Payload CMS 3 Has a Free API — Next.js-Native Headless CMS with Code-First Config

What if your CMS lived inside your Next.js app — same repo, same deployment, same database, zero external services? Payload CMS 3 is a headless CMS that runs as a Next.js plugin. Your admin panel and API are part of your application. Why Payload 3 Next.js native — runs inside your Next.js app, not a separate service Code-first — define collections in TypeScript, not a GUI Auto-generated API — REST and GraphQL out of the box Type-safe — TypeScript types generated from your config Any database — Postgres, MongoDB, SQLite via adapters Self-hosted — no vendor lock-in, deploy anywhere Free & open source — MIT licensed Quick Start npx create-payload-app@latest // payload.config.ts import { buildConfig } from " payload/config " ; export default buildConfig ({ collections : [ { slug : " posts " , fields : [ { name : " title " , type : " text " , required : true }, { name : " content " , type : " richText " }, { name : " author " , type : " relationship " , relationTo : " users " }, { name : "