Reference

Plugin options, environment variables, endpoints, and exports for payload-dev-tools.

Plugin options

enabledbooleandefault NODE_ENV === 'development'

Forces the endpoints on or off regardless of environment. The default gates everything to development. Only force true on a deployment you'd hand a teammate anyway (a preview env): the snapshot exposes collection counts and config details, unauthenticated.

optionsDevToolsOptions

The plugin's own knobs.

devRoutestringdefault '/dev'

Where the host app mounts the createDevPage catch-all. Drives the toolbar's built-in link and the browser redirect from GET /api/dev.

interface DevToolsPluginOptions {
  enabled?: boolean
  options?: {
    devRoute?: string // default '/dev'
  }
}

createDevPage({ payload, tests, enabled }) and <DevToolbar tests links enabled /> take the same enabled override and the same tests array (from defineTest). createDevPage also requires a payload handle (getPayload({ config })); tests and enabled are optional. The toolbar's links adds extra rows to its Pages view; point them at your own labs.

Environment variables

None — everything is gated by the enabled option (which defaults to NODE_ENV === 'development'). The Seed view surfaces the seed plugin's ENABLE_SEED, but that variable belongs to payload-seed, not this plugin.

Endpoints

All four routes 404 outside development. See The /dev pages for the snapshot shape and what each view renders.

Route	What
`GET /api/dev`	Machine-readable app snapshot (env, plugins, seed status, counts, misses). Browsers are redirected to `/dev`.
`GET /api/dev/stage`	Stages a URL for the toolbar (sets the stage cookie).
`GET /api/dev/draft`	Toggles Next.js draft mode.
`POST /api/dev/icons/activate`	Sets the active icon set.

Exports

Export	From	What
`devToolsPlugin`	`@pro-laico/payload-dev-tools`	Plugin factory; registers the `/api/dev*` endpoints.
`defineTest`	`@pro-laico/payload-dev-tools` (and `/next`, `/toolbar`)	Identity helper defining a test's versions with full typing.
`readDevToolsMarker`	`@pro-laico/payload-dev-tools`	Reads this plugin's `config.custom` marker (`PayloadDevToolsMarker`) — the resolved `devRoute`, for custom tooling.
`DevSnapshot` (+ per-plugin types)	`@pro-laico/payload-dev-tools`	The `GET /api/dev` response shape, for typed consumers.
`STAGE_COOKIE`	`@pro-laico/payload-dev-tools`	The stage cookie name, for custom staging tooling.
`createDevPage`	`@pro-laico/payload-dev-tools/next`	The `/dev` pages; one catch-all drop-in file.
`DevToolbar`	`@pro-laico/payload-dev-tools/toolbar`	The floating toolbar server component; one line in your layout.
`resolveDevChrome`	`@pro-laico/payload-dev-tools/toolbar`	The chrome-swap seam: returns the real header/footer, or the toolbar-selected variant.

Collections & globals

None — this plugin registers no collections or globals. It reads sibling plugins' collections through their config.custom markers to build the /dev pages and snapshot.

The /dev pages — every /dev route and the GET /api/dev snapshot.
The test harness — defineTest, version switching, and chrome swaps.
How it works — plugin discovery, gating, and the persistent toolbar.
Troubleshooting — 404s, stale pages, and the enabled security note.

Plugin options

Environment variables

Endpoints

Exports

Collections & globals

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