Select Field

The Select Field provides a dropdown-style interface for choosing options from a predefined list as an enumeration.

Shows a Select field in the Payload Admin Panel
Admin Panel screenshot of a Select field

To add a Select Field, set the type to select in your Field Config:

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import type { Field } from 'payload/types'
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export const MySelectField: Field = {
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// ...
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type: 'select',
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options: [
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// ...
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]
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}

Config Options

OptionDescription
name *To be used as the property name when stored and retrieved from the database. More
options *Array of options to allow the field to store. Can either be an array of strings, or an array of objects containing a label string and a value string.
hasManyBoolean when, if set to true, allows this field to have many selections instead of only one.
labelText used as a field label in the Admin Panel or an object with keys for each language.
uniqueEnforce that each entry in the Collection has a unique value for this field.
validateProvide a custom validation function that will be executed on both the Admin Panel and the backend. More
indexBuild 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.
saveToJWTIf this field is top-level and nested in a config supporting Authentication, include its data in the user JWT.
hooksProvide Field Hooks to control logic for this field. More details.
accessProvide Field Access Control to denote what users can see and do with this field's data. More details.
hiddenRestrict 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.
defaultValueProvide data to be used for this field's default value. More
localizedEnable localization for this field. Requires localization to be enabled in the Base config.
requiredRequire this field to have a value.
adminAdmin-specific configuration. See the default field admin config for more details.
customExtension point for adding custom data (e.g. for plugins)
enumNameCustom enum name for this field when using SQL Database Adapter (Postgres). Auto-generated from name if not defined.
dbNameCustom table name (if hasMany set to true) for this field when using SQL Database Adapter (Postgres). Auto-generated from name if not defined.
typescriptSchemaOverride field type generation with providing a JSON schema
virtualProvide true to disable field in the database. See Virtual Fields

* An asterisk denotes that a property is required.

Admin Options

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

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import type { Field } from 'payload/types'
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export const MySelectField: Field = {
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// ...
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admin: {
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// ...
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},
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}

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

PropertyDescription
isClearableSet to true if you'd like this field to be clearable within the Admin UI.
isSortableSet to true if you'd like this field to be sortable within the Admin UI using drag and drop. (Only works when hasMany is set to true)

Example

collections/ExampleCollection.ts

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import { CollectionConfig } from 'payload'
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export const ExampleCollection: CollectionConfig = {
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slug: 'example-collection',
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fields: [
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{
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name: 'selectedFeatures', // required
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type: 'select', // required
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hasMany: true,
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admin: {
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isClearable: true,
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isSortable: true, // use mouse to drag and drop different values, and sort them according to your choice
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},
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options: [
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{
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label: 'Metallic Paint',
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value: 'metallic_paint',
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},
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{
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label: 'Alloy Wheels',
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value: 'alloy_wheels',
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},
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{
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label: 'Carbon Fiber Dashboard',
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value: 'carbon_fiber_dashboard',
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},
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],
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},
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],
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}

Customization

The Select field UI component can be customized by providing a custom React component to the components object in the Base config.

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export const CustomSelectField: Field = {
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name: 'customSelectField',
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type: 'select', // or 'text' if you have dynamic options
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admin: {
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components: {
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Field: CustomSelectComponent({
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options: [
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{
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label: 'Option 1',
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value: '1',
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},
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{
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label: 'Option 2',
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value: '2',
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},
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],
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}),
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},
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},
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}

You can import the existing Select component directly from Payload, then extend and customize it as needed.

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import * as React from 'react';
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import { SelectInput, useField } from 'payload/components/forms';
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import { useAuth } from 'payload/components/utilities';
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type CustomSelectProps = {
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path: string;
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options: {
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label: string;
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value: string;
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}[];
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}
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export const CustomSelectComponent: React.FC<CustomSelectProps> = ({ path, options }) => {
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const { value, setValue } = useField<string>({ path })
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const { user } = useAuth()
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const adjustedOptions = options.filter((option) => {
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/*
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A common use case for a custom select
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is to show different options based on
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the current user's role.
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*/
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return option;
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});
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return (
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<div>
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<label className="field-label">
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Custom Select
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</label>
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<SelectInput
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path={path}
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name={path}
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options={adjustedOptions}
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value={value}
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onChange={(e) => setValue(e.value)}
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/>
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</div>
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)
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}

If you are looking to create a dynamic select field, the following tutorial will walk you through the process of creating a custom select field that fetches its options from an external API.

If you want to learn more about custom components check out the Admin > Custom Component docs.

Next

Tabs Field