Payload CMS on GKE Autopilot

Payload CMS is a TypeScript-native, code-first headless CMS and application framework built directly on Next.js — not a hosted SaaS product, but a library installed into your own Next.js application. Content is modeled through typed "Collections" defined in payload.config.ts, and Payload generates an admin UI plus REST, GraphQL, and Local APIs from that same config. This module deploys a real Payload application on GKE Autopilot on top of the App_GKE foundation, which provisions and manages the shared Google Cloud and Kubernetes infrastructure.

This guide focuses on the cloud services this deployment uses and how to explore and operate them from the Google Cloud Console and the command line. For the mechanics that are common to every GKE application — Workload Identity, ingress, autoscaling, CI/CD, Cloud Armor, IAP, Binary Authorization, VPC Service Controls, backups, and the deployment lifecycle — refer to the App_GKE foundation guide rather than repeating them here.

---

1. Overview

Payload runs as a Node.js (Next.js) pod on GKE Autopilot. There is no official Payload Docker image — this module builds a real, locally-verified starter application from source (a blank create-payload-app template using the PostgreSQL adapter) via Cloud Build. The deployment wires together a focused set of Google Cloud services:

Capability	Google Cloud service	Notes
Compute	GKE Autopilot	Node.js (Next.js standalone) pods, horizontally autoscaled
Build	Cloud Build	Builds the bundled Payload starter app from Payload_Common/scripts/Dockerfile — no prebuilt image exists to pull
Database	Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15	Required — Payload's Postgres adapter is used; MySQL/MongoDB are not wired
Object storage	None	No bucket is provisioned; media uploads go to local, ephemeral container disk
Secrets	Secret Manager	Auto-generated PAYLOAD_SECRET; database password
Ingress	Cloud Load Balancing	External LoadBalancer by default, optional custom domain + managed certificate

Sensible defaults worth knowing up front:

• PostgreSQL 15 is mandatory and schema is not created on boot. Booting the built server against a fresh database creates zero tables — the payload-migrate init job applies schema via the payload migrate CLI, using a pre-generated migration file baked into the image.
• container_image_source is fixed at "custom". There is nothing to deploy without a Cloud Build run — the module always builds Payload_Common/scripts/ from source.
• Health probes target /admin, not / or an API route. /admin serves Payload's login/first-user-creation form and returns an unauthenticated 200; Payload's REST/GraphQL routes require auth and are unsuitable probe targets.
• No storage bucket is provisioned. Uploaded media is written to local container disk and does not survive a pod restart or redeploy.
• enable_redis and related Group 21 variables are declared but inert. They are not forwarded to Payload_Common, which has no Redis wiring.
• service_type defaults to LoadBalancer. This deployment's own live verification used ClusterIP only because the target project's IN_USE_ADDRESSES static IP quota was exhausted at deploy time — an operational choice made for that specific deployment, not a module default. Flip back to LoadBalancer (or reserve a static IP) once quota is available.
• The first admin user is created manually. Payload has no non-interactive CLI for this — visiting /admin on an empty users collection shows a signup form.
• Minimum 1 replica is maintained by default (min_instance_count = 1).

---

2. Google Cloud Services & How to Explore Them

All commands assume you have run gcloud container clusters get-credentials <cluster> --region <region> --project <project> and that PROJECT, REGION, and NAMESPACE are set. The namespace and other identifiers are reported in the deployment Outputs.

A. GKE Autopilot — the Payload workload

Payload pods are scheduled on Autopilot, which bills for the CPU/memory the pods actually request.

• Console: Kubernetes Engine → Workloads → select the Payload workload to see pods, revisions, and events. Kubernetes Engine → Services & Ingress shows the external IP.
• CLI:

  kubectl get pods,svc -n "$NAMESPACE"
  kubectl logs -n "$NAMESPACE" deploy/<service-name> --tail=100

See App_GKE for how Autopilot, scaling, and the workload type (Deployment vs StatefulSet) are managed.

B. Cloud Build — building the Payload image

Because no official Payload image exists, every deploy (and every redeploy after a Dockerfile or source change) triggers a Cloud Build run against Payload_Common/scripts/.

• Console: Cloud Build → History.
• CLI:

  gcloud builds list --project "$PROJECT" --limit=10
  gcloud builds log <build-id> --project "$PROJECT"

C. Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15

Payload stores all application data (Collections, users, uploaded document metadata) in a managed Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL 15 instance. Pods reach it privately through the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy sidecar over a Unix socket; no public IP is exposed. On first deploy, db-init creates the database and role, then payload-migrate applies the schema.

• Console: SQL → select the instance for connections, backups, flags, and metrics.
• CLI:

  gcloud sql instances list --project "$PROJECT"
  gcloud sql instances describe <instance-name> --project "$PROJECT"
  gcloud sql connect <instance-name> --user=<db-user> --database=<db-name> --project "$PROJECT"

The instance name, database name, user, and the Secret Manager secret holding the password are all surfaced in the Outputs. See App_GKE for the connection model, automated backups, and password rotation.

D. Secret Manager

One cryptographic secret is generated automatically and stored in Secret Manager: PAYLOAD_SECRET (used to sign Payload's own session/auth tokens). The database password is managed separately by the foundation.

• Console: Security → Secret Manager.
• CLI:

  gcloud secrets list --project "$PROJECT"
  gcloud secrets versions access latest --secret=<secret-name> --project "$PROJECT"

See App_GKE for the Secret Store CSI integration and rotation.

E. Networking & ingress

By default the workload is exposed through an external Cloud Load Balancing IP (service_type = LoadBalancer). A custom domain with a Google-managed certificate can be enabled, and a static IP can be reserved so the address survives redeploys.

• Console: Network services → Load balancing; VPC network → IP addresses.
• CLI:

  kubectl get svc -n "$NAMESPACE"
  gcloud compute addresses list --project "$PROJECT"

If the deployment was set to service_type = "ClusterIP" (for example because static IP quota was exhausted at deploy time), reach the app from inside the cluster instead:

kubectl port-forward -n "$NAMESPACE" svc/<service-name> 18080:3000
curl -s http://localhost:18080/admin -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n'

See App_GKE for custom domains, Cloud CDN, and static IP details.

F. Cloud Logging & Monitoring

Pod stdout/stderr flow to Cloud Logging; GKE and Cloud SQL metrics flow to Cloud Monitoring. Optional uptime checks and alert policies are available.

• Console: Logging → Logs Explorer; Monitoring → Dashboards / Alerting.
• CLI:

  gcloud logging read 'resource.type="k8s_container" AND resource.labels.namespace_name="'"$NAMESPACE"'"' \
    --project "$PROJECT" --limit 50

---

3. Payload Application Behaviour

• First-deploy database setup. db-init (using postgres:15-alpine) connects through the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy and idempotently creates the application role and database.
• Schema migration is a separate, dependent job. payload-migrate (depends_on_jobs = ["db-init"]) runs ./node_modules/.bin/payload migrate from a full /app/cli copy of node_modules + TypeScript source baked into the image — the trimmed Next.js standalone runtime used to serve traffic does not include the Payload CLI or its dependencies. On GKE the Cloud SQL Auth Proxy runs as a native sidecar; the migrate script signals it to stop via http://localhost:9091/quitquitquit after migrations complete.
• PAYLOAD_SECRET should be treated as immutable after first boot. It signs Payload's session/auth tokens; rotating it invalidates all active sessions.
• Health path. Startup and liveness probes target /admin — Payload's admin UI route, which returns an unauthenticated 200 once the Node.js server and database connection are ready. Allow several minutes on first boot for the payload-migrate job to complete before the service is expected to serve real content.
• First admin account. Payload has no CLI command to create the first admin user non-interactively. Visit $SERVICE_URL/admin (or kubectl port-forward if ClusterIP) — with an empty users collection Payload shows a signup form to create the first administrator. This is a manual, one-time operator step.
• Media uploads do not persist. No storage bucket is provisioned; uploaded files are written to local container disk and are lost on the next pod restart or redeploy.
• service_type may need a manual flip. If exposed as ClusterIP due to IP quota constraints, the app is reachable only via kubectl port-forward/kubectl exec until it is flipped back to LoadBalancer (or a static IP is reserved) and re-applied.
• Inspect job execution:

  kubectl get jobs -n "$NAMESPACE"
  kubectl logs -n "$NAMESPACE" job/<job-name>

---

4. Configuration Variables

Variables are grouped exactly as they appear on the deployment platform. Only settings specific to or notable for Payload are listed; every other input is inherited from App_GKE with its standard behaviour and defaults.

Group 1 — Project & Identity

Variable	Default	Description
project_id	(required)	Target Google Cloud project.
region	us-central1	Region for the workload and regional resources.

Group 2 — Deployment Environment

Variable	Default	Description
tenant_deployment_id	demo	Short suffix that makes resource names unique per environment.

Group 3 — Application Identity

Variable	Default	Description
application_name	payload	Base name for resources. Do not change after first deploy.
application_display_name	Payload CRM	Human-readable name shown in the Console. Leftover text from the module's clone source — override to Payload CMS at deploy time; it is cosmetic only.
application_version	latest	Deployment-tracking tag baked into the image via the Cloud Build application_version build arg.

Group 4 — Runtime & Scaling

Variable	Default	Description
deploy_application	true	Set false to provision infrastructure only.
container_image_source	custom	Fixed — there is no prebuilt Payload image to deploy.
min_instance_count / max_instance_count	1 / 3	Minimum replicas kept warm; GKE does not scale to zero.
container_port	3000	Next.js default.
container_resources	{ cpu_limit="1000m", memory_limit="1Gi" }	Payload (Next.js) needs headroom for the standalone server plus the migrate job's TypeScript/CLI footprint; consider raising memory for production.
enable_cloudsql_volume	true	Cloud SQL Auth Proxy sidecar for socket connections.
enable_image_mirroring	true	Mirrors the built image into Artifact Registry.

Group 5 — Environment Variables & Secrets

Variable	Default	Description
environment_variables	{}	Extra non-secret settings. Do not set PAYLOAD_SECRET or DATABASE_URL here — both are computed automatically.
secret_environment_variables	{}	Map of env var → Secret Manager secret name.

Group 6 — GKE Backend & Cluster

Variable	Default	Description
service_type	LoadBalancer	How the Kubernetes Service is exposed. Set to ClusterIP if the project's static IP quota is exhausted; access via kubectl port-forward instead.
workload_type	null (resolves to Deployment)	Payload has no need for per-pod PVCs by default.
session_affinity	None	No sticky-session requirement for this minimal starter app.

Group 11 — Cloud Storage & Artifact Registry

Variable	Default	Description
enable_gcs_storage	false	Declared in variables.tf with a description implying an S3-compatible GCS storage adapter, but not forwarded to Payload_Common — has no effect. Payload_Common's storage_buckets output is always [].
gcs_volumes	[]	Genuinely forwarded — GCS Fuse volume mounts, if you want to wire persistent storage in yourself.

Group 13 — Filesystem (NFS) & Jobs

Variable	Default	Description
initialization_jobs	[]	Leave empty to use the built-in db-init → payload-migrate chain.
enable_nfs	false	Not required — Payload's own data lives in Postgres, not NFS.

Group 14 — Observability & Health

Variable	Default	Description
startup_probe_config	HTTP /admin, 120s delay, 15s period, 40 retries	~12-minute total window for first-boot migrations to complete.
health_check_config	HTTP /admin, 30s delay	Liveness probe.

Group 15 — Database Backend

Variable	Default	Description
database_type	POSTGRES_15	Fixed; Payload requires PostgreSQL.
application_database_name / application_database_user	payload / payload	PostgreSQL database name and application user. Immutable after first deploy.

Group 19 — Custom Domain, Static IP & Networking

Variable	Default	Description
reserve_static_ip	true	Stable external IP across redeploys — useful once service_type = LoadBalancer is restored after any temporary ClusterIP fallback.

Group 21 — Cloud Armor & Redis Cache

Variable	Default	Description
enable_redis / redis_host / redis_port / redis_auth	true / "" / 6379 / ""	Inert. Declared in variables.tf (with a description claiming Payload v0.4+ requires Redis) but never forwarded to Payload_Common, which has no Redis wiring at all. Setting these has no effect.

---

5. Outputs

These values are returned on a successful deployment and are the quickest way to locate and explore the running resources.

Output	Description
service_name	Kubernetes Service name.
namespace	Namespace the workload runs in.
service_cluster_ip	In-cluster ClusterIP.
service_external_ip	External LoadBalancer IP (when a static IP is reserved or service_type = LoadBalancer).
service_url	URL to reach Payload.
database_instance_name	Cloud SQL instance name.
database_name / database_user	Application database name / user.
database_password_secret	Secret Manager secret holding the DB password.
database_host / database_port	DB endpoint (127.0.0.1 via the Auth Proxy) / port.
storage_buckets	Always empty — no bucket is provisioned.
container_image / container_registry	Built image and Artifact Registry repo.
initialization_jobs / db_import_job	Names of the setup and (optional) import jobs.
deployment_id / tenant_id / resource_prefix	Naming identifiers.
project_id / project_number	Project identifiers.
kubernetes_ready	Whether the cluster/workload is ready.
monitoring_enabled / monitoring_notification_channels	Monitoring status and channels.
cicd_enabled / cicd_configuration	CI/CD status and details.
vpc_sc_enabled / vpc_sc_perimeter_name / vpc_sc_dry_run_mode	VPC-SC status.
audit_logging_enabled / artifact_registry_cmek_enabled	Audit logging and CMEK status.

---

6. Configuration Pitfalls & Sensible Defaults

Risk: Critical (data loss / outage / security) — High (service degraded) — Medium (cost or partial degradation) — Low (minor).

Setting	Sensible value	Risk	Consequence if wrong
PAYLOAD_SECRET (auto-generated)	Never rotate after first boot	Critical	Rotating it invalidates every active session, forcing all users to log back in.
application_database_name / application_database_user	Set once	Critical	Immutable after first deploy; renaming recreates the DB/user and destroys all data.
startup_probe_config / payload-migrate timing	Allow the full ~12-minute window	High	If the probe window is shortened below the time payload-migrate needs, the pod can be marked unhealthy before schema migration finishes, since the two run concurrently rather than the probe waiting on the job.
Media/upload persistence	Add a real storage adapter before production use	High	With no storage bucket wired, all uploaded media lives on local container disk and is lost on every pod restart or redeploy.
service_type	LoadBalancer (default)	High	If left at ClusterIP (e.g. after a quota-driven fallback), the app has no external reachability until flipped back.
enable_gcs_storage	Do not rely on this toggle	Medium	Declared but not forwarded to Payload_Common — enabling it does not provision or wire any storage.
enable_redis / redis_*	Do not rely on these toggles	Medium	Declared but not forwarded to Payload_Common, which has no Redis wiring — setting them has no effect.
First admin creation	Complete promptly after deploy	Medium	Until the first admin is created via the /admin signup form, the instance has no authenticated user at all.
container_image_source	Leave at custom	Low	There is no prebuilt Payload image; setting prebuilt without a valid container_image breaks the deploy.

---

For the foundation behaviour referenced throughout — IAM and Workload Identity, autoscaling, ingress and certificates, CI/CD, Cloud Armor, IAP, Binary Authorization, VPC-SC, backups, and image mirroring — see App_GKE. Payload-specific application configuration shared with the Cloud Run variant is described in Payload_Common.