select.mdx

title	label	order	desc	keywords
Select Field	Select	160	The Select field provides a dropdown-style interface for choosing options from a predefined list. Learn how to use Select fields, see examples and options.	select, multi-select, fields, config, configuration, documentation, Content Management System, cms, headless, javascript, node, react, nextjs

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

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

import type { Field } from 'payload'

export const MySelectField: Field = {
  // ...
  // highlight-start
  type: 'select',
  options: [
    // ...
  ],
  // highlight-end
}

Config Options

Option	Description
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.
hasMany	Boolean when, if set to true, allows this field to have many selections instead of only one.
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.
validate	Provide a custom validation function that will be executed on both the Admin Panel and the backend. More
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.
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
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. See the default field admin config for more details.
custom	Extension point for adding custom data (e.g. for plugins)
enumName	Custom enum name for this field when using SQL Database Adapter (Postgres). Auto-generated from name if not defined.
dbName	Custom table name (if hasMany set to true) for this field when using SQL Database Adapter (Postgres). Auto-generated from name if not defined.
interfaceName	Create a top level, reusable Typescript interface & GraphQL type.
typescriptSchema	Override field type generation with providing a JSON schema
virtual	Provide true to disable field in the database. See Virtual Fields

* An asterisk denotes that a property is required.

**Important:** Option values should be strings that do not contain hyphens or special characters due to GraphQL enumeration naming constraints. Underscores are allowed. If you determine you need your option values to be non-strings or contain special characters, they will be formatted accordingly before being used as a GraphQL enum.

Admin Options

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

import type { Field } from 'payload'

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

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

Property	Description
isClearable	Set to true if you'd like this field to be clearable within the Admin UI.
isSortable	Set 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

import type { CollectionConfig } from 'payload'

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

Custom Components

Field

Server Component

import type { SelectFieldServerComponent } from 'payload'
import type React from 'react'

import { SelectField } from '@payloadcms/ui'

export const CustomSelectFieldServer: SelectFieldServerComponent = ({
  clientField,
  path,
  schemaPath,
  permissions,
}) => {
  return (
    <SelectField
      field={clientField}
      path={path}
      schemaPath={schemaPath}
      permissions={permissions}
    />
  )
}

Client Component

'use client'
import type { SelectFieldClientComponent } from 'payload'

import { SelectField } from '@payloadcms/ui'
import React from 'react'

export const CustomSelectFieldClient: SelectFieldClientComponent = (props) => {
  return <SelectField {...props} />
}

Label

Server Component

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

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

Client Component

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

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