Caching - OpenAPI Plugin for Payload CMS

cache is true by default: the plugin builds the document once and reuses it for every request until the process restarts.

Why this is safe

The Payload config is static after boot — collections, globals, fields, and endpoints cannot change while the server runs. So the document is identical on every request, with one exception: servers, which is set on every request, cached or not. See Servers.

Disable it in development

In development your config changes often. Turn the cache off so edits show up without a restart:

payload.config.ts

openapi({
  info: { title: 'My API', version: '1.0.0' },
  cache: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production',
})

If you never want a live spec endpoint at all, cache is not the option you’re looking for — set serve: false and generate the file with the CLI instead. See Static spec.