A portable Claude skill that provides expert assistance with PayloadCMS by automatically fetching and caching the official documentation.
This skill gives Claude deep knowledge of PayloadCMS by providing access to the complete documentation repository. When activated, Claude will:
- Automatically set up: Checks for local docs and clones them if needed (sparse checkout - only the docs folder)
- Answer questions: About PayloadCMS features and functionality
- Provide code examples: From official documentation
- Guide configuration: Walk through setup and configuration
- Troubleshoot issues: Help debug common problems
- Explain best practices: Architecture patterns and recommendations
✅ Portable: Works in any project - no manual setup required
✅ Efficient: Uses sparse checkout to clone only the docs folder (~139 files)
✅ Cached: Docs are stored locally in .claude/skills/payloadcms/docs/ for fast access
✅ Up-to-date: Clone fresh docs anytime by removing the cache folder
The skill covers all major PayloadCMS topics including:
- Getting Started: Installation and quickstart guides
- Configuration: Collections, globals, fields, and environment setup
- Database: MongoDB, Postgres, SQLite adapters and migrations
- Authentication & Access Control: User management and permissions
- Admin Panel: Customization and custom components
- APIs: REST, GraphQL, and Local API usage
- Rich Text: Lexical and Slate editors
- Plugins: Official plugins (SEO, search, cloud storage, etc.)
- Hooks: Lifecycle hooks and custom logic
- E-commerce: Commerce plugin and payments
- Jobs & Queues: Background processing and workflows
- And much more...
- Activate the skill in your project (it will work in any directory)
- Ask questions about PayloadCMS
The skill will automatically:
- Check if docs are cached at
.claude/skills/payloadcms/docs/ - Clone the docs if they don't exist (first use only)
- Search and read the docs to answer your questions
How do I configure a collection in PayloadCMS?
Show me how to set up MongoDB with Payload
What field types are available in PayloadCMS?
How do I implement custom access control?
- Git must be installed (for cloning docs on first use)
- Internet connection (only needed for first-time doc cloning)
After first use, docs are cached at:
.claude/skills/payloadcms/docs/
This directory will contain 139+ documentation files covering all aspects of PayloadCMS.
To get the latest docs, simply delete the cached directory:
rm -rf .claude/skills/payloadcms/docs/The skill will automatically re-clone the docs on next use.
.claude/skills/payloadcms/
├── skill.md # Main skill prompt and instructions
├── README.md # This file
└── docs/ # Auto-cloned PayloadCMS documentation (created on first use)
- Docs source: https://github.com/payloadcms/payload (docs folder only)
- Clone method: Git sparse checkout with shallow clone (--depth 1)
- Cache location:
.claude/skills/payloadcms/docs/ - Docs count: 139+ markdown files
- PayloadCMS Repository: https://github.com/payloadcms/payload
- Official Docs Site: https://payloadcms.com/docs
- PayloadCMS LLMs.txt: https://payloadcms.com/llms.txt
This skill is built for PayloadCMS 3.x, which is a Next.js native CMS that uses React Server Components and TypeScript.
To improve this skill:
- Update
skill.mdwith better instructions or examples - Test in different projects to ensure portability
- Share improvements with the community