Document Service API#

The Document Service API is the recommended backend API for interacting with content, providing findOne, findMany, create, update, and delete methods that work with stable documentId identifiers and support Draft & Publish operations.

The Document Service API is built on top of the Query Engine API 2 different back-end APIs allow you to interact with your content:

• The Query Engine API is the lower-level layer that offers unrestricted access to the database, but is not aware of complex Strapi content structures such as components and dynamic zones.
• The Document Service API is built on top of the Query Engine and is the recommended way to interact with your content while you are customizing the back end server or developing plugins.

The Document Service API also supports counting documents and, if Draft & Publish is enabled on the content-type, performing Strapi-specific operations such as publishing, unpublishing, and discarding drafts.

In Strapi 5, documents are uniquely identified by their documentId at the API level.

documentId explained: Replacing id from Strapi v4

In previous Strapi versions, the concept of id (used both in the Content API and as the database row identifier) was not always stable: a single entry could have multiple versions or localizations, and its numeric identifier id could change in cases such as duplication or import/export operations.

To address this limitation, Strapi 5 introduced documentId, a 24-character alphanumeric string, as a unique and persistent identifier for a content entry, independent of its physical records.

This new identifier is used internally in Strapi 5 to manage relationships, publishing, localization, and version history, as all possible variations of a content entry are now grouped under a single document concept.

As a result, starting with Strapi 5, many APIs and services rely on documentId instead of id to ensure consistency across operations. Some APIs may still return both documentId and id to ease the transition, but using documentId for content queries is strongly recommended, as documentId might be the only identifier used in future Strapi versions.

For more details on the transition from id to documentId, refer to the breaking change page and the migration guide from Entity Service to Document Service API.

:::strapi Entity Service API is deprecated in Strapi 5
The Document Service API replaces the Entity Service API used in Strapi v4 ().

Additional information on how to migrate from the Entity Service API to the Document Service API can be found in the migration reference.
:::

:::caution Document Service returns unsanitized data
The Document Service is a data-access layer: it interacts with the database and is not aware of user permissions or field visibility. Results may include private fields, passwords, and restricted relations.

The built-in REST and GraphQL APIs automatically sanitize responses before sending them to the client. But if you build custom controllers or plugin routes that call Document Service methods directly, you must sanitize the output yourself before returning it. Use strapi.contentAPI.sanitize.output() in your controller (see Sanitization and validation when building custom controllers for details and code examples).
:::

Configuration#

The documents.strictParams option enables strict validation of parameters passed to Document Service methods such as findMany and findOne. Configure it in the API configuration file (./config/api.js or ./config/api.ts). See the API configuration table for details on documents.strictParams.

Document objects#

Document methods return a document object or a list of document objects, which represent a version of a content entry grouped under a stable documentId. Returned objects typically include:

• documentId: Persistent identifier for the entry across locales and draft/published versions.
• id: Database identifier for the specific locale/version record.
• model fields: All fields defined in the content-type schema. Relations, components, and dynamic zones are not populated unless you opt in with populate (see Populating fields) or limit fields with fields (see Selecting fields).
• metadata: publishedAt, createdAt, updatedAt, and createdBy/updatedBy when available.

Optionally, document objects can also include a status and locale property if Draft & Publish and Internationalization are enabled for the content-type.

Method overview#

Each section below documents the parameters and examples for a specific method:

:::note Draft & Publish method availability
The publish(), unpublish(), and discardDraft() methods are only available when the Draft & Publish feature is enabled on the content-type. Calling these methods on a content-type that does not have Draft & Publish enabled will throw an error. To enable Draft & Publish, see the Draft & Publish documentation.
:::

findOne()#

Syntax: findOne(parameters: Params) => Document

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().findOne()"
title="findOne()"
description="Find a document matching the passed documentId and parameters. If only a documentId is passed without any other parameters, findOne() returns the draft version of a document in the default locale. Returns the matching document if found, otherwise returns null."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'documentId', type: 'ID', required: true, description: 'Document id' },
{ name: 'locale', type: 'String or undefined', required: false, description: 'Locale of the document to find. Defaults to the default locale. See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'status', type: "'published' | 'draft'", required: false, description: 'If Draft & Publish is enabled: publication status. Can be published or draft. Default: draft. See status docs.' },
{ name: 'publicationFilter', type: 'String', required: false, description: 'If Draft & Publish is enabled: select documents by how their draft and published versions relate, before applying status. See publicationFilter docs.' },
{ name: 'fields', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Select fields to return. Defaults to all fields (except those not populated by default).' },
{ name: 'populate', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Populate results with additional fields. Default: null.' },
]}

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').findOne({
  documentId: 'a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn'
})

{
  "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
  "name": "Biscotte Restaurant",
  "publishedAt": null,
  "locale": "en"
}

findFirst()#

Syntax: findFirst(parameters: Params) => Document

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().findFirst()"
title="findFirst()"
description="Find the first document matching the parameters. By default, findFirst() returns the draft version, in the default locale, of the first document for the passed unique identifier (collection type id or single type id)."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'locale', type: 'String or undefined', required: false, description: 'Locale of the documents to find. Defaults to the default locale. See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'status', type: "'published' | 'draft'", required: false, description: 'If Draft & Publish is enabled: publication status. Can be published or draft. Default: draft. See status docs.' },
{ name: 'publicationFilter', type: 'String', required: false, description: 'If Draft & Publish is enabled: select documents by how their draft and published versions relate, before applying status. See publicationFilter docs.' },
{ name: 'filters', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Filters to use. Default: null.' },
{ name: 'fields', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Select fields to return. Defaults to all fields (except those not populated by default).' },
{ name: 'populate', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Populate results with additional fields. Default: null.' },
]}

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').findFirst()

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').findFirst(
  {
    filters: {
      name: {
        $startsWith: "Pizzeria"
      }
    }
  }
)

{
  "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
  "name": "Restaurant Biscotte",
  "publishedAt": null,
  "locale": "en"
}

{
  "documentId": "j9k8l7m6n5o4p3q2r1s0tuvw",
  "name": "Pizzeria Arrivederci",
  "publishedAt": null,
  "locale": "en"
}

If no locale or status parameters are passed, results return the draft version for the default locale.

findMany()#

Syntax: findMany(parameters: Params) => Document[]

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().findMany()"
title="findMany()"
description="Find documents matching the parameters. When no parameter is passed, findMany() returns the draft version in the default locale for each document."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'locale', type: 'String or undefined', required: false, description: 'Locale of the documents to find. Defaults to the default locale. See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'status', type: "'published' | 'draft'", required: false, description: 'If Draft & Publish is enabled: publication status. Can be published or draft. Default: draft. See status docs.' },
{ name: 'publicationFilter', type: 'String', required: false, description: 'If Draft & Publish is enabled: select documents by how their draft and published versions relate, before applying status. See publicationFilter docs.' },
{ name: 'filters', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Filters to use. Default: null.' },
{ name: 'fields', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Select fields to return. Defaults to all fields (except those not populated by default).' },
{ name: 'populate', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Populate results with additional fields. Default: null.' },
{ name: 'pagination', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Paginate results.' },
{ name: 'sort', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Sort results.' },
]}

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').findMany()

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').findMany(
  {
    filters: {
      name: {
        $startsWith: 'Pizzeria'
      }
    }
  }
)

[
  {
    "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
    "name": "Biscotte Restaurant",
    "publishedAt": null,
    "locale": "en"
  },
  {
    "documentId": "j9k8l7m6n5o4p3q2r1s0tuvw",
    "name": "Pizzeria Arrivederci",
    "publishedAt": null,
    "locale": "en"
  }
]

[
  {
    "documentId": "j9k8l7m6n5o4p3q2r1s0tuvw",
    "name": "Pizzeria Arrivederci",
    "locale": "en",
    "publishedAt": null
  }
]

Available filters are detailed in the filters page of the Document Service API reference.

If no locale or status parameters are passed, results return the draft version for the default locale.

create()#

Syntax: create(parameters: Params) => Document

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().create()"
title="create()"
description="Create a new document. If no locale parameter is passed, create() creates the draft version of the document for the default locale."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'locale', type: 'String or undefined', required: false, description: 'Locale of the document to create. Defaults to the default locale. See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'fields', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Select fields to return. Defaults to all fields (except those not populated by default).' },
{ name: 'status', type: "'published'", required: false, description: 'If Draft & Publish is enabled: can be set to published to automatically publish the draft version of a document while creating it. See status docs.' },
{ name: 'populate', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Populate results with additional fields. Default: null.' },
]}

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').create({
  data: {
    name: 'Restaurant B'
  }
})

{
  "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
  "name": "Restaurant B",
  "publishedAt": null,
  "locale": "en"
}

update()#

Syntax: update(parameters: Params) => Promise<Document>

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().update()"
title="update()"
description="Update a document by documentId. If no locale parameter is passed, update() updates the document for the default locale."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'documentId', type: 'ID', required: true, description: 'Document id' },
{ name: 'locale', type: 'String or null', required: false, description: 'Locale of the document to update. Defaults to the default locale. See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'filters', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Filters to use. Default: null.' },
{ name: 'fields', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Select fields to return. Defaults to all fields (except those not populated by default).' },
{ name: 'status', type: "'published'", required: false, description: 'If Draft & Publish is enabled: can be set to published to automatically publish the draft version of a document while updating it. See status docs.' },
{ name: 'populate', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Populate results with additional fields. Default: null.' },
]}

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').update({
    documentId: 'a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn',
    data: { name: "New restaurant name" }
})

{
  "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
  "name": "New restaurant name",
  "locale": "en",
  "publishedAt": null
}

It's not recommended to update repeatable components by reusing published component ids (see the related breaking change entry for details and workarounds). Prefer replacing the full component array without ids, or updating against draft component ids.

delete()#

Syntax: delete(parameters: Params): Promise<{ documentId: ID, entries: Number }>

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().delete()"
title="delete()"
description="Delete a document or a specific locale version. If no locale parameter is passed, delete() only deletes the default locale version of a document. This deletes both the draft and published versions."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'documentId', type: 'ID', required: true, description: 'Document id' },
{ name: 'locale', type: "String, '*', or null", required: false, description: 'Locale version of the document to delete. Default: null (deletes only the default locale). See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'filters', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Filters to use. Default: null.' },
{ name: 'fields', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Select fields to return. Defaults to all fields (except those not populated by default).' },
{ name: 'populate', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Populate results with additional fields. Default: null.' },
]}

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').delete({
  documentId: 'a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn',
})

{
  "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
  "entries": [
    {
      "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
      "name": "Biscotte Restaurant",
      "publishedAt": "2024-03-14T18:30:48.870Z",
      "locale": "en"
    }
  ]
}

deleteMany()#

Syntax: deleteMany(parameters: Params): Promise<{ documentId: ID, entries: Number }>

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().deleteMany()"
title="deleteMany()"
description="Delete multiple documents matching filters and relation parameters."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'locale', type: "String, '*', or null", required: false, description: 'Locale version of documents to delete. Default: only the default locale. See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'filters', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Filters to use. Default: null.' },
{ name: 'fields', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Select fields to return. Defaults to all fields (except those not populated by default).' },
{ name: 'populate', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Populate results with additional fields. Default: null.' },
]}

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').deleteMany({
  filters: {
    city: {
      name: {
        $eq: 'New York'
      }
    }
  }
});

{
  "documentId": "multiple_documents",
  "entries": 3
}

publish()#

Syntax: publish(parameters: Params): Promise<{ documentId: ID, entries: Number }>

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().publish()"
title="publish()"
description="Publish the draft version of a document. This method is only available if Draft & Publish is enabled on the content-type. If no locale parameter is passed, publish() only publishes the default locale version of the document."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'documentId', type: 'ID', required: true, description: 'Document id' },
{ name: 'locale', type: "String, '*', or null", required: false, description: 'Locale of the documents to publish. Default: only the default locale. See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'filters', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Filters to use. Default: null.' },
{ name: 'fields', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Select fields to return. Defaults to all fields (except those not populated by default).' },
{ name: 'populate', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Populate results with additional fields. Default: null.' },
]}

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').publish({
  documentId: 'a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn',
});

{
  "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
  "entries": [
    {
      "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
      "name": "Biscotte Restaurant",
      "publishedAt": "2024-03-14T18:30:48.870Z",
      "locale": "en"
    }
  ]
}

unpublish()#

Syntax: unpublish(parameters: Params): Promise<{ documentId: ID, entries: Number }>

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().unpublish()"
title="unpublish()"
description="Move a published document back to draft. This method is only available if Draft & Publish is enabled on the content-type. If no locale parameter is passed, unpublish() only unpublishes the default locale version of the document."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'documentId', type: 'ID', required: true, description: 'Document id' },
{ name: 'locale', type: "String, '*', or null", required: false, description: 'Locale of the documents to unpublish. Default: only the default locale. See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'filters', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Filters to use. Default: null.' },
{ name: 'fields', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Select fields to return. Defaults to all fields (except those not populated by default).' },
{ name: 'populate', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Populate results with additional fields. Default: null.' },
]}

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').unpublish({
  documentId: 'a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn'
});

{
  "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
  "entries": [
    {
      "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
      "name": "Biscotte Restaurant",
      "publishedAt": null,
      "locale": "en"
    }
  ]
}

discardDraft()#

Syntax: discardDraft(parameters: Params): Promise<{ documentId: ID, entries: Number }>

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().discardDraft()"
title="discardDraft()"
description="Drop draft data and keep only the published version. This method is only available if Draft & Publish is enabled on the content-type. If no locale parameter is passed, discardDraft() discards draft data and overrides it with the published version only for the default locale."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'documentId', type: 'ID', required: true, description: 'Document id' },
{ name: 'locale', type: "String, '*', or null", required: false, description: 'Locale of the documents to discard. Default: only the default locale. See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'filters', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Filters to use. Default: null.' },
{ name: 'fields', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Select fields to return. Defaults to all fields (except those not populated by default).' },
{ name: 'populate', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Populate results with additional fields. Default: null.' },
]}

strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').discardDraft({
  documentId: 'a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn',
});

{
  "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
  "entries": [
    {
      "documentId": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0klmn",
      "name": "Biscotte Restaurant",
      "publishedAt": null,
      "locale": "en"
    }
  ]
}

count()#

Syntax: count(parameters: Params) => number

<Endpoint
kind="js"
path="strapi.documents().count()"
title="count()"
description="Count how many documents match the parameters. If no parameter is passed, the count() method returns the total number of documents for the default locale."
paramTitle="Parameters"
params={[
{ name: 'locale', type: 'String or null', required: false, description: 'Locale of the documents to count. Defaults to the default locale. See locale docs.' },
{ name: 'status', type: "'published' | 'draft'", required: false, description: 'If Draft & Publish is enabled: publication status. published to count only published documents, draft to count draft documents (returns all documents). Default: draft. See status docs.' },
{ name: 'publicationFilter', type: 'String', required: false, description: 'If Draft & Publish is enabled: select documents by how their draft and published versions relate, before applying status. See publicationFilter docs.' },
{ name: 'filters', type: 'Object', required: false, description: 'Filters to use. Default: null.' },
]}
isLast={true}

await strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').count()

strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').count({ status: 'published' })

/**
 * Count number of draft documents (default if status is omitted)
 * in English (default locale)
 * whose name starts with 'Pizzeria'
 */
strapi.documents('api::restaurant.restaurant').count({ filters: { name: { $startsWith: "Pizzeria" }}})