Payload

Payload is a content management system that installs into an existing application rather than running beside it. Instead of a separate admin service reached over an API, Payload mounts its admin panel and its API inside a Next.js or Express application, sharing the same database and the same deployment. The configuration is code. Collections, fields, access control, and hooks are declared in TypeScript files, which means the content model is versioned with the application and can be type-checked. The generated admin panel reflects that configuration. Because it mounts into the application, the deployment story is the application's deployment story. There is no second service to host, and the database is the one the application already uses. The source is published, and the product can be self-hosted, which is the norm for this category.