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JSON Field

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.

Shows a JSON field in the Payload Admin Panel
This field is using the `monaco-react` editor syntax highlighting.

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

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import type { Field } from 'payload'
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export const MyJSONField: Field = {
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// ...
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type: 'json',
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}

Config Options

OptionDescription
name *To be used as the property name when stored and retrieved from the database. More
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.
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.
validateProvide a custom validation function that will be executed on both the Admin Panel and the backend. More
jsonSchemaProvide a JSON schema that will be used for validation. JSON schemas
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. More details.
customExtension point for adding custom data (e.g. for plugins)
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 JSON Field in the Admin Panel, you can use the admin option:

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

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

OptionDescription
editorOptionsOptions that can be passed to the monaco editor, view the full list.

Example

collections/ExampleCollection.ts

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import type { 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: 'customerJSON', // required
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type: 'json', // required
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required: true,
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},
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],
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}

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

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import type { 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: 'customerJSON', // required
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type: 'json', // required
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jsonSchema: {
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uri: 'a://b/foo.json', // required
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fileMatch: ['a://b/foo.json'], // required
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schema: {
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type: 'object',
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properties: {
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foo: {
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enum: ['bar', 'foobar'],
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}
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},
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},
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},
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},
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],
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}
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// {"foo": "bar"} or {"foo": "foobar"} - ok
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// Attempting to create {"foo": "not-bar"} will throw an error

Remote JSON Schema

collections/ExampleCollection.ts

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import type { 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: 'customerJSON', // required
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type: 'json', // required
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jsonSchema: {
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uri: 'https://example.com/customer.schema.json', // required
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fileMatch: ['https://example.com/customer.schema.json'], // required
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},
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},
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],
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}
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// If 'https://example.com/customer.schema.json' has a JSON schema
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// {"foo": "bar"} or {"foo": "foobar"} - ok
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// Attempting to create {"foo": "not-bar"} will throw an error
Next

Collapsible Field