uploads, you can upload
  // a file directly through the Local API by providing
  // its full, absolute file path.
  filePath: path.resolve(__dirname, './path-to-image.jpg'),

  // Alternatively, you can directly pass a File,
  // if file is provided, filePath will be omitted
  file: uploadedFile,
})
```

#### Find

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

#### Find by ID

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

#### Update by ID

```js
// Result will be the updated Post document.
const result = await payload.update({
  collection: 'posts', // required
  id: '507f1f77bcf86cd799439011', // required
  data: {
    // required
    title: 'sure',
    description: 'maybe',
  },
  depth: 2,
  locale: 'en',
  fallbackLocale: false,
  user: dummyUser,
  overrideAccess: false,
  showHiddenFields: true,

  // If your collection supports uploads, you can upload
  // a file directly through the Local API by providing
  // its full, absolute file path.
  filePath: path.resolve(__dirname, './path-to-image.jpg'),

  // If you are uploading a file and would like to replace
  // the existing file instead of generating a new filename,
  // you can set the following property to `true`
  overwriteExistingFiles: true,
})
```

#### Update Many

```js
// Result will be an object with:
// {
//   docs: [], // each document that was updated
//   errors: [], // each error also includes the id of the document
// }
const result = await payload.update({
  collection: 'posts', // required
  where: {
    // required
    fieldName: { equals: 'value' },
  },
  data: {
    // required
    title: 'sure',
    description: 'maybe',
  },
  depth: 0,
  locale: 'en',
  fallbackLocale: false,
  user: dummyUser,
  overrideAccess: false,
  showHiddenFields: true,

  // If your collection supports uploads, you can upload
  // a file directly through the Local API by providing
  // its full, absolute file path.
  filePath: path.resolve(__dirname, './path-to-image.jpg'),

  // If you are uploading a file and would like to replace
  // the existing file instead of generating a new filename,
  // you can set the following property to `true`
  overwriteExistingFiles: true,
})
```

#### Delete

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

#### Delete Many

```js
// Result will be an object with:
// {
//   docs: [], // each document that is now deleted
//   errors: [], // any errors that occurred, including the id of the errored on document
// }
const result = await payload.delete({
  collection: 'posts', // required
  where: {
    // required
    fieldName: { equals: 'value' },
  },
  depth: 0,
  locale: 'en',
  fallbackLocale: false,
  user: dummyUser,
  overrideAccess: false,
  showHiddenFields: true,
})
```

## Auth Operations

If a collection has [`Authentication`](/docs/authentication/overview) enabled, additional Local API operations will be
available:

#### Login

```js
// result will be formatted as follows:
// {
//   token: 'o38jf0q34jfij43f3f...', // JWT used for auth
//   user: { ... } // the user document that just logged in
//   exp: 1609619861 // the UNIX timestamp when the JWT will expire
// }

const result = await payload.login({
  collection: 'users', // required
  data: {
    // required
    email: 'dev@payloadcms.com',
    password: 'rip',
  },
  req: req, // pass an Express `req` which will be provided to all hooks
  res: res, // used to automatically set an HTTP-only auth cookie
  depth: 2,
  locale: 'en',
  fallbackLocale: false,
  overrideAccess: false,
  showHiddenFields: true,
})
```

#### Forgot Password

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

#### Reset Password

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

#### Unlock

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

#### Verify

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

## Globals

The following Global operations are available through the Local API:

#### Find

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

#### Update

```js
// Result will be the updated Header Global.
const result = await payload.updateGlobal({
  slug: 'header', // required
  data: {
    // required
    nav: [
      {
        url: 'https://google.com',
      },
      {
        url: 'https://payloadcms.com',
      },
    ],
  },
  depth: 2,
  locale: 'en',
  fallbackLocale: false,
  user: dummyUser,
  overrideAccess: false,
  showHiddenFields: true,
})
```

## 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:

```
import dotenv from 'dotenv'
import path from 'path'
import type { Payload } from 'payload'
import payload from 'payload'
import type { InitOptions } from 'payload/config'
import { seed as seedData } from './seed'

dotenv.config({
  path: path.resolve(__dirname, '../.env'),
})

let cached = (global as any).payload

if (!cached) {
  cached = (global as any).payload = { client: null, promise: null }
}

interface Args {
  initOptions?: Partial<InitOptions>
  seed?: boolean
}

export const getPayloadClient = async ({ initOptions, seed }: Args = {}): Promise<Payload> => {
  if (!process.env.DATABASE_URI) {
    throw new Error('DATABASE_URI environment variable is missing')
  }
  if (!process.env.PAYLOAD_SECRET) {
    throw new Error('PAYLOAD_SECRET environment variable is missing')
  }
  if (cached.client) {
    return cached.client
  }
  if (!cached.promise) {
    cached.promise = payload.init({
      mongoURL: process.env.DATABASE_URI,
      secret: process.env.PAYLOAD_SECRET,
      local: initOptions?.express ? false : true,
      ...(initOptions || {}),
    })
  }
  try {
    process.env.PAYLOAD_DROP_DATABASE = seed ? 'true' : 'false'
    cached.client = await cached.promise
    if (seed) {
      payload.logger.info('---- SEEDING DATABASE ----')
      await seedData(payload)
    }
  } catch (e: unknown) {
    cached.promise = null
    throw e
  }
  return cached.client
}
```

To checkout how this works in a project, take a look at
our [custom server example](https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/blob/master/examples/custom-server/src/getPayload.ts).

## Example Script using Local API

The Local API is especially useful for running scripts

```ts
import payload from 'payload'
import path from 'path'
import dotenv from 'dotenv'

dotenv.config({
  path: path.resolve(__dirname, '../.env'),
})

const { PAYLOAD_SECRET } = process.env

const doAction = async (): Promise<void> => {
  await payload.init({
    secret: PAYLOAD_SECRET,
    local: true, // Enables local mode, doesn't spin up a server or frontend
  })

  // Perform any Local API operations here
  await payload.find({
    collection: 'posts',
    // where: {} // optional
  })

  await payload.create({
    collection: 'posts',
    data: {},
  })
}

doAction()
```

## TypeScript

Local API calls will automatically infer your [generated types](/docs/typescript/generating-types).

Here is an example of usage:

```ts
// Properly inferred as `Post` type
const post = await payload.create({
  collection: 'posts',

  // Data will now be typed as Post and give you type hints
  data: {
    title: 'my title',
    description: 'my description',
  },
})
```
