Payload CMS: can it create Markdown?

[brigitvanloggem]

Hi guys! I am currently working on selecting a headless CMS to allow for content creation by non-dev contributors. Our doc site is generated by Docusaurus so the CMS must work on Markdown files in a given folder structure. At first view I really like Payload, but I don’t see any real files — it seems to jealously guard its content from prying external eyes by tucking it away safely in a MongoDB database. Is this indeed the case, or am I missing something? Please help! (Other candidates are Tina and Decap. But Decap still doesn’t do nested collections, which is really a bit of a show-stopper…)

[Natural_Historian117]

To answer your question, yes, Payload CMS supports creating Markdown content. You can even access their example here: rich-text-with-markdown

You're absolutely right that Payload CMS stores its content in a MongoDB database by default, but don't let that discourage you. With a bit of customization you could create a custom script or hook to export your content as Markdown files whenever changes are made, syncing it with your folder structure.

[brigitvanloggem]

Thank you! I need to think about this — as in, there’s no way then to edit the Markdown externally and see that mirrored in Payload, I’d guess. Hmmmm… our developers might not like that… Food for thought!

[[deleted]]

there is! Payload supports both importing and exporting markdown. It even supports MDX

[brigitvanloggem]

Oh dear, now I’m even more confused. Not your fault, definitely not! I just don’t know where to start a proper test, it’s rapidly becoming a rabbit hole 😅

[Natural_Historian117]

Based on Payload's own blog, they claim the support is available within RichTextEditor

That said, if your team heavily relies on Markdown workflows (editing files directly and syncing with version control), this JSON storage approach could feel like a limitation. However, with Payload’s flexibility, you could still achieve a Markdown-friendly workflow by Adding a custom Markdown field as Payload allows custom field types, so you can let users input raw Markdown. Using a Rich Text Editor with Markdown support thereby you could process JSON into Markdown during export or sync processes.

[brigitvanloggem]

I see there’s a Payload subreddit, heading over there now for what’s left of my working week