Collections & Globals

Every Dyrected project is made of two primitives: collections and globals. Together they define your content model, your database schema, your REST API, and your Admin UI — all from one config file.

Collections

A collection is for content that has more than one instance — blog posts, products, users, orders, form submissions. Each entry is a separate document with its own id.

export const Posts = defineCollection({
  slug: 'posts',
  fields: [
    { name: 'title', label: 'Title',  type: 'text',   required: true },
    { name: 'status', label: 'Status', type: 'select', options: ['draft', 'published'] },
  ],
})

Defining a collection gives you, automatically:

What you get	Detail
List endpoint	`GET /api/collections/posts` — paginated, filterable, sortable
Single endpoint	`GET /api/collections/posts/:id`
Create endpoint	`POST /api/collections/posts`
Update endpoint	`PATCH /api/collections/posts/:id`
Delete endpoint	`DELETE /api/collections/posts/:id`
List page in Admin UI	Searchable table with configurable columns
Edit page in Admin UI	Form generated from your `fields` array
SDK methods	`.collection('posts').find()`, `.findOne()`, `.create()`, `.update()`, `.delete()`

Globals

A global is for content that has exactly one instance — site settings, a navigation menu, a homepage hero, legal copy. There is no list; there is only one document, and it is always there.

export const SiteSettings = defineGlobal({
  slug: 'site-settings',
  fields: [
    { name: 'siteName', label: 'Site Name',    type: 'text' },
    { name: 'logoUrl', label: 'Logo Url',     type: 'url' },
    { name: 'primaryColor', label: 'Primary Color', type: 'text' },
  ],
})

Defining a global gives you:

What you get	Detail
Get endpoint	`GET /api/globals/site-settings`
Update endpoint	`PATCH /api/globals/site-settings`
Edit page in Admin UI	Single form — no list, no create button
SDK method	`.global('site-settings').get()`, `.update()`

The decision rule

Does this content have more than one instance? — Yes → Collection — No → Global

When in doubt, apply it literally:

Content	Type	Why
Blog posts	Collection	Many posts
Products	Collection	Many products
Users / members	Collection	Many users
Orders	Collection	Many orders
Contact form submissions	Collection	Many submissions
Site settings	Global	One set of settings
Navigation menu	Global	One nav
Homepage hero	Global	One hero section
Cookie policy text	Global	One document
SEO defaults	Global	One set of defaults

If you think you need two globals for the same concept (e.g. "desktop nav" and "mobile nav"), that is usually a sign the nav structure should be a field on a single global, not two globals.

Both live in `defineConfig`

// dyrected.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@dyrected/core'

export default defineConfig({
  db: adapter,
  collections: [Posts, Products, Users],
  globals: [SiteSettings, Navigation],
})

The order of entries in each array controls the order they appear in the Admin UI sidebar.

What the slug controls

The slug is the identifier used everywhere — in API paths, SDK calls, and the Admin UI URL. It must be unique across all collections and globals, lowercase, and hyphenated.

// slug: 'site-settings'
// → API:   GET /api/globals/site-settings
// → SDK:   cms.global('site-settings').get()
// → Admin: /admin/globals/site-settings

Next steps

Fields — define the shape of each collection or global
Access Control — control who can read or write each collection
Schema Definition — how collections map to your database and how migrations work
Globals & Site Settings guide — a practical walkthrough