JSON Field - Payload

The JSON Field saves raw JSON to the database and provides the Admin Panel with a code editor styled interface. This is different from the Code Field which saves the value as a string in the database.

To add a JSON Field, set the type to json in your Field Config:

import type { Field } from 'payload'

export const MyJSONField: Field = {
  // ...
  type: 'json', // highlight-line
}

Config Options

Option	Description
`name` *	To be used as the property name when stored and retrieved from the database. More details.
`label`	Text used as a field label in the Admin Panel or an object with keys for each language.
`unique`	Enforce that each entry in the Collection has a unique value for this field. This creates a database-level unique index on the field's path. More details.
`index`	Build an index for this field to produce faster queries. Set this field to `true` if your users will perform queries on this field's data often.
`validate`	Provide a custom validation function that will be executed on both the Admin Panel and the backend. More details.
`jsonSchema`	Provide a JSON schema that will be used for validation. JSON schemas
`saveToJWT`	If this field is top-level and nested in a config supporting Authentication, include its data in the user JWT.
`hooks`	Provide Field Hooks to control logic for this field. More details.
`access`	Provide Field Access Control to denote what users can see and do with this field's data. More details.
`hidden`	Restrict this field's visibility from all APIs entirely. Will still be saved to the database, but will not appear in any API or the Admin Panel.
`defaultValue`	Provide data to be used for this field's default value. More details.
`localized`	Enable localization for this field. Requires localization to be enabled in the Base config.
`required`	Require this field to have a value.
`admin`	Admin-specific configuration. More details.
`custom`	Extension point for adding custom data (e.g. for plugins)
`typescriptSchema`	Override field type generation with providing a JSON schema
`virtual`	Provide `true` to disable field in the database, or provide a string path to link the field with a relationship. See Virtual Fields

* An asterisk denotes that a property is required.

Admin Options

To customize the appearance and behavior of the JSON Field in the Admin Panel, you can use the admin option:

import type { Field } from 'payload'

export const MyJSONField: Field = {
  // ...
  admin: {
    // highlight-line
    // ...
  },
}

The JSON Field inherits all of the default admin options from the base Field Admin Config, plus the following additional options:

Option	Description
`editorOptions`	Options that can be passed to the monaco editor, view the full list.

Example

import type { CollectionConfig } from 'payload'

export const ExampleCollection: CollectionConfig = {
  slug: 'example-collection',
  fields: [
    {
      name: 'customerJSON', // required
      type: 'json', // required
      required: true,
    },
  ],
}

JSON Schema Validation

Payload JSON fields fully support the JSON schema standard. By providing a schema in your field config, the editor will be guided in the admin UI, getting typeahead for properties and their formats automatically. When the document is saved, the default validation will prevent saving any invalid data in the field according to the schema in your config.

If you only provide a URL to a schema, Payload will fetch the desired schema if it is publicly available. If not, it is recommended to add the schema directly to your config or import it from another file so that it can be implemented consistently in your project.

Local JSON Schema

collections/ExampleCollection.ts

import type { CollectionConfig } from 'payload'

export const ExampleCollection: CollectionConfig = {
  slug: 'example-collection',
  fields: [
    {
      name: 'customerJSON', // required
      type: 'json', // required
      jsonSchema: {
        uri: 'a://b/foo.json', // required
        fileMatch: ['a://b/foo.json'], // required
        schema: {
          type: 'object',
          properties: {
            foo: {
              enum: ['bar', 'foobar'],
            },
          },
        },
      },
    },
  ],
}
// {"foo": "bar"} or {"foo": "foobar"} - ok
// Attempting to create {"foo": "not-bar"} will throw an error

Remote JSON Schema

collections/ExampleCollection.ts

import type { CollectionConfig } from 'payload'

export const ExampleCollection: CollectionConfig = {
  slug: 'example-collection',
  fields: [
    {
      name: 'customerJSON', // required
      type: 'json', // required
      jsonSchema: {
        uri: 'https://example.com/customer.schema.json', // required
        fileMatch: ['https://example.com/customer.schema.json'], // required
      },
    },
  ],
}
// If 'https://example.com/customer.schema.json' has a JSON schema
// {"foo": "bar"} or {"foo": "foobar"} - ok
// Attempting to create {"foo": "not-bar"} will throw an error

Custom Components

Field

Server Component

tsx

import type React from 'react'
import { JSONField } from '@payloadcms/ui'
import type { JSONFieldServerComponent } from 'payload'

export const CustomJSONFieldServer: JSONFieldServerComponent = ({
  clientField,
  path,
  schemaPath,
  permissions,
}) => {
  return (
    <JSONField
      field={clientField}
      path={path}
      schemaPath={schemaPath}
      permissions={permissions}
    />
  )
}

Client Component

tsx

'use client'
import React from 'react'
import { JSONField } from '@payloadcms/ui'
import type { JSONFieldClientComponent } from 'payload'

export const CustomJSONFieldClient: JSONFieldClientComponent = (props) => {
  return <JSONField {...props} />
}

Label

Server Component

tsx

import React from 'react'
import { FieldLabel } from '@payloadcms/ui'
import type { JSONFieldLabelServerComponent } from 'payload'

export const CustomJSONFieldLabelServer: JSONFieldLabelServerComponent = ({
  clientField,
  path,
}) => {
  return (
    <FieldLabel
      label={clientField?.label || clientField?.name}
      path={path}
      required={clientField?.required}
    />
  )
}

Client Component

tsx

'use client'
import React from 'react'
import { FieldLabel } from '@payloadcms/ui'
import type { JSONFieldLabelClientComponent } from 'payload'

export const CustomJSONFieldLabelClient: JSONFieldLabelClientComponent = ({
  field,
  path,
}) => {
  return (
    <FieldLabel
      label={field?.label || field?.name}
      path={path}
      required={field?.required}
    />
  )
}