/nuxt-content

Collections

Use collections as the schema and routing boundary for content. Once content.config.ts exists, Nuxt Content imports only files matched by a collection source.

Choose the collection type

• page adds path, title, description, seo, body, and navigation; use it when one content file maps to one route.
• data adds the common file fields but leaves the domain schema to you; use it for authors, products, configuration, and other structured records.
• Every collection includes id, stem, extension, and meta.

Keep each source file in one collection. Overlapping collection globs can break live reload, so use exclude to make ownership explicit.

Validators and editor metadata

Import validators from their packages. The z re-export from @nuxt/content is deprecated.

import { defineCollection, defineContentConfig, property } from '@nuxt/content'
import { z } from 'zod/v4'

export default defineContentConfig({
  collections: {
    products: defineCollection({
      type: 'data',
      source: 'products/*.json',
      schema: z.object({
        sku: z.string(),
        category: z.string(),
        price: z.number(),
        image: property(z.string()).editor({ input: 'media' }),
      }),
      indexes: [
        { columns: ['category', 'price'] },
        { columns: ['sku'], unique: true },
      ],
    }),
  },
})

Nuxt Content supports Zod 3, Zod 4, and Valibot through JSON Schema conversion. Use property(schema).editor(...) for Studio input metadata and property(schema).inherit(...) when a schema should follow a Vue component's props. Keep indexes beside the collection they optimize; columns, unique, and name are collection index options.

Source shapes

// Local content directory
source: 'docs/**'

// Explicit include, exclusions, and route prefix
source: {
  include: 'fr/**',
  exclude: ['fr/drafts/**'],
  prefix: '/fr',
}

// Files outside content/
source: {
  cwd: resolve('packages/handbook'),
  include: '**/*.md',
}

// Remote Git repository
source: {
  repository: {
    url: 'https://github.com/org/docs',
    branch: 'main',
    auth: { token: process.env.DOCS_TOKEN },
  },
  include: 'content/**',
}

Remote repositories require include. Keep credentials in environment variables and use the narrowest repository token that can read the source.

For API-backed content, use defineCollectionSource with stable getKeys() results and a getItem(key) implementation. The returned items still pass through the collection schema, so keys and field types must be deterministic.

Navigation and locale sources

Navigation metadata lives in .navigation.yml. A source such as **/*.md excludes that file; use ** or an include pattern that covers Markdown and YAML when navigation is required.

const common = z.object({ locale: z.enum(['en', 'fr']) })

export default defineContentConfig({
  collections: {
    docs_en: defineCollection({
      type: 'page',
      source: { include: 'en/**', prefix: '/' },
      schema: common,
    }),
    docs_fr: defineCollection({
      type: 'page',
      source: { include: 'fr/**', prefix: '/fr' },
      schema: common,
    }),
  },
})

Pick the collection from the active locale, then query its generated path. For @nuxtjs/i18n route behavior, apply that module's guidance after the collection boundary is settled.

Checks

• npx nuxi typecheck resolves every collection and custom field.
• Each source glob includes the intended files and excludes competing collections.
• Fields added by hooks or transformers exist in the collection schema.
• Query indexes cover actual filter/sort patterns rather than every field.

Official references: define collections, sources, validators.