Concepts
Learn the core Dyrected ideas before you start modeling content.
Dyrected is based around a small set of core ideas. Before you start configuring collections or inviting editors, it helps to get comfortable with the terms Dyrected uses and how those pieces fit together.
Most of the system starts from one source of truth: your dyrected.config.ts. That config describes your content model, your rules, and the runtime surfaces Dyrected generates from them.
Core concepts
Config
The config is the center of a Dyrected project. It is a typed object that defines collections, globals, fields, access rules, hooks, adapters, email, and admin behavior.
Start here when you want the main setup surface: Configuration Overview.
Database
Dyrected stores your content through an adapter. In self-hosted projects, you choose the adapter and provide the connection. In Dyrected Cloud, the infrastructure is managed for you.
Schema behavior and storage setup are best paired with Database Overview and Configuration Overview.
Collections
Collections are groups of repeatable documents that share a schema. Use them for content like posts, products, team members, users, orders, or submissions.
If the content has many instances, it usually belongs in a collection. The closest starting point today is Configuration Overview.
Globals
Globals are singleton documents for content that should exist only once, such as navigation, footer settings, SEO defaults, or site-wide business details.
If there is one shared version of the content for the whole site, it usually belongs in a global. The closest starting point today is Configuration Overview.
Fields
Fields are the building blocks of every collection and global. They define your schema and drive the generated admin forms, API responses, and SDK types.
Start with Fields Overview for the mental model.
Relationships and Depth
Relationships connect one collection to another. Depth controls how much related data gets hydrated in API and SDK responses.
The closest place for this topic today is Fields Overview, since relationships are part of how fields shape documents.
Hooks
Hooks let you run your own logic before or after reads, writes, deletes, and workflow transitions. This is where you usually put things like slug generation, revalidation, webhooks, and side effects.
See Hooks Overview.
Authentication
Authentication is collection-scoped in Dyrected. Adding auth: true turns a collection into an auth provider and generates the related auth endpoints automatically.
See Authentication Overview and Operations.
Access Control
Access control decides who can read, create, update, or delete documents and fields. It runs on the server, not just in the admin UI.
Admin UI
The admin UI is generated from your config. Editors use it to manage collections and globals without you building a custom dashboard from scratch.
See Admin Overview.
Detail Views
Detail Views are the read-first admin screens editors see before opening a collection record or global for editing. Your schema can shape these screens with sections, field display formats, computed values, and repeated-data layouts, so editors can review the important parts of a document without scanning the full form.
See Detail Views.
Workflows
Workflows add editorial states and transitions, so content can move through review and publishing steps instead of going live immediately on every edit.
See Workflows Overview for the current published guide.
Retrieving data
Dyrected exposes your content through a few main surfaces:
REST API
Every collection and global gets predictable HTTP endpoints under /api. This is the most general integration surface and works from any language or tool.
See REST API Overview.
SDK
@dyrected/sdk is the typed TypeScript client for reading and mutating Dyrected data. It wraps the REST API and adds a more convenient application-facing interface.
See SDK API Overview.
OpenAPI
Dyrected also generates an API contract from your config at runtime. Until there is a dedicated OpenAPI page, the closest related overview is REST API Overview.
Package structure
Dyrected is split into focused packages so you only install the pieces your project needs.
@dyrected/core
This is the main engine. It contains the content model, runtime rules, hooks, workflows, and core server behavior.
@dyrected/next and @dyrected/nuxt
These packages mount Dyrected into a Next.js or Nuxt application and provide framework-specific integration points, including admin mounting.
@dyrected/react and @dyrected/vue
These packages provide framework-native helpers for using Dyrected in React and Vue applications when you want to fetch content, work with the SDK more ergonomically, or embed Dyrected-powered experiences into an existing frontend.
@dyrected/admin
This package provides the generated React admin UI that can be hosted by Dyrected or embedded into your own app.
@dyrected/sdk
This is the framework-agnostic client for reading and updating content from frontend code, server code, or scripts.
Database and storage adapters
Adapters such as @dyrected/db-postgres, @dyrected/db-mysql, @dyrected/db-sqlite, @dyrected/db-mongodb, and the storage packages let you choose how Dyrected connects to your infrastructure when you are self-hosting.
Next step
If this mental model feels clear, continue to Installation. If you want the practical setup path after that, go to the quick start guide that matches your frontend: Next.js, Nuxt, React, or Vue.