Payload is an open-source, full-stack framework for Next.js that provides a TypeScript backend and an administration panel for managing application data and content. Developers use it as a headless content management system or as the backend and application framework for their own projects. The catalogue add-ons help agents work with Payload projects and their development workflows.
Borrowing it
Nothing to install: this file belongs to payloadcms/payload. Take a copy, put it at the same path in your own repository, and replace the rules that are about this project with yours.
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/payloadcms/payload/main/AGENTS.mdgit clone --depth 1 https://github.com/payloadcms/payloadWrote this? Show the measurements
A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.
[](https://agentmods.dev/instructions/payloadcms/payload/agents-md)<a href="https://agentmods.dev/instructions/payloadcms/payload/agents-md"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/instructions/payloadcms/payload/agents-md/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/instructions/payloadcms/payload/agents-md"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/instructions/payloadcms/payload/agents-md.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>What it costs to keep this loaded
Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.
| Model | Per session | Once invoked |
|---|---|---|
| Fable 5.1 | $0.05631 | $0.05631 |
| Opus 5.5 | $0.02252 | $0.02252 |
| Sonnet 5.5 | $0.01126 | $0.01126 |
| Haiku 4.5 | $0.00563 | $0.00563 |
Grade A, and why
payload AGENTS.md scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 7d ago.
A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.
Nothing flagged
None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.
How it starts
The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 487 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.
AGENTS.md
Project Structure
Payload is a monorepo structured around Next.js, containing the core CMS platform, database adapters, plugins, and tooling.
Key Directories
packages/- All publishable packagespackages/payload- Core Payload package containing the main CMS logicpackages/ui- Admin UI components (React Server Components)packages/next- Next.js integration layerpackages/db-*- Database adapters (MongoDB, Postgres, SQLite, Vercel Postgres, D1 SQLite)packages/drizzle- Drizzle ORM integrationpackages/kv-redis- Redis key-value store adapterpackages/richtext-*- Rich text editors (Lexical)packages/storage-*- Storage adapters (S3, Azure, GCS, Vercel Blob, R2)packages/email-*- Email adapters (Nodemailer, Resend)packages/plugin-*- Additional functionality pluginspackages/graphql- GraphQL API layerpackages/translations- i18n translations
test/- Test suites organized by feature area. Each directory contains a granular Payload config and test filesdocs/- Documentation (deployed to payloadcms.com)tools/- Monorepo toolingtemplates/- Production-ready project templatesexamples/- Example implementations
Architecture Notes
- Payload 3.x is built as a Next.js native CMS that installs directly in
/appfolder - UI is built with React Server Components (RSC)
- Database adapters use Drizzle ORM under the hood
- Packages use TypeScript with strict mode and path mappings defined in
tsconfig.base.json - Source files are in
src/, compiled outputs go todist/ - Monorepo uses pnpm workspaces and Turbo for builds
Quick Start
pnpm installpnpm run build:corepnpm run dev(MongoDB) orpnpm run dev:postgres
Build Commands
pnpm install- Install all dependenciespnpm turbo- All Turbo commands should be run from root with pnpm - not withturbodirectlypnpm run buildorpnpm run build:core- Build core packages (excludes plugins and storage adapters)pnpm run build:all- Build all packagespnpm run build:<directory_name>- Build specific package (e.g.pnpm run build:db-mongodb,pnpm run build:ui)
What this file has done since we first saw it
Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.
- 7d ago Changed 72f4fb9191bd
- 8d ago Changed d3c283265101
- 9d ago Changed · +1 lines · +75 tokens per session af4cf7035a5a
- 12d ago Changed · +16 lines · +184 tokens per session 28d2af600a22
- 1mo ago Changed · +1 lines · +59 tokens per session 4447602c350f
- 1mo ago Changed · +1 lines · +18 tokens per session f270aeb45b5d
- 1mo ago Changed · +3 lines · +86 tokens per session d67618f71722
- 1mo ago Changed · +463 lines · +5,197 tokens per session 6cc72434141c
- 1mo ago First seen · 2 lines · 12 tokens per session scan A c85b4df9c651
payload AGENTS.md is an instructions file published in the GitHub repository payloadcms/payload (45,565 stars, last pushed today), licensed MIT. It adds 5,631 tokens to every session, about $0.0225 per session on Opus 5.5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.
Other instructions, from other repositories
vscode buildNext.instructions.md
Working notes and architecture documentation for the new esbuild-based build system in build/next. Use when making changes to the new build pipeline (transpile/bundle commands, NLS plugin, source-map handling, resource copying, or self-hosting watch tasks).
next.js AGENTS.md
AGENTS.md instructions for vercel/next.js, covering next.js development guide, codebase structure, monorepo overview, core package: packages/next and other important packages.
vscode oss-third-party-notices.instructions.md
Instructions for microsoft/vscode, covering vs code oss third-party-notices pipeline, architecture, pipeline flow in ci, cache eligibility and rollout and applying the notice (cutover).
langchain AGENTS.md
AGENTS.md instructions for langchain-ai/langchain, covering global development guidelines for the langchain monorepo, corridor security analysis, project architecture and context, monorepo structure and development tools & commands.
vscode copilot-instructions.md
Copilot instructions for microsoft/vscode, covering vs code copilot instructions, project overview, root folders, core architecture (src/ folder) and built-in extensions (extensions/ folder).
deepseek-harness AGENTS.md
AGENTS.md instructions for deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness, covering agents.md, pre-stable apis and released session data, repository layout, commands and host sandbox failures.