Payload integration
No native Payload connector, here is what does work.
We post to your Payload collections over REST with draft status and your access control intact.
How it works
Payload's REST API accepts creates into any collection, authenticated with an API key sent as an Authorization users API-Key header. Drafts work through the draft parameter and the _status field, provided the target collection has versions with drafts enabled in its config. Because Payload is self-hosted and code-configured, your collections, fields, and access-control functions are the real API surface, and we map to them rather than assuming a shape.
The two failure modes we guard against both come from configuration. Drafts are silently unavailable when a collection lacks versions.drafts, with no error to warn you, so we check the collection's behavior at connect and fall back to explicit review-before-send if drafts are off. And since access control is arbitrary code, our endpoint probe names its failure causes, distinguishing an unreachable server from a rejected key from a forbidden collection.
Best forDeveloper teams running Payload who want content posted into their own collections without loosening their access rules.
Setup, step by step
- Enable API keys on your users collection if they are not already on, and create a user for SearchHandled.
- Scope that user's access to the collections we publish into, using your normal access-control functions.
- Add the API key and your server's base URL to SearchHandled's Payload connector.
- Map the target collection and fields, and confirm whether versions.drafts is enabled on it.
- Run the endpoint probe, which verifies reachability, authentication, and collection access separately.
Best practices
Enable drafts on the content collection
Adding versions with drafts to your posts collection is a small config change that unlocks the review workflow: we send drafts, your team flips _status to published. Without it, everything we create is immediately live.
Scope the API user like any other user
Payload runs our requests through your access-control functions, which is a strength. Give the SearchHandled user create and update on the content collections only, and your own rules enforce the boundary.
Treat your config as the contract
Renaming a collection slug or restructuring fields changes the API we write to. Loop us in on content-collection changes, or rerun the mapping after deploys that touch them.
Keep rich text field types stable
Payload rich text fields store editor-specific structures. We format content for the editor your field uses, so switching editors on a field is a mapping change, not just a config tweak.
Known issues
What practitioners actually report, from official docs, issue trackers, and community forums.
Drafts silently unavailable without versions.drafts
When a collection lacks versions.drafts in its config, draft-related parameters do nothing and content saves as live, with no error indicating why.
How we handle itWe check the collection's draft behavior at connect time. If drafts are off, we tell you and switch to explicit review-before-send, holding content in our queue until you approve each piece.
payloadcms.com
Self-hosted configuration variance
Access-control functions, custom hooks, and hosting choices differ per project, so identical requests succeed on one Payload install and fail on another with unhelpful errors.
How we handle itOur endpoint probe tests reachability, authentication, and per-collection access as separate steps and reports the failing step by name, so your developers fix the actual cause.
payloadcms.com
Questions teams ask
- Do we have to enable drafts for this to work?
No, but it changes the workflow. With versions.drafts on, content arrives as drafts your team publishes. With it off, we hold content in our own review queue and only send pieces you have approved, which then go live on arrival.
- Does SearchHandled bypass our access control?
No. Our requests authenticate as a user in your users collection and pass through your access-control functions like any other request. You scope what that user can do, and Payload enforces it.
- What if our Payload server is not publicly reachable?
The connector needs to reach your REST API over HTTPS. If the server sits behind an allowlist, we provide addresses to permit. If it is fully private, the fallback is our JSON export, which matches your collection shape.
Not connectable yet
Start with the plan, not the connector.
Build a Growth Map from your site to see the work itself. Approved pages can leave through the export or the webhook today, and telling us Payload matters moves it up the rollout.