---
status: "published"
label: "CMS API"
title: "CMS API Reference for the Next.js Supabase SaaS Kit"
description: "Complete API reference for fetching, filtering, and rendering content from any CMS provider in Makerkit."
order: 1
---

The CMS API provides a unified interface for fetching content regardless of your storage backend. The same code works with Keystatic, WordPress, Supabase, or any custom CMS client you create.

## Creating a CMS Client

The `createCmsClient` function returns a client configured for your chosen provider:

```tsx
import { createCmsClient } from '@kit/cms';

const client = await createCmsClient();
```

The provider is determined by the `CMS_CLIENT` environment variable:

```bash
CMS_CLIENT=keystatic  # Default
CMS_CLIENT=wordpress
CMS_CLIENT=supabase   # Requires plugin
```

You can also override the provider at runtime:

```tsx
import { createCmsClient } from '@kit/cms';

// Force WordPress regardless of env var
const wpClient = await createCmsClient('wordpress');
```

## Fetching Multiple Content Items

Use `getContentItems()` to retrieve lists of content with filtering and pagination:

```tsx
import { createCmsClient } from '@kit/cms';

const client = await createCmsClient();

const { items, total } = await client.getContentItems({
  collection: 'posts',
  limit: 10,
  offset: 0,
  sortBy: 'publishedAt',
  sortDirection: 'desc',
  status: 'published',
});
```

### Options Reference

| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|--------|------|---------|-------------|
| `collection` | `string` | Required | The collection to query (`posts`, `documentation`, `changelog`) |
| `limit` | `number` | `10` | Maximum items to return |
| `offset` | `number` | `0` | Number of items to skip (for pagination) |
| `sortBy` | `'publishedAt' \| 'order' \| 'title'` | `'publishedAt'` | Field to sort by |
| `sortDirection` | `'asc' \| 'desc'` | `'asc'` | Sort direction |
| `status` | `'published' \| 'draft' \| 'review' \| 'pending'` | `'published'` | Filter by content status |
| `categories` | `string[]` | - | Filter by category slugs |
| `tags` | `string[]` | - | Filter by tag slugs |
| `language` | `string` | - | Filter by language code |
| `content` | `boolean` | `true` | Whether to fetch full content (set `false` for list views) |
| `parentIds` | `string[]` | - | Filter by parent content IDs (for hierarchical content) |

### Pagination Example

```tsx
import { createCmsClient } from '@kit/cms';
import { cache } from 'react';

const getPostsPage = cache(async (page: number, perPage = 10) => {
  const client = await createCmsClient();

  return client.getContentItems({
    collection: 'posts',
    limit: perPage,
    offset: (page - 1) * perPage,
    sortBy: 'publishedAt',
    sortDirection: 'desc',
  });
});

// Usage in a Server Component
async function BlogList({ page }: { page: number }) {
  const { items, total } = await getPostsPage(page);
  const totalPages = Math.ceil(total / 10);

  return (
    <div>
      {items.map((post) => (
        <article key={post.id}>
          <h2>{post.title}</h2>
          <p>{post.description}</p>
        </article>
      ))}

      <nav>
        Page {page} of {totalPages}
      </nav>
    </div>
  );
}
```

### Filtering by Category

```tsx
const { items } = await client.getContentItems({
  collection: 'posts',
  categories: ['tutorials', 'guides'],
  limit: 5,
});
```

### List View Optimization

For list views where you only need titles and descriptions, skip content fetching:

```tsx
const { items } = await client.getContentItems({
  collection: 'posts',
  content: false, // Don't fetch full content
  limit: 20,
});
```

## Fetching a Single Content Item

Use `getContentItemBySlug()` to retrieve a specific piece of content:

```tsx
import { createCmsClient } from '@kit/cms';

const client = await createCmsClient();

const post = await client.getContentItemBySlug({
  slug: 'getting-started',
  collection: 'posts',
});

if (!post) {
  // Handle not found
}
```

### Options Reference

| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|--------|------|---------|-------------|
| `slug` | `string` | Required | The URL slug of the content item |
| `collection` | `string` | Required | The collection to search |
| `status` | `'published' \| 'draft' \| 'review' \| 'pending'` | `'published'` | Required status for the item |

### Draft Preview

To preview unpublished content (e.g., for admin users):

```tsx
const draft = await client.getContentItemBySlug({
  slug: 'upcoming-feature',
  collection: 'posts',
  status: 'draft',
});
```

## Content Item Shape

All CMS providers return items matching this TypeScript interface:

```tsx
interface ContentItem {
  id: string;
  title: string;
  label: string | undefined;
  slug: string;
  url: string;
  description: string | undefined;
  content: unknown; // Provider-specific format
  publishedAt: string; // ISO date string
  image: string | undefined;
  status: 'draft' | 'published' | 'review' | 'pending';
  categories: Category[];
  tags: Tag[];
  order: number;
  parentId: string | undefined;
  children: ContentItem[];
  collapsible?: boolean;
  collapsed?: boolean;
}

interface Category {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  slug: string;
}

interface Tag {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  slug: string;
}
```

## Rendering Content

Content format varies by provider (Markdoc nodes, HTML, React nodes). Use the `ContentRenderer` component for provider-agnostic rendering:

```tsx
import { createCmsClient, ContentRenderer } from '@kit/cms';
import { notFound } from 'next/navigation';

async function ArticlePage({ slug }: { slug: string }) {
  const client = await createCmsClient();

  const article = await client.getContentItemBySlug({
    slug,
    collection: 'posts',
  });

  if (!article) {
    notFound();
  }

  return (
    <article>
      <header>
        <h1>{article.title}</h1>
        {article.description && <p>{article.description}</p>}
        <time dateTime={article.publishedAt}>
          {new Date(article.publishedAt).toLocaleDateString()}
        </time>
      </header>

      <ContentRenderer content={article.content} />

      <footer>
        {article.categories.map((cat) => (
          <span key={cat.id}>{cat.name}</span>
        ))}
      </footer>
    </article>
  );
}
```

## Working with Categories and Tags

### Fetch All Categories

```tsx
const categories = await client.getCategories({
  limit: 50,
  offset: 0,
});
```

### Fetch a Category by Slug

```tsx
const category = await client.getCategoryBySlug('tutorials');

if (category) {
  // Fetch posts in this category
  const { items } = await client.getContentItems({
    collection: 'posts',
    categories: [category.slug],
  });
}
```

### Fetch All Tags

```tsx
const tags = await client.getTags({
  limit: 100,
});
```

### Fetch a Tag by Slug

```tsx
const tag = await client.getTagBySlug('react');
```

## Building Dynamic Pages

### Blog Post Page

```tsx {% title="app/[locale]/(marketing)/blog/[slug]/page.tsx" %}
import { createCmsClient, ContentRenderer } from '@kit/cms';
import { notFound } from 'next/navigation';

interface Props {
  params: Promise<{ slug: string }>;
}

export async function generateStaticParams() {
  const client = await createCmsClient();
  const { items } = await client.getContentItems({
    collection: 'posts',
    content: false,
    limit: 1000,
  });

  return items.map((post) => ({
    slug: post.slug,
  }));
}

export async function generateMetadata({ params }: Props) {
  const { slug } = await params;
  const client = await createCmsClient();

  const post = await client.getContentItemBySlug({
    slug,
    collection: 'posts',
  });

  if (!post) {
    return {};
  }

  return {
    title: post.title,
    description: post.description,
    openGraph: {
      images: post.image ? [post.image] : [],
    },
  };
}

export default async function BlogPostPage({ params }: Props) {
  const { slug } = await params;
  const client = await createCmsClient();

  const post = await client.getContentItemBySlug({
    slug,
    collection: 'posts',
  });

  if (!post) {
    notFound();
  }

  return (
    <article>
      <h1>{post.title}</h1>
      <ContentRenderer content={post.content} />
    </article>
  );
}
```

### CMS-Powered Static Pages

Store pages like Terms of Service or Privacy Policy in your CMS:

```tsx {% title="app/[slug]/page.tsx" %}
import { createCmsClient, ContentRenderer } from '@kit/cms';
import { notFound } from 'next/navigation';

interface Props {
  params: Promise<{ slug: string }>;
}

export default async function StaticPage({ params }: Props) {
  const { slug } = await params;
  const client = await createCmsClient();

  const page = await client.getContentItemBySlug({
    slug,
    collection: 'pages', // Create this collection in your CMS
  });

  if (!page) {
    notFound();
  }

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{page.title}</h1>
      <ContentRenderer content={page.content} />
    </div>
  );
}
```

{% alert type="default" title="Create the pages collection" %}
This example assumes you've added a `pages` collection to your CMS configuration. By default, Makerkit includes `posts`, `documentation`, and `changelog` collections.
{% /alert %}

## Caching Strategies

### React Cache

Wrap CMS calls with React's `cache()` for request deduplication:

```tsx
import { createCmsClient } from '@kit/cms';
import { cache } from 'react';

export const getPost = cache(async (slug: string) => {
  const client = await createCmsClient();

  return client.getContentItemBySlug({
    slug,
    collection: 'posts',
  });
});
```

### Next.js Data Cache

The CMS client respects Next.js caching. For static content, pages are cached at build time with `generateStaticParams()`.

For dynamic content that should revalidate:

```tsx
import { unstable_cache } from 'next/cache';
import { createCmsClient } from '@kit/cms';

const getCachedPosts = unstable_cache(
  async () => {
    const client = await createCmsClient();
    return client.getContentItems({ collection: 'posts', limit: 10 });
  },
  ['posts-list'],
  { revalidate: 3600 } // Revalidate every hour
);
```

## Provider-Specific Notes

### Keystatic

- Collections: `posts`, `documentation`, `changelog` (configurable in `keystatic.config.ts`)
- Categories and tags are stored as arrays of strings
- Content is Markdoc, rendered via `@kit/keystatic/renderer`

### WordPress

- Collections map to WordPress content types: use `posts` for posts, `pages` for pages
- Categories and tags use WordPress's native taxonomy system
- Language filtering uses tags (add `en`, `de`, etc. tags to posts)
- Content is HTML, rendered via `@kit/wordpress/renderer`

### Supabase

- Uses the `content_items`, `categories`, and `tags` tables
- Requires the Supabase CMS plugin installation
- Content can be HTML or any format you store
- Works with [Supamode](/supabase-cms) for admin UI

## Next Steps

- [Keystatic Setup](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/content/keystatic): Configure local or GitHub storage
- [WordPress Setup](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/content/wordpress): Connect to WordPress REST API
- [Supabase CMS Plugin](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/content/supabase): Store content in your database
- [Custom CMS Client](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/content/creating-your-own-cms-client): Build integrations for Sanity, Contentful, etc.