---
title: "Join Field"
aliases: [join-field, bi-directional-relationship, virtual-relationship-field]
tags: [payloadcms, fields, relationships, database, schema]
sources: [raw/fields__join.md]
created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-05-15
---

## Overview

The Join field exposes [[wiki/payloadcms/fields-complex|Relationship and Upload fields]] in the **reverse direction** — it is a **virtual field** (stores no data) that surfaces related documents in the Admin UI and APIs. The foreign key lives on the related collection only; Join reads it on the fly.

```ts
// On the "categories" collection:
export const relatedPostsField: Field = {
  name: 'relatedPosts',
  type: 'join',
  collection: 'posts',  // slug of the collection to join from
  on: 'category',       // name of the relationship field in that collection
}

// On the "posts" collection (the actual storage):
export const categoryField: Field = {
  name: 'category',
  type: 'relationship',
  relationTo: 'categories',
}
```

Navigating to a Category now shows all Posts that reference it — without storing post IDs on the category.

## How It Works Internally

- **MongoDB** — uses aggregation pipelines to join related documents.
- **Postgres / SQLite** — uses SQL `JOIN` statements.
- **No extra query cost** until `depth >= 1`. At `depth: 0` only IDs are returned.
- **Not supported** on DocumentDB and Azure Cosmos DB (aggregation limitations).

## Schema Design Advice

Store the relationship on **one side only** (single source of truth):

| Do | Don't |
|----|-------|
| `post.category_id` (FK on post) | `post.category_id` + `category.post_ids[]` |

Join makes the single-source approach ergonomic — you get bi-directional UI/API without duplicating data.

## Custom Junction Tables

By default, polymorphic relationships create a `_rels` table in Postgres/SQLite. Use Join to **bypass** this:

1. Create a `categories_posts` collection with `category` and `post` relationship fields.
2. Add Join fields on both `Categories` and `Posts` pointing `on` the respective field in `categories_posts`.
3. Optionally set `admin.hidden: true` on `categories_posts` to hide it from the nav.
4. Add extra "context" fields (e.g. `featured`, `spotlight`) on the junction collection.

## Config Options

| Option | Required | Description |
|--------|----------|-------------|
| `name` | ✅ | Property name in API responses |
| `collection` | ✅ | Slug or array of slugs to join from |
| `on` | ✅ | Relationship/Upload field name in that collection. Dot-notation for nested: `'myGroup.relationName'` |
| `orderable` | | Drag-and-drop reordering via fractional indexing |
| `where` | | Static `Where` filter merged with request `where` |
| `maxDepth` | | Max population depth (default 1) |
| `defaultLimit` | | Docs returned per page; `0` = all |
| `defaultSort` | | Default sort field |
| `hooks` | | Field-level hooks |
| `access` | | Field-level access control |

### Admin Options (`admin.*`)

| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `defaultColumns` | Columns shown in the relationship table |
| `allowCreate` | Set `false` to hide "New" button |
| `components.Label` | Custom Label component |
| `disableRowTypes` | Hide row type badges (default `false`) |

## API Response Shape

```json
{
  "id": "66e3431a3f23e684075aae9c",
  "relatedPosts": {
    "docs": [{ "id": "...", "category": "66e3431a3f23e684075aae9c" }],
    "hasNextPage": false,
    "totalDocs": 10
  }
}
```

Polymorphic (array `collection`): each `docs` entry is `{ relationTo: "posts", value: { ... } }`.

## Query Options

Pass `joins: false` to suppress all join fields (performance).

| Param | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `limit` | Max related docs (default 10) |
| `where` | Filter joined docs |
| `sort` | Sort field |
| `count` | Include `totalDocs` in response |

### Local API

```js
await payload.find({
  collection: 'categories',
  joins: {
    relatedPosts: { limit: 5, sort: 'title', where: { title: { equals: 'My Post' } } },
  },
})
```

### REST API

```
/api/categories/{id}?joins[relatedPosts][limit]=5&joins[relatedPosts][sort]=title
```

### GraphQL

```graphql
query {
  Categories {
    docs {
      relatedPosts(sort: "createdAt", limit: 5, count: true) {
        docs { title }
        hasNextPage
        totalDocs
      }
    }
  }
}
```

## Key Takeaways

- **Virtual field** — no column added to the collection that defines it; data stays on the related side.
- **Zero overhead at `depth: 0`** — only IDs returned; full population kicks in at `depth >= 1`.
- **Single source of truth** — avoids dual-sided storage; Join makes bi-directional access free.
- **Custom junction tables** — use a dedicated junction collection + Join fields to escape Payload's auto `_rels` table and add context fields (e.g. `featured`).
- **Polymorphic** — `collection` can be an array of slugs; response wraps each doc as `{ relationTo, value }`.
- **Not supported** on DocumentDB / Azure Cosmos DB.
- **`where` + array collections** — filtering inside arrays/blocks is not yet supported.

## Related

- [[wiki/payloadcms/fields-complex|Fields: Complex (Relationship, Upload, Array, Blocks)]]
- [[wiki/payloadcms/queries|Queries — Where, depth, pagination]]
- [[wiki/payloadcms/database-postgres|Database — Postgres (junction tables, _rels)]]
- [[wiki/payloadcms/collection-config|Collection Config (fractional indexing, orderable)]]
- [[wiki/payloadcms/local-api|Local API]]

## Sources

- `raw/fields__join.md` — official Payload CMS Join field docs
