Decap CMS Collections Configuration Setup

Decap CMS Collections Configuration Setup

Collections — central element of config.yml. Each collection defines content type: where files store, how named, what fields available. Properly configured collections make difference between usable CMS and confusing fields set.

Two Collection Types

Folder collection — list of similar records (articles, cases, jobs):

collections:
  - name: blog
    label: Blog
    folder: content/blog
    create: true
    delete: true
    slug: "{{slug}}"
    fields:
      - { label: Title, name: title, widget: string }
      - { label: Body, name: body, widget: markdown }

Files collection — fixed page set (home, about, contacts):

  - name: pages
    label: Pages
    files:
      - label: Home Page
        name: home
        file: content/home.yaml
        fields:
          - { label: Hero Title, name: hero_title, widget: string }
      - label: About
        name: about
        file: content/about.md
        fields:
          - { label: Body, name: body, widget: markdown }

Field Widgets

Complete widget set for real projects:

fields:
  - { label: String, name: title, widget: string, required: true }
  - { label: Text, name: description, widget: text }
  - { label: Number, name: order, widget: number, value_type: int }
  - { label: Boolean, name: featured, widget: boolean, default: false }
  - { label: Date, name: date, widget: datetime, format: "YYYY-MM-DD" }

  # Select from list
  - label: Category
    name: category
    widget: select
    options: [{label: News, value: news}, {label: Cases, value: cases}]

  # Media file
  - { label: Cover, name: cover, widget: image, required: false }

  # Markdown editor
  - { label: Body, name: body, widget: markdown, modes: [rich_text, raw] }

  # List of strings
  - { label: Tags, name: tags, widget: list }

  # Nested object
  - label: SEO
    name: seo
    widget: object
    fields:
      - { label: Meta Title, name: title, widget: string }
      - { label: Meta Description, name: description, widget: text }

  # List of objects
  - label: Features
    name: features
    widget: list
    fields:
      - { label: Icon, name: icon, widget: string }
      - { label: Title, name: title, widget: string }

File Name Templates

slug determines created file name. Template variables available:

# Date + slug from title
slug: "{{year}}-{{month}}-{{day}}-{{slug}}"
# Result: 2025-03-15-my-first-post.md

# Only slug
slug: "{{slug}}"

# Custom field
slug: "{{fields.id}}-{{slug}}"

Sorting and Filtering

- name: team
  label: Team
  folder: content/team
  sortable_fields: ['name', 'position', 'order']
  view_filters:
    - label: Active Only
      field: active
      pattern: true
    - label: Managers
      field: department
      pattern: management
  view_groups:
    - label: By Department
      field: department

Conditional Fields

fields:
  - label: Block Type
    name: type
    widget: select
    options: [text, video, gallery]
  - label: Text
    name: text
    widget: markdown
    condition:
      field: type
      value: text
  - label: Video URL
    name: video_url
    widget: string
    condition:
      field: type
      value: video

i18n Collections

i18n:
  structure: multiple_files
  locales: [en, uk]
  default_locale: en

collections:
  - name: services
    label: Services
    folder: content/services
    i18n: true
    fields:
      - { label: Title, name: title, widget: string, i18n: true }
      - { label: Slug, name: slug, widget: string, i18n: duplicate }
      - { label: Body, name: body, widget: markdown, i18n: true }

Timeline

5–8 content types: 4–8 hours. With i18n, conditionals, relations: 1–2 days.