MCP server for Payload CMS 3.0, designed to help developers validate code, generate templates, and scaffold projects following best practices.
Most developer tooling work still happens through a UI a human drives. Payload MCP MCP server moves it into the conversation instead. MCP server for Payload CMS 3.0, designed to help developers validate code, generate templates, and scaffold projects following best practices.
A powerful Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Payload CMS that enables AI assistants to help you develop, manage, and extend your Payload CMS projects.
Payload MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a specialized server that connects AI assistants to your Payload CMS development workflow. It provides a set of tools for generating code, validating components, scaffolding projects, and performing specialized queries - all accessible to AI agents through the standardized Model Context Protocol.
The server publishes 14 tools. What each one is for:
collection — Generate a Payload collection with fields, hooks, and access controlfield — Generate a field configuration for collectionsconfig — Generate a Payload configuration fileaccess-control — Generate access control functionshook — Generate before/after hooks for collectionsendpoint — Generate custom API endpointsplugin — Generate a Payload pluginblock — Generate a block for the Payload block field typemigration — Generate a database migrationcomponent — Generate a React component for the admin panelvalidate_query — Validate and format Payload queriesget_query_suggestions — Get suggestions for Payload queries based on your collections@ngyngcphu/payload-mcp on npm is all you need. Most clients run it directly, so configuration is a few lines and a restart.
Plenty of developer tooling servers cover similar ground. The differences that matter in practice are scope of access and how much setup stands between you and a working tool call. Payload MCP's toolset — collection, field, config and 11 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by ngyngcphu; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.
SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| collection | Generate a Payload collection with fields, hooks, and access control |
| field | Generate a field configuration for collections |
| config | Generate a Payload configuration file |
| access-control | Generate access control functions |
| hook | Generate before/after hooks for collections |
| endpoint | Generate custom API endpoints |
| plugin | Generate a Payload plugin |
| block | Generate a block for the Payload block field type |
| migration | Generate a database migration |
| component | Generate a React component for the admin panel |
| validate_query | Validate and format Payload queries |
| get_query_suggestions | Get suggestions for Payload queries based on your collections |
| format_response | Format the response from a Payload query |
| create_project | Create a new Payload CMS project with recommended structure |
{
"mcpServers": {
"payload": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@ngyngcphu/payload-mcp"]
}
}
}Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.
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