Payload Blank Template

This template comes configured with the bare minimum to get started on anything you need.

Quick start

This template can be deployed directly from our Cloud hosting and it will setup MongoDB and cloud S3 object storage for media.

Quick Start - local setup

To spin up this template locally, follow these steps:

Clone

After you click the Deploy button above, you'll want to have standalone copy of this repo on your machine. If you've already cloned this repo, skip to Development.

Development

1. First clone the repo if you have not done so already

2. cd my-project && cp .env.example .env to copy the example environment variables. You'll need to add the MONGODB_URL from your Cloud project to your .env if you want to use S3 storage and the MongoDB database that was created for you.

3. pnpm install && pnpm dev to install dependencies and start the dev server

4. open http://localhost:3000 to open the app in your browser

That's it! Changes made in ./src will be reflected in your app. Follow the on-screen instructions to login and create your first admin user. Then check out Production once you're ready to build and serve your app, and Deployment when you're ready to go live.

Docker (Optional)

If you prefer to use Docker for local development instead of a local MongoDB instance, the provided docker-compose.yml file can be used.

To do so, follow these steps:

• Modify the MONGODB_URL in your .env file to mongodb://127.0.0.1/<dbname>
• Modify the docker-compose.yml file's MONGODB_URL to match the above <dbname>
• Run docker-compose up to start the database, optionally pass -d to run in the background.

How it works

The Payload config is tailored specifically to the needs of most websites. It is pre-configured in the following ways:

Collections

See the Collections docs for details on how to extend this functionality.

• Users (Authentication)

  Users are auth-enabled collections that have access to the admin panel.

  For additional help, see the official Auth Example or the Authentication docs.

• Media

  This is the uploads enabled collection. It features pre-configured sizes, focal point and manual resizing to help you manage your pictures.

Docker

Alternatively, you can use Docker to spin up this template locally. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Follow steps 1 and 2 from above, the docker-compose file will automatically use the .env file in your project root
2. Next run docker-compose up
3. Follow steps 4 and 5 from above to login and create your first admin user

That's it! The Docker instance will help you get up and running quickly while also standardizing the development environment across your teams.

Coolify Deployment

To deploy this application on Coolify, follow these steps:

Step 1: Create PostgreSQL Database

1. In Coolify, go to Resources → New → Database → PostgreSQL
2. Configure the database:
   • Name: payload-db (or your preference)
   • Database: payload
   • Username: payload
   • Password: Generate a secure password
3. Deploy the database
4. Note the Internal URL (e.g., postgres://payload:PASSWORD@payload-db:5432/payload)

Step 2: Create the Application

1. Go to Resources → New → Application
2. Select your Git repository
3. Choose Dockerfile as the build pack
4. Set the Dockerfile path to Dockerfile

Step 3: Configure Build Arguments

Database migrations run during the Docker build, so you need to configure build arguments:

1. Go to your application's Settings → Build
2. Add these Build Arguments:

Build Arg	Value
DATABASE_URL	Internal PostgreSQL URL from Step 1
PAYLOAD_SECRET	Random 32+ character string (generate with openssl rand -base64 32)

Step 4: Configure Environment Variables

Add the same values as runtime environment variables:

Variable	Value
DATABASE_URL	Same as build arg
PAYLOAD_SECRET	Same as build arg

Step 5: Configure Networking

1. Set the Exposed Port to 3000
2. Configure your domain/subdomain
3. Enable HTTPS (Let's Encrypt)

Step 6: Deploy

1. Click Deploy
2. Migrations will run automatically during the build
3. Access /admin to create your first admin user

Note: Ensure both the PostgreSQL database and your app are on the same Coolify network so they can communicate via the internal hostname.

Questions

If you have any issues or questions, reach out to us on Discord or start a GitHub discussion.