---
title: "Textarea Field"
aliases: [textarea-field, payload-textarea]
tags: [payloadcms, fields, textarea, string, admin]
sources: [raw/fields__textarea.md]
created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-05-15
---

Identical to [[wiki/payloadcms/fields-text|Text Field]] but renders a larger multiline input in the Admin Panel. Stores a plain string in the database.

## Config

```ts
{
  name: 'metaDescription',
  type: 'textarea',
  required: true,
}
```

## Config Options

| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `name` * | DB property name |
| `label` | Admin Panel label (string or i18n object) |
| `unique` | DB-level unique index |
| `minLength` / `maxLength` | Character length validation |
| `validate` | Custom validation function (runs on client + backend) |
| `index` | Build DB index for faster queries |
| `saveToJWT` | Include in user JWT (top-level auth collections only) |
| `hooks` | Field lifecycle hooks |
| `access` | Field-level access control |
| `hidden` | Hide from all APIs and Admin; still saved to DB |
| `defaultValue` | Default value |
| `localized` | Enable per-locale content |
| `required` | Non-empty validation |
| `virtual` | `true` = no DB column; or path string for linked relationship |
| `typescriptSchema` | Override TS type generation with JSON schema |
| `custom` | Plugin extension point |

## Admin Options

| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `placeholder` | Placeholder string |
| `autoComplete` | Browser autocomplete string |
| `rows` | Visible text rows (default: `2`) |
| `rtl` | Force right-to-left text direction |

Inherits all base [[wiki/payloadcms/fields-overview|Field Admin Config]] options (condition, width, description, components, etc.).

## Custom Components

### Field Server Component
```tsx
import { TextareaField } from '@payloadcms/ui'
import type { TextareaFieldServerComponent } from 'payload'

export const CustomTextareaFieldServer: TextareaFieldServerComponent = ({
  clientField, path, schemaPath, permissions,
}) => (
  <TextareaField field={clientField} path={path} schemaPath={schemaPath} permissions={permissions} />
)
```

### Field Client Component
```tsx
'use client'
import { TextareaField } from '@payloadcms/ui'
import type { TextareaFieldClientComponent } from 'payload'

export const CustomTextareaFieldClient: TextareaFieldClientComponent = (props) => (
  <TextareaField {...props} />
)
```

### Label (Server / Client)
Use `FieldLabel` from `@payloadcms/ui` with `label`, `path`, and `required` props — same pattern as other fields.

## Key Takeaways

- **Identical to Text field** — same DB storage (string), same options; only visual difference is the multiline textarea input
- **`rows` defaults to 2** — set higher for long content like `metaDescription`, bio, notes
- **`minLength`/`maxLength`** run on both client and server via the default validator
- **`virtual: true`** disables DB column; `virtual: '<path>'` links to a Relationship field
- **`saveToJWT`** embeds the value in the auth token — avoid for large text; use for short identifiers only
- **RTL support** — `admin.rtl: true` forces right-to-left for Arabic/Hebrew content fields

## Key Differences vs Text Field

| | Text | Textarea |
|-|------|---------|
| Input UI | Single-line | Multiline (`rows`) |
| `hasMany` mode | Yes | No |
| Built-in Slug helper | Yes (`slugField()`) | No |
| Otherwise | Identical | Identical |

## Sources

- `raw/fields__textarea.md` — compiled 2026-05-15
- https://payloadcms.com/docs/fields/textarea