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cms/docs/queries/depth.mdx
zeekay 09c5e16c5c feat: rebrand all packages to @hanzo/cms scope (Payload v3.85.2 fork)
- payload -> @hanzo/cms (core), bin payload -> hanzo-cms
- create-payload-app -> @hanzo/create-cms-app
- @payloadcms/<x> -> @hanzo/cms-<x> across the whole dependency graph
- 3545 files, 72 package.json, 4419 scoped refs, 3852 core import specifiers, 82 scss imports
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Upstream: github.com/payloadcms/payload @ v3.85.2 (MIT)
2026-07-01 17:56:00 -07:00

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---
title: Depth
label: Depth
order: 30
desc: Payload depth determines how many levels down related documents should be automatically populated when retrieved.
keywords: query, documents, pagination, documentation, Content Management System, cms, headless, javascript, node, react, nextjs
---
Documents in Payload can have relationships to other Documents. This is true for both [Collections](../configuration/collections) as well as [Globals](../configuration/globals). When you query a Document, you can specify the depth at which to populate any of its related Documents either as full objects, or only their IDs.
Since Documents can be infinitely nested or recursively related, it's important to be able to control how deep your API populates. Depth can impact the performance of your queries by affecting the load on the database and the size of the response.
For example, when you specify a `depth` of `0`, the API response might look like this:
```json
{
"id": "5ae8f9bde69e394e717c8832",
"title": "This is a great post",
"author": "5f7dd05cd50d4005f8bcab17"
}
```
But with a `depth` of `1`, the response might look like this:
```json
{
"id": "5ae8f9bde69e394e717c8832",
"title": "This is a great post",
"author": {
"id": "5f7dd05cd50d4005f8bcab17",
"name": "John Doe"
}
}
```
<Banner type="warning">
**Important:** Depth has no effect in the [GraphQL API](../graphql/overview),
because there, depth is based on the shape of your queries.
</Banner>
## Local API
To specify depth in the [Local API](../local-api/overview), you can use the `depth` option in your query:
```ts
import type { Payload } from @hanzo/cms'from
const getPosts = async (payload: Payload) => {
const posts = await payload.find({
collection: 'posts',
// highlight-start
depth: 2,
// highlight-end
})
return posts
}
```
<Banner type="info">
**Reminder:** This is the same for [Globals](../configuration/globals) using
the `findGlobal` operation.
</Banner>
## REST API
To specify depth in the [REST API](../rest-api/overview), you can use the `depth` parameter in your query:
```ts
// highlight-start
fetch('https://localhost:3000/api/posts?depth=2')
// highlight-end
.then((res) => res.json())
.then((data) => console.log(data))
```
<Banner type="info">
**Reminder:** This is the same for [Globals](../configuration/globals) using
the `/api/globals` endpoint.
</Banner>
## Default Depth
If no depth is specified in the request, Payload will use its default depth for all requests. By default, this is set to `2`.
To change the default depth on the application level, you can use the `defaultDepth` option in your root Payload config:
```ts
import { buildConfig } from @hanzo/cms'from
export default buildConfig({
// ...
// highlight-start
defaultDepth: 1,
// highlight-end
// ...
})
```
## Max Depth
Fields like the [Relationship Field](../fields/relationship) or the [Upload Field](../fields/upload) can also set a maximum depth. If exceeded, this will limit the population depth regardless of what the depth might be on the request.
To set a max depth for a field, use the `maxDepth` property in your field configuration:
```js
{
slug: 'posts',
fields: [
{
name: 'author',
type: 'relationship',
relationTo: 'users',
// highlight-start
maxDepth: 2,
// highlight-end
}
]
}
```