---
title: "MCP Plugin — Model Context Protocol for Payload CMS"
aliases: [payload-mcp, plugin-mcp, payload-mcp-server]
tags: [payloadcms, mcp, plugin, ai, model-context-protocol, api-keys]
sources: [raw/plugins__mcp.md]
created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-05-15
---

## Overview

`@payloadcms/plugin-mcp` exposes your Payload CMS as an [MCP](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) server. AI clients (Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, etc.) can then perform CRUD operations on your collections and globals using Bearer-token API keys.

## Installation

```bash
pnpm add @payloadcms/plugin-mcp
```

```ts
import { buildConfig } from 'payload'
import { mcpPlugin } from '@payloadcms/plugin-mcp'

export default buildConfig({
  plugins: [
    mcpPlugin({
      collections: {
        posts: { enabled: true },
      },
    }),
  ],
})
```

## Access Control — Two-Step Pattern

> Enabling in config alone is NOT enough. Both steps are required.

**Step 1 — Enable in plugin config:**
```ts
mcpPlugin({
  collections: { posts: { enabled: true } },
  globals: { 'site-settings': { enabled: { find: true, update: true } } },
})
```

**Step 2 — Allow in the API Key:**  
Admin panel → **MCP → API Keys** → create key → toggle individual capabilities.

All MCP requests require `Authorization: Bearer <key>`. Requests without a valid key are rejected immediately.

## Key Options Reference

| Option | Type | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `collections[slug].enabled` | `boolean \| { find, create, update, delete }` | Granular CRUD permissions |
| `globals[slug].enabled` | `boolean \| { find, update }` | Globals are singletons — no create/delete |
| `collections[slug].overrideResponse` | `function` | Intercept/sanitize response before the model sees it |
| `userCollection` | `CollectionSlug` | Which collection holds users for API key linking |
| `overrideApiKeyCollection` | `function` | Extend the auto-generated API Keys collection |
| `overrideAuth` | `function` | Replace Bearer-token auth with custom strategy |
| `disabled` | `boolean` | Disable plugin while keeping DB schema consistent |
| `mcp.tools` | `array` | Custom tools (Zod schema + handler) |
| `mcp.prompts` | `array` | Custom prompts with `argsSchema` |
| `mcp.resources` | `array` | Static or dynamic resources (URI templates) |
| `mcp.handlerOptions.onEvent` | `function` | Audit/analytics callback for every MCP event |
| `mcp.handlerOptions.maxDuration` | `number` | Request timeout in seconds (default: 60) |

## Connecting MCP Clients

### Claude Code
```bash
claude mcp add --transport http Payload http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer MCP-USER-API-KEY"
```

### Cursor / VS Code (via mcp-remote)
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Payload": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "http://localhost:3000/api/mcp",
               "--header", "Authorization: Bearer MCP-USER-API-KEY"]
    }
  }
}
```

### Direct HTTP
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Payload": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:3000/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer MCP-USER-API-KEY" }
    }
  }
}
```

## Custom Tools / Prompts / Resources

### Tool — custom business logic
```ts
mcp: {
  tools: [{
    name: 'getPostScores',
    description: 'Get scores about posts since a given date',
    handler: async (args, req) => {
      const stats = await req.payload.find({
        collection: 'posts',
        where: { createdAt: { greater_than: args.since } },
        req,
        overrideAccess: false,  // respect API key owner's access
        user: req.user,
      })
      return { content: [{ type: 'text', text: `${stats.totalDocs} posts` }] }
    },
    parameters: z.object({ since: z.string() }).shape,
  }]
}
```

### Prompt
```ts
prompts: [{
  name: 'reviewContent',
  argsSchema: { content: z.string(), criteria: z.array(z.string()) },
  handler: ({ content, criteria }, req) => ({
    messages: [{ role: 'user', content: { type: 'text', text: `...` } }]
  }),
}]
```

### Resource (static + dynamic)
```ts
resources: [
  { name: 'guidelines', uri: 'guidelines://company', mimeType: 'text/markdown', handler: (uri, req) => ({ contents: [...] }) },
  { name: 'userProfile', uri: new ResourceTemplate('users://profile/{userId}', { list: undefined }), ... }
]
```

## Globals

Globals get two MCP tools per global: `findSiteSettings` and `updateSiteSettings`.  
No `create` or `delete` — singletons managed by Payload.

## Hooks Integration

Detect MCP context in collection hooks via `req.payloadAPI === 'MCP'`:

```ts
hooks: {
  beforeRead: [
    ({ doc, req }) => {
      if (req.payloadAPI === 'MCP') {
        doc.title = `${doc.title} (MCP Override)`
      }
      return doc
    },
  ],
}
```

## Token Efficiency Tips

- **`select` parameter** — pass `{ select: '{"title": true, "slug": true}' }` to limit fields returned; without it the full document is returned every time
- **`overrideResponse`** — strip sensitive/irrelevant fields server-side before the model sees them
- **Enable only needed ops** — each extra operation (create/update/delete) adds tools to the model's context budget
- **Strong descriptions** — precise collection descriptions help the model pick the right tool on the first try

```ts
// Redact sensitive fields
overrideResponse: (response, doc, req) => {
  response.content = response.content.map((item) => ({
    ...item,
    text: item.text.replace(/"hash":\s*"[^"]*"/g, '"hash": "[redacted]"'),
  }))
  return response
}
```

## Localization

When localization is enabled, all collection/global tools automatically expose `locale` and `fallbackLocale` parameters — no extra config needed.

## Testing

```bash
# MCP Inspector (interactive)
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
# → set URL: http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/mcp
# → add header: Authorization: Bearer MCP-USER-API-KEY

# curl test
curl -i 'http://localhost:3000/api/mcp' \
  -X POST \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer MCP-USER-API-KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json, text/event-stream' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":"1","method":"tools/list","params":{}}'
```

## Key Takeaways

- Two-step access control: plugin config **AND** API Key admin toggle — both required
- All requests need `Authorization: Bearer <key>`; existing Payload access rules still apply
- Use `select` to avoid sending full documents to models — major token savings on rich-text collections
- Use `overrideResponse` to sanitize sensitive fields (passwords, hashes, PII) before LLM sees them
- `req.payloadAPI === 'MCP'` flag lets hooks behave differently for MCP vs REST/GraphQL traffic
- Only enable operations the model actually needs — unnecessary tools waste context budget
- Virtual fields are excluded from create/update schemas but appear in find responses
- Custom Tools receive `req.payload` for full Payload Local API access; always pass `overrideAccess: false`

## Related

- [[wiki/payloadcms/authentication-api-keys|Authentication — API Keys]]
- [[wiki/payloadcms/plugins|Official Plugins]]
- [[wiki/payloadcms/plugins-api|Plugin API]]
- [[wiki/payloadcms/hooks-collections|Collection Hooks]]
- [[wiki/payloadcms/local-api|Local API]]
- [[wiki/payloadcms/queries|Queries]]
- [[wiki/agent-sdk/_index|Claude Agent SDK]]
