Filters

filters decides what the spec contains: which collections and globals are documented, which Payload-internal collections show up, which extra endpoint groups are generated, and which individual operations are dropped. It’s one flat object.

Option	Type	Default	Description
`include`	`EntityMatcher[]`	`[]`	Allowlist. When non-empty, only matching entities are documented
`exclude`	`EntityMatcher[]`	`[]`	Entities to leave out entirely (schemas and paths)
`includeHidden`	`boolean`	`false`	Include collections flagged `hidden` / `admin.hidden`
`includeSystem`	`boolean`	`false`	Include Payload-internal collections (`payload-jobs`, `payload-preferences`, …)
`includeCustom`	`boolean`	`true`	Document endpoints carrying `custom.openapi` metadata
`includeAuth`	`boolean`	`true`	Document auth operations (login / logout / me / …)
`includeAdminAuth`	`boolean`	`false`	Document admin/bootstrap auth endpoints (`/init`, `/access`, first-register)
`includeVersions`	`boolean`	`true`	Document version operations (`/versions`, `/versions/{id}`)
`includeJobs`	`boolean`	`true`	Document jobs endpoints (`/payload-jobs/run`, `/handle-schedules`)
`excludeOperations`	`OperationRule[]`	`[]`	Per-operation removal rules
`excludeWhen`	`(ctx) => boolean`	—	Escape hatch: return `true` to drop an operation

includeSystem covers these collections: payload-jobs, payload-kv, payload-locked-documents, payload-migrations, payload-preferences, payload-query-presets and payload-folders.

Choosing entities with `include` and `exclude`

These two lists pick which collections and globals are documented. Each entry is an EntityMatcher — one of three shapes:

Matcher	Matches	Example
a string	one entity by its exact slug	`'posts'`
a `RegExp`	every entity whose slug matches the pattern	`/^marketing-/`
`{ kind, slug }`	one entity, when a collection and a global share the same slug	`{ kind: 'global', slug: 'nav' }`

Two rules govern how the lists combine:

include is an allowlist. Leave it empty and everything is documented; add anything and only matching entities survive.
exclude always wins. An entity matching both lists is dropped.

Document only a few collections

Once include has entries, everything else stays out of the spec:

payload.config.ts

filters: {
  include: ['posts', 'media', 'categories'],
}

Document everything except a few entities

payload.config.ts

filters: {
  exclude: ['audit-log', 'internal-settings'],
}

Match a group of slugs with a regular expression

The pattern is tested against the slug. This keeps every collection whose slug starts with public- and drops everything else:

payload.config.ts

filters: {
  // public-posts, public-media, public-authors … all kept; everything else dropped.
  include: [/^public-/],
}

Common patterns, for reference:

/^public-/ — slug starts with public-
/-draft$/ — slug ends with -draft
/^(posts|pages)$/ — slug is exactly posts or pages
/internal/i — slug contains internal, case-insensitive

Disambiguate a collection from a global

A plain string matches any entity with that slug. When a collection and a global share one, use { kind, slug } to target just one of them:

payload.config.ts

filters: {
  // Keep the `settings` collection, drop the `settings` global.
  exclude: [{ kind: 'global', slug: 'settings' }],
}

Mix them

include narrows the set first, then exclude removes from what’s left:

payload.config.ts

filters: {
  // Document every `public-*` collection, but never the drafts one.
  include: [/^public-/],
  exclude: ['public-drafts'],
}

include and exclude only apply to your own collections and globals. Hidden and Payload-internal collections are governed by includeHidden and includeSystem, which run first — adding payload-jobs to include won’t surface it unless includeSystem is on.

Dropping individual operations

include / exclude work at the entity level. To remove specific operations — one method on one collection, every DELETE, anything under a path prefix — use excludeOperations or excludeWhen.

`excludeOperations`

Each rule is a set of conditions. Within one rule, every field you set must match (AND). Across rules, an operation is dropped if any rule matches it (OR). A field you leave out matches anything.

Field	Type	Matches
`method`	`HttpMethod \| HttpMethod[]`	The HTTP method(s); omit to match any
`slug`	`string \| RegExp`	The entity slug, exact string or pattern; omit to match any
`kind`	`'collection' \| 'global'`	Restrict to collections or globals; omit to match both
`path`	`RegExp`	Tested against the final route path (e.g. `/api/posts/{id}`)

payload.config.ts

filters: {
  excludeOperations: [
    // Drop every DELETE, on any entity.
    { method: 'delete' },
    // Drop writes to `posts`, but leave its reads alone.
    { slug: 'posts', method: ['post', 'patch', 'put'] },
    // Drop anything matching a path, regardless of method or entity.
    { path: /\/preview$/ },
  ],
}

`excludeWhen`

For logic that doesn’t fit a rule, excludeWhen is the escape hatch. It runs after excludeOperations and receives the method, path, slug, and kind of every operation; return true to drop it:

payload.config.ts

filters: {
  excludeWhen: ({ path, method }) => path.includes('/internal/') || method === 'put',
}

Filters only remove things from the document. To change how a kept operation is marked (public vs. secured), see Security marking.

Documentation

Configuration

CLI

Guides

Reference

Choosing entities with `include` and `exclude`

Document only a few collections

Document everything except a few entities

Match a group of slugs with a regular expression

Disambiguate a collection from a global

Mix them

Dropping individual operations

`excludeOperations`

`excludeWhen`

​Choosing entities with include and exclude

​Document only a few collections

​Document everything except a few entities

​Match a group of slugs with a regular expression

​Disambiguate a collection from a global

​Mix them

​Dropping individual operations

​excludeOperations

​excludeWhen

Choosing entities with `include` and `exclude`

Document only a few collections

Document everything except a few entities

Match a group of slugs with a regular expression

Disambiguate a collection from a global

Mix them

Dropping individual operations

`excludeOperations`

`excludeWhen`