Content Collection Setup

When to Use

• Setting up a new blog, documentation, or portfolio
• Creating structured content with frontmatter validation
• Migrating from Astro.glob() or legacy content collections
• Adding new collection types to an existing project

Instructions

1. Understand the Structure

In Astro 6+, build-time content collections are configured in src/content.config.ts, while the content entries themselves can live in src/content/ or another folder you point to with a loader.

Typical structure:

src/
├── content.config.ts      # Collection definitions
├── content/
│   └── blog/
│       ├── post-1.md
│       ├── post-2.mdx
│       └── drafts/
│           └── draft.md
└── data/
    └── authors.json       # Single-file data collection example

If you need request-time fresh data, use live collections in src/live.config.ts. For most blogs, docs, and portfolios, build-time collections are the right default.

2. Define the Schema

Create src/content.config.ts (or .js / .mjs):

import { defineCollection, reference } from 'astro:content'
import { glob, file } from 'astro/loaders'
import { z } from 'astro/zod'

const blog = defineCollection({
  loader: glob({ base: './src/content/blog', pattern: '**/*.{md,mdx}' }),
  schema: ({ image }) => z.object({
    title: z.string(),
    description: z.string(),
    publishDate: z.coerce.date(),
    updatedDate: z.coerce.date().optional(),
    author: reference('authors'),
    cover: image().optional(),
    tags: z.array(z.string()).default([]),
    draft: z.boolean().default(false),
  }),
})

const authors = defineCollection({
  loader: file('src/data/authors.json'),
  schema: z.object({
    id: z.string(),
    name: z.string(),
    email: z.string().email().optional(),
    avatar: z.string().url().optional(),
  }),
})

export const collections = { blog, authors }

Notes:

• Every collection needs a loader
• Import z from astro/zod, not from astro:content
• Do not use type: 'content' or type: 'data' in Astro 6+
• When using file(), each entry needs a unique id

3. Common Schema Patterns

Images with validation

import { defineCollection } from 'astro:content'
import { glob } from 'astro/loaders'
import { z } from 'astro/zod'

const blog = defineCollection({
  loader: glob({ base: './src/content/blog', pattern: '**/*.{md,mdx}' }),
  schema: ({ image }) => z.object({
    title: z.string(),
    cover: image(), // Validates the file exists
    coverAlt: z.string(),
  }),
})

Reference other collections

import { defineCollection, reference } from 'astro:content'
import { glob } from 'astro/loaders'
import { z } from 'astro/zod'

const blog = defineCollection({
  loader: glob({ base: './src/content/blog', pattern: '**/*.{md,mdx}' }),
  schema: z.object({
    title: z.string(),
    author: reference('authors'), // References an authors entry by id
    relatedPosts: z.array(reference('blog')).optional(),
  }),
})

Enum for categories

schema: z.object({
  category: z.enum(['tutorial', 'guide', 'reference', 'blog']),
  status: z.enum(['draft', 'review', 'published']).default('draft'),
})

If you store data entries as separate JSON files instead of one JSON file, use glob({ base: './src/data/authors', pattern: '**/*.json' }) instead of file().

4. Query Collections

---
import { getCollection, getEntry, render } from 'astro:content'

// Get all entries
const allPosts = await getCollection('blog')

// Filter entries
const publishedPosts = await getCollection('blog', ({ data }) => {
  return data.draft !== true
})

// Get single entry by id
const post = await getEntry('blog', 'my-post')

// Render content
const { Content, headings } = await render(post)
---

<Content />

Important changes in Astro 6+:

• Use entry.id as the slug-like identifier
• Use render(entry) instead of entry.render()
• Use getEntry() instead of older slug-specific helpers

5. Dynamic Routes

Create src/pages/blog/[...slug].astro:

---
import { getCollection, render } from 'astro:content'
import BlogLayout from '../../layouts/BlogLayout.astro'

export async function getStaticPaths() {
  const posts = await getCollection('blog')
  return posts.map(post => ({
    params: { slug: post.id },
    props: { post },
  }))
}

const { post } = Astro.props
const { Content } = await render(post)
---

<BlogLayout title={post.data.title}>
  <article>
    <h1>{post.data.title}</h1>
    <time datetime={post.data.publishDate.toISOString()}>
      {post.data.publishDate.toLocaleDateString()}
    </time>
    <Content />
  </article>
</BlogLayout>

If you need the original file location for debugging or special routing logic, use post.filePath. For URLs and lookups, use post.id.

6. Generate Types

Run astro sync or astro dev to generate TypeScript types:

npx astro sync

This creates .astro/ with type definitions for your collections.

Migration from Astro.glob() and Legacy Content Collections

If migrating from the old Astro.glob() or pre-Content Layer pattern:

1. Move src/content/config.ts to src/content.config.ts
2. Add a loader to every collection
3. Remove type: 'content' and type: 'data'
4. Replace import { defineCollection, z } from 'astro:content' with import { defineCollection } from 'astro:content' and import { z } from 'astro/zod'
5. Replace post.slug with post.id
6. Replace post.render() with render(post)
7. Replace Astro.glob() with getCollection() or import.meta.glob()

Troubleshooting