Introduction
Content Collections bring a flexible content API to Next.js 15 that blends the best of static content and dynamic data fetching. By modeling your content with code, you get type safety, validation, and a delightful developer experience without leaving your repository.
What Are Content Collections?
Content Collections provide a schema-first approach to managing content in Next.js. Define the structure of your data in code and unlock automatic validation, generated TypeScript types, and built-in support for Markdown content.
- Schema Driven: Define a collection schema once and reuse it across your pages.
- Type Safe: Generated types keep your UI code confident.
- File System Native: Author Markdown, MDX, or JSON files locally and ship them with your app.
Why It Matters for Teams
For product and content teams, Content Collections strike the perfect balance between developer productivity and editorial freedom. Keep content versioned in git while exposing a cohesive API layer to UI components.
Content Collections transform static markdown into structured, validated data—no bespoke parsing pipeline required.
Key Advantages
- Source-control-friendly content workflows
- Automatic static optimization with incremental revalidation
- Composable schema definitions that can be shared across routes
Setting Up Your First Collection
Getting started is straightforward. Install the CLI, generate scaffolding, and register your collection within the Next.js App Router.
pnpm dlx @content-collections/cli init
pnpm dlx @content-collections/cli generate
The CLI creates a content-collections.config.ts file where you author schemas, map data sources, and wire up custom transforms.
Migrating Existing Markdown
If you're currently using plain Markdown or MDX files, the migration path is simple: define a schema that mirrors your frontmatter, move files into the collection folder, and Content Collections will infer types automatically.
- Create a new collection with
defineCollection. - Move Markdown files into the collection directory.
- Run the generator to obtain updated TypeScript types.
Best Practices
To get the most out of Content Collections, keep schemas lean, co-locate CMS logic with feature code, and leverage incremental static regeneration for lightweight previews. Pair the API with Zod or Valibot for additional runtime guardrails if needed.
Conclusion
Content Collections feel like the missing puzzle piece for teams building content-heavy experiences with Next.js. With a single cohesive API and first-class tooling, you can move faster while maintaining type safety. Explore the official docs at content-collections.dev to start crafting richer editorial workflows today.
