{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "cosmic", "name": "Cosmic", "vendor": "Cosmic Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://www.cosmicjs.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "cms", "summary": "Cosmic is a hosted headless CMS with a REST API, a TypeScript SDK, a CLI and a hosted MCP server. Agents read and write objects, media and object types, generate media, and can create a project by agent signup.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cosmic", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cosmic.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cosmic.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cosmic.json", "dns": "cosmic.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/cosmicjs/mcp", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://mcp.cosmicjs.com/v1/buckets/{bucket_slug}", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@cosmicjs/mcp" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@cosmicjs/sdk" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@cosmicjs/cli" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Each bucket has a read key and a write key, rotatable independently. The hosted MCP server takes `Authorization: Bearer READ_KEY` for read-only tools or `READ_KEY:WRITE_KEY` for full access; the write key can also go in `X-Cosmic-Write-Key`. The REST API takes the read key as `read_key` in the query or as a Bearer token on GET. POST /v3/agents/sign-up on dapi.cosmicjs.com needs no authentication and returns bucket keys for a new unclaimed project tied to a human's email.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free plan at $0 with 1 bucket, 10,000 objects and 250,000 non-cached API requests a month, no card. Builder $99 a month, Team $299, Business $499, Small Workspace $999 and Large Workspace $2,999, with 10 per cent off yearly; Enterprise by quote. Webhooks, localisation and revision history are paid add-ons. Workspace plans have a 30-day trial.", "priceSummary": "$99 / mo", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in llms.txt, the OpenAPI spec, the MCP docs or pricing.md (checked 2026-11-06). An unclaimed or over-limit bucket returns 402 with no payment requirements.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 24, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 295, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-06" }, "docsUrl": "https://www.cosmicjs.com/docs", "llmsTxt": "https://www.cosmicjs.com/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://www.cosmicjs.com/openapi.json", "registryName": "com.cosmicjs/mcp", "capabilities": [ "cms.content", "cms.assets", "cms.schema", "cms.publish", "cms.localisation" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "mcp", "remote-mcp", "mcp-registry", "openapi", "llms-txt", "free-tier", "no-card", "status-page", "webhooks", "typescript", "cli", "closed-source" ], "lastRelease": "2026-11-02", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 72.5, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 123, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1486, "categoryRank": 3, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 82, "maintenance": 86, "payments": 45, "reliability": 90, "schema": 88, "security": 47, "transparency": 63 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-06" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Cosmic gives agents 24 annotated MCP tools with when-to-use descriptions, a read-only mode by key, documented limits and an agent signup API that returns working keys before a human claims the project. It holds no SOC 2 or ISO certification by its own statement, and read keys can travel in the URL.", "bestFor": "Teams that want an agent to set up and fill a hosted CMS end to end, including signup.", "strengths": [ "Agent signup API provisions a project and bucket with keys, idempotent per email and agent", "24 MCP tools with readOnlyHint and destructiveHint, and descriptions that say when to use each", "Leaving out the write key gives read-only MCP access", "OpenAPI spec, llms.txt and Markdown docs with an error model and per-code retry guidance", "Free plan with no card and published prices and quotas for every paid plan" ], "weaknesses": [ "No SOC 2, ISO 27001 or HIPAA certification, by the security page's own statement", "The REST API accepts the read key as a URL query parameter", "Revision history, webhooks and localisation are paid add-ons", "The OpenAPI spec covers 21 operations, fewer than the documented API", "Data is kept indefinitely unless deletion is requested" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send only the read key in the Bearer token unless the task needs writes", "Use cosmic_agent_signup when the user has no Cosmic account, and hand the human the claim URL within 14 days", "Fix and don't retry on 400; wait and retry on 429", "Use props, depth=0 and cursor pagination with `after` to stay under the 6 MB response limit", "Confirm with the user before cosmic_objects_delete, which deletes permanently" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 72.5 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 82, "maintenance": 86, "payments": 45, "reliability": 90, "schema": 88, "security": 47, "transparency": 53 }, "provenanceScore": 73, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-06", "maintenance": "2026-11-06", "payments": "2026-11-06", "reliability": "2026-11-06", "schema": "2026-11-06", "security": "2026-11-06", "transparency": "2026-11-06" }, "last": "2026-11-06", "oldest": "2026-11-06", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "npx @cosmicjs/mcp", "http": "curl -X POST https://dapi.cosmicjs.com/v3/agents/sign-up -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{\"human_email\":\"you@example.com\",\"project_name\":\"Recipe Blog\",\"agent_id\":\"my-agent\"}'", "config": { "mcpServers": { "cosmic": { "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer your-read-key:your-write-key" }, "url": "https://mcp.cosmicjs.com/v1/buckets/your-bucket-slug" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/cms.content", "tool": "https://letme.dev/cosmic" }, "area": "business", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Builder plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 99, "note": "3 buckets, 50,000 objects, 1 million non-cached requests; $89 a month yearly" }, { "item": "Team plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 299, "note": "5 buckets, 100,000 objects, 2 million non-cached requests" }, { "item": "Business plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 499, "note": "10 buckets, 250,000 objects, 5 million non-cached requests" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Cosmic Inc.", "domain": "cosmicjs.com", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.cosmicjs.com/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://www.cosmicjs.com/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://cosmicstatus.com", "changelog": "https://www.cosmicjs.com/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-11-06", "notes": [ "The terms and privacy policy were last updated on 13 January 2025 and name Cosmic JS at 3208 Bonniebrook Dr, Plano, Texas. The MCP server's licence names Cosmic Inc.", "The terms forbid using a robot or spider to copy or scrape the website without written permission; recorded as a fact. www.cosmicjs.com/robots.txt allows all crawlers, including ClaudeBot, except /api/, /search, /community/members/ and /v3/.", "www.cosmicjs.com/.well-known/security.txt returned 404. The security page asks for vulnerability reports at support@cosmicjs.com.", "cosmicstatus.com redirects to a Statuspage at cosmicjs.statuspage.io with API and Web Dashboard components." ], "score": 73 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cosmic.json", "live": { "slug": "cosmic", "probe": { "target": "https://mcp.cosmicjs.com/v1/buckets/{bucket_slug}", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-11-07T18:20:18.962856282Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 494, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 452, "p95ms24h": 538, "samples24h": 200, "samples30d": 200, "days": [ { "date": "2026-11-06", "probes": 13, "ok": 13 }, { "date": "2026-11-07", "probes": 187, "ok": 187 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://cosmicstatus.com", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T04:47:35.290408052Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "cosmicjs/mcp", "version": "v1.7.1", "released": "2026-11-02", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:17:54.958583794Z" }, { "registry": "mcp-registry", "name": "com.cosmicjs/mcp", "version": "1.6.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-07T18:16:28.95801333Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@cosmicjs/cli", "version": "1.12.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:17:52.953736128Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@cosmicjs/mcp", "version": "1.7.1", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:17:50.755872442Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@cosmicjs/sdk", "version": "2.4.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:17:51.562341268Z" } ], "githubStars": 1, "npmWeekly": 295, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://cosmicjs.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:59:42.91283778Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://www.cosmicjs.com/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:32:12.321724133Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://www.cosmicjs.com/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:27:27.310794511Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "3e45613abe99" }, { "url": "https://www.cosmicjs.com/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:27:31.923491628Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "d4aa3db9a89b" }, { "url": "https://www.cosmicjs.com/terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:27:35.902981274Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "e3c4a26f1901" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T18:20:18.962856282Z" } }, "answer": "Cosmic scores 72.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Payload's 50.1 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Payload leads on security \u0026 auth.", "b": { "slug": "payload", "name": "Payload", "vendor": "Payload CMS, Inc. (Figma)", "vendorUrl": "https://payloadcms.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "cms", "summary": "Payload is an open-source, code-first headless CMS and application framework for Node.js and Next.js, now part of Figma. Agents manage content, drafts, versions and locales through generated REST and GraphQL APIs or an official MCP plugin.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/payload", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/payload.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/payload.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/payload.json", "dns": "payload.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/payloadcms/payload", "license": "MIT for the core and the official packages. Enterprise add-ons are sold separately through sales", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "payload" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@payloadcms/plugin-mcp" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@payloadcms/sdk" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Self-serve keys on your own instance, with no app review or partner approval. REST and GraphQL take a per-user API key sent as `Authorization: {collection-slug} API-Key {key}` once `auth.useAPIKey` is set on an auth collection. The key signs requests in as that user under the collection's access control, doesn't expire, is shown once, and can be regenerated or revoked by an admin. The MCP plugin has its own keys, created in the admin panel under MCP API Keys with find, create, update and delete switches per collection, sent as `Authorization: Bearer {key}`. Changing `PAYLOAD_SECRET` invalidates every key.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free to self-host under the MIT licence, with no account at Payload and no card, so an agent can start without a contract. Enterprise (SSO, publishing workflows, visual editor, dedicated support) is sold through sales with no public price. Payload Cloud has paused deployment of new projects since Payload joined Figma (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the 3.x documentation, the get-started page or the MCP plugin source (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 45151, "npmWeekly": 1108564, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://payloadcms.com/docs", "llmsTxt": "https://payloadcms.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "cms.content", "cms.publish", "cms.localisation", "cms.assets", "cms.schema" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "mcp", "llms-txt", "graphql", "rest", "typescript", "nextjs" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-27", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 50.1, "grade": "D", "agentReady": false, "rank": 1068, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1486, "categoryRank": 16, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 64, "maintenance": 78, "payments": 45, "reliability": 76, "schema": 70, "security": 57, "transparency": 65 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-04" }, "negative": -15, "negativeNotes": [ "5 February to 7 October 2026, counted per advisory on 4 November. OSV lists 38 Payload advisories published in the 12 months to 4 November 2026 (7 critical, 19 high, 12 moderate), 28 of them on 6 and 7 October, and GitHub listed 49 on 8 October. They include remote code execution through the first-register operation (GHSA-97rh-rhh2-7vjv), SQL injection on Postgres and SQLite (GHSA-v49j-62m6-pgrr) and unauthorised document updates (GHSA-f7hx-52q9-hcrf). All but one are fixed and vendor-published. GHSA-jg8r-5jh2-v2xj (Moderate, from a third-party CVE record) gives only a last affected version, 3.88.0, and costs 0. The ten fixed Highs in the payload core package on 6 and 7 October alone come to 20 at 2 each, so with the two -3 terms below the deduction is held at the floor of -15. https://osv.dev/list?q=payload\u0026ecosystem=npm", "2026-10-15. 3.91.0, a minor release, changed the MCP find, create and update tools' `select` input and the auth tool's `headers` from a JSON string to an object. The commit says clients that send them as strings now get an input validation error, The commit carries no breaking marker, and no earlier notice was found in the 3.x docs or tags (-3). https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/commit/0f6c5b015079c69e8a5469c411f06bbe8cf89907", "2026-10-15 and 2026-10-27. Released fixes of described flaws in the payload core package with no advisory. 3.91.0 makes `findByID` apply read access to the latest draft, which could return a base row when that draft should be denied, and 3.92.1 runs the password field's validation on reset, which before the fix let a user reset a password to `abc` despite a configured minimum length (-3, one term). https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/commit/779f06ff826cc693919df122349720dc7ab971c5" ], "verdict": "Payload generates REST, GraphQL and MCP interfaces from one typed config, with drafts, restorable versions and per-key MCP permissions in the free MIT core. The security record is the limit. 38 advisories were published in the 12 months to November 2026, most on 6 and 7 October, so an install older than 3.90.0 is exposed. No OpenAPI file is published.", "bestFor": "Teams that build on Next.js and want the content model in TypeScript, with drafts, versions and localisation in the free core.", "strengths": [ "MIT core with drafts, version history and restore through `POST /api/{collection-slug}/versions/:id`, none of it behind a paid plan", "MCP API keys carry find, create, update and delete switches per collection, and the key's user still passes through the collection's access control", "New documents default to `_status: 'draft'`, so nothing is published unless the request sets `_status: 'published'`", "MCP find tools default to 10 documents and depth 0, cap at 100, and take `select` to return named fields only", "llms.txt per major version, llms-full.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page" ], "weaknesses": [ "38 security advisories on OSV in the 12 months to 4 November 2026, 7 critical, 28 published on 6 and 7 October", "No OpenAPI file is published or generated by the core packages, and REST error responses have no reference page", "REST and MCP API keys don't expire, and rate limiting is left to the owner's own hooks or proxy", "No idempotency keys, and the MCP tools set no `readOnlyHint` or `destructiveHint` annotations in 3.92.1", "Payload Cloud is closed to new projects, Enterprise is priced by sales, and no status page or security.txt was found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Check the installed version first. Anything below 3.90.0 carries published critical advisories, and 3.92.0 and later need Node.js 22.23.4 or 24.22.1, so ask the owner to upgrade before writing", "Send REST keys as `Authorization: {collection-slug} API-Key {key}` and MCP keys as `Authorization: Bearer {key}`. The two key kinds are separate", "To publish, set `_status: 'published'` in the data. The `draft` parameter only relaxes validation and chooses where an update is written", "Upload files with multipart POST to the upload collection, with other fields as JSON in `_payload`. No MCP upload tool is documented", "Roll back with `POST /api/{collection-slug}/versions/:id` after listing versions. Versions exist only where the collection config enables them" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "D", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 50.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 64, "maintenance": 78, "payments": 45, "reliability": 76, "schema": 70, "security": 57, "transparency": 74 }, "provenanceScore": 56, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-04", "maintenance": "2026-11-04", "payments": "2026-11-04", "reliability": "2026-11-04", "schema": "2026-11-04", "security": "2026-11-04", "transparency": "2026-11-04" }, "last": "2026-11-04", "lastMoved": "2026-11-04", "oldest": "2026-11-04", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "npx create-payload-app", "http": "curl 'http://localhost:3000/api/pages' \\\n -H \"Authorization: users API-Key $PAYLOAD_API_KEY\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http Payload http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/mcp \\\n --header \"Authorization: Bearer MCP-USER-API-KEY\"", "config": { "mcpServers": { "Payload": { "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer MCP-USER-API-KEY" }, "type": "http", "url": "http://localhost:3000/api/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/cms.content", "tool": "https://letme.dev/payload" }, "area": "business", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Self-hosted Payload", "unit": "month", "usd": 0, "note": "MIT, you pay for your own hosting and database" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Payload CMS, Inc.", "domain": "payloadcms.com", "domainRegistered": "2018-04-02", "endpointOnVendorDomain": false, "terms": "", "privacy": "https://payloadcms.com/privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "No `terms` is recorded. The only terms on payloadcms.com are the Payload Cloud terms at https://payloadcms.com/cloud-terms, which govern a hosted service closed to new projects. The software an agent uses is under the MIT licence in LICENSE.md.", "The privacy policy (effective 28 March 2024) names Payload CMS, Inc. as controller. The Cloud terms call it a Delaware corporation with an address at 624 Stocking Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504. LICENSE.md names Payload CMS, LLC.", "The site says Payload has joined Figma. The privacy policy and the Cloud terms don't mention Figma.", "A self-hosted install answers on its owner's domain.", "https://payloadcms.com/.well-known/security.txt and https://payloadcms.com/security.txt returned 404 on 8 October 2026. SECURITY.md gives security@payloadcms.com.", "No status page is linked from the site footer, the security page or the get-started page, and status.payloadcms.com didn't resolve.", "RDAP for payloadcms.com gives a registration date of 2018-04-02." ], "score": 56 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/payload.json", "live": { "slug": "payload", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "payloadcms/payload", "version": "v3.93.0", "released": "2026-11-04", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:54:45.541345599Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@payloadcms/plugin-mcp", "version": "3.93.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:54:42.211942183Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@payloadcms/sdk", "version": "3.93.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:54:43.736498363Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "payload", "version": "3.93.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:54:40.407274595Z" } ], "githubStars": 45704, "npmWeekly": 1559191, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://payloadcms.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:26.701040057Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://payloadcms.com/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:33:36.323644893Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "payloadcms.com", "registered": "2018-04-02", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/payloadcms.com", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T14:25:48.820751509Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://payloadcms.com/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:16:07.777499825Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "f0ac80167ab5" } ], "github": { "repo": "payloadcms/payload", "checkedAt": "2026-11-02T09:15:04.874079949Z", "stars": 45615, "archived": false, "issuesEnabled": true, "pushedAt": "2026-11-02T04:10:19Z", "openIssues": 563, "openPRs": 908, "issuesOpened90d": 282, "issuesClosed90d": 105, "prsMerged90d": 589, "ci": { "branch": "main", "runs": 50, "success": 44, "failure": 6, "other": 0, "latest": "success", "latestAt": "2026-10-30T21:03:13Z" }, "advisories": [ { "ghsa": "GHSA-mg7r-jhr9-m745", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-10-08T13:43:37Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-wvw7-x9pg-w4cc", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-10-08T13:41:15Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-g6p9-6gm4-cj6m", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-10-08T13:40:11Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-m35c-r5p5-c3w8", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-10-08T13:34:55Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-97w9-jq7h-73pq", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-10-08T13:33:28Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-8j2x-hjh9-3ff8", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-10-08T13:30:36Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-cqr4-hjg9-833p", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-10-08T13:29:15Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-h5rh-4jwf-738p", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-10-06T13:51:06Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-jjm7-864w-gg8q", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-10-06T13:48:22Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-2qw6-cm49-277x", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-10-06T13:46:58Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-q6mq-ch85-c8mm", "cve": "CVE-2026-105804", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-29T19:03:57Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-mc8m-rr6c-r5qr", "cve": "CVE-2026-93363", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-25T13:57:20Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-9g87-32v6-3c2r", "cve": "CVE-2026-105805", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-22T21:17:14Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-2q76-m6w6-qgc6", "cve": "CVE-2026-105806", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-22T21:16:13Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-qf28-8hc6-vwrp", "cve": "CVE-2026-105844", "severity": "critical", "published": "2026-09-22T21:15:53Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-v49j-62m6-pgrr", "cve": "CVE-2026-105845", "severity": "critical", "published": "2026-09-22T21:15:22Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-w84c-53h3-mc2g", "cve": "CVE-2026-105846", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-22T21:14:59Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-fpww-c55p-cjv6", "cve": "CVE-2026-105847", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:56:00Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-r9v2-gg2j-22q5", "cve": "CVE-2026-105848", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-18T16:55:34Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-238x-w2j9-gwwr", "cve": "CVE-2026-105849", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:52:57Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-8r29-2mp2-pmrw", "cve": "CVE-2026-105850", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:52:10Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-7c34-32v3-j575", "cve": "CVE-2026-105852", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-18T16:51:57Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-xgv3-crq2-6f69", "cve": "CVE-2026-105853", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:51:35Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-2g7p-5934-q4w7", "cve": "CVE-2026-105854", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:51:17Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-fx49-4h83-wjv9", "cve": "CVE-2026-105855", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:50:47Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-pj7x-6wpf-pgvp", "cve": "CVE-2026-105856", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:49:45Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-97rh-rhh2-7vjv", "cve": "CVE-2026-105858", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:49:05Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-p96c-xwx8-3cqj", "cve": "CVE-2026-105860", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:48:16Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-pj5h-5q6c-3pfx", "cve": "CVE-2026-105861", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:47:28Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-2pwp-2369-8fg3", "cve": "CVE-2026-105862", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:40:31Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-xhm9-gwgw-3q2q", "cve": "CVE-2026-105864", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-18T16:40:05Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-p223-2wr2-j562", "cve": "CVE-2026-105865", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:39:47Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-v5gf-vpjc-pc7w", "cve": "CVE-2026-105866", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-09-18T16:39:23Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-7vg8-29qx-jgj8", "cve": "CVE-2026-105867", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:38:59Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-9qpg-3cf8-w33x", "cve": "CVE-2026-105868", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-09-18T16:38:12Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-vc4h-q48j-5hcx", "cve": "CVE-2026-105851", "severity": "critical", "published": "2026-09-18T14:40:21Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-r488-j9vj-wx3q", "cve": "CVE-2026-105857", "severity": "critical", "published": "2026-09-18T14:37:58Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-f7hx-52q9-hcrf", "cve": "CVE-2026-105859", "severity": "critical", "published": "2026-09-18T14:37:41Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-66wr-7vmr-p5jq", "cve": "CVE-2026-105863", "severity": "critical", "published": "2026-09-18T14:37:16Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-4ww4-68q3-h7g5", "cve": "CVE-2026-106100", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-08-27T20:54:58Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-hp5w-3hxx-vmwf", "cve": "CVE-2026-34751", "severity": "critical", "published": "2026-03-30T16:35:21Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-frq9-7j6g-v74x", "cve": "CVE-2026-34750", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-03-30T16:35:10Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-p6mr-xf3r-ghq4", "cve": "CVE-2026-34749", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-03-30T16:32:12Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-6r7f-q7f5-wpx8", "cve": "CVE-2026-34746", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-03-30T16:32:08Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-mmxc-95ch-2j7c", "cve": "CVE-2026-34748", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-03-30T16:32:04Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-7xxh-373w-35vg", "cve": "CVE-2026-34747", "severity": "high", "published": "2026-03-30T16:21:20Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-hhfx-5x8j-f5f6", "cve": "CVE-2026-27567", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-02-23T14:20:17Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-xx6w-jxg9-2wh8", "cve": "CVE-2026-25544", "severity": "critical", "published": "2026-02-05T18:05:22Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-jq29-r496-r955", "cve": "CVE-2026-25574", "severity": "medium", "published": "2026-02-05T18:05:12Z" }, { "ghsa": "GHSA-35jj-vqcf-f2jf", "cve": "CVE-2023-30843", "severity": "high", "published": "2023-04-26T14:03:53Z" } ], "replies": { "sampled": 25, "unanswered": 23, "medianDays": 0.4 } }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:26.701040057Z" } }, "edges": [ { "by": 18, "category": "schema", "leads": "cosmic", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "reasons": { "a": "openapi.json at www.cosmicjs.com covers 21 operations on 12 paths, each with a summary, a description and documented 401, 402, 404, 429 and 500 responses, though the docs describe more endpoints than it covers (revisions, AI, search); MCP tools have typed inputs (20 of 25). llms.txt and every docs page as Markdown (10). Tool descriptions say when to use each tool and when not to, such as never calling delete speculatively (18 of 20). 11 enums in the spec, typed metafields and validation messages (11 of 15). Examples on every API page and an error model with a sample (14 of 15). API v3 paths and a dated changelog (15). 20+10+18+11+14+15 = 88.", "b": "No OpenAPI file is published or generated by the core packages, because endpoints depend on each project's config. Every MCP tool carries a typed input schema built from the collection's fields, and the GraphQL schema is generated from the same config (20 of 25). llms.txt per major version, llms-full.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page (10). Default MCP tool descriptions are one line, such as `Create a document in a collection.`, unless the owner writes one in the plugin config. The docs tell owners to do so (10 of 20). Field inputs are typed with bounds on `limit` and `depth`, but `where` is JSON passed as a string. `select` became an object in the MCP find tools in 3.91.0 (10 of 15). REST operations show a request and a response each. No reference page for error responses or status codes was found (8 of 15). Semver, release notes on GitHub and separate docs per major version. REST paths carry no version (12 of 15)." }, "scores": { "a": 88, "b": 70 } }, { "by": 18, "category": "ergonomics", "leads": "cosmic", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "reasons": { "a": "24 tools, in the 11 to 30 band (15), plus 5 because omitting the write key gives a read-only subset (20 of 25). limit, props, depth, cursor pagination with `after`, status and locale filters (20). Status codes with specific messages and fix-or-retry guidance per code (17 of 20). readOnlyHint and destructiveHint on the MCP tools; no idempotency keys for writes, though agent signup is idempotent (14 of 20). Few required parameters, a TypeScript SDK and a CLI, no SDK in a second language found (11 of 15). 20+20+17+14+11 = 82.", "b": "Four MCP tools per enabled collection and two per global, so five collections give 20 tools, the 11 to 30 band (15). We added 7 because the owner enables collections and operations one by one, each key narrows the list again, and find tools default to 10 documents at depth 0 with `select` (22 of 25). Page-based pagination with `limit` and `page`, 17 `where` operators, `sort`, `select` and `populate` (20). REST errors come back in an `errors` array and MCP tools return a text line beginning `Error:`. Neither format is documented as a list an agent can match on (10 of 20). No idempotency keys, and no `readOnlyHint` or `destructiveHint` in the plugin source. An update by id is repeatable (4 of 20). Few required parameters and sensible defaults. The one official client, `@payloadcms/sdk` for TypeScript, is labelled beta (8 of 15)." }, "scores": { "a": 82, "b": 64 } }, { "by": 14, "category": "reliability", "leads": "cosmic", "name": "Reliability", "reasons": { "a": "Graded on the hosted service with the hosted lines. Statuspage at cosmicstatus.com with API and Web Dashboard components (20). The history page shows no incidents in September, October or November 2026, and the newest incident in the feed is from 26 May 2025. The MCP server isn't a component, so 25 of 30. 100 requests a second with a burst of 200, timeouts and size limits are documented (15). 429 is documented and the error page says which codes to fix and not retry; no Retry-After guidance was found. Agent signup is idempotent (12 of 15). The security page says Enterprise has an SLA from 99.95 per cent uptime; the SLA page itself wasn't read (8 of 10). Hosted MCP is announced as available now, with no beta label (10). 20+25+15+12+8+10 = 90.", "b": "Read with the local-software lines, since the graded surface is software its owner hosts. Official npm packages, with Node.js `^22.23.4 || \u003e=24.22.1` in `engines` and in the installation docs since 3.92.0 (20). A public `ci` workflow runs unit, type, integration and end-to-end tests on every push to 3.x. GitHub's pages and API couldn't be read on 4 November, so the result is unread (15 of 25). 499 issues were open on 8 October, 140 of them awaiting triage, with 225 opened and 116 closed since 10 July 2026, not re-read (12 of 25). A written semver policy marks breaking commits with `!` and lists them in release notes, but lets security fixes and experimental APIs change in minor releases (14 of 15). 3.x is the stable line, with 4.0 in beta (15)." }, "scores": { "a": 90, "b": 76 } }, { "by": 10, "category": "security", "leads": "payload", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "reasons": { "a": "Separate read and write keys per bucket, rotatable independently (25), less 10 because the docs give `read_key` as a query parameter on GET (15 of 30). Read-only MCP access by leaving out the write key, four user roles on every plan, and a delete tool told not to run speculatively; no approval step (14 of 20). Objects hold text written by people and AI generation writes into the bucket; no prompt-injection guidance was found (3 of 15). An append-only audit log of security-relevant actions on Workspace or Pro plans (10 of 15). No SOC 2, ISO 27001 or HIPAA by the security page's own statement, no security.txt, reports to support email (5 of 20). 15+14+3+10+5 = 47.", "b": "REST keys are per user, revocable and regenerable, shown once, and limited by that user's access control down to field level. MCP keys carry per-collection, per-operation switches. Both travel only in the Authorization header. Neither expires, and there is no OAuth (24 of 30). A find-only MCP key is a config switch away and the collection's access control still runs under it. Nothing asks a person to approve a delete or a publish in the free edition (14 of 20). Documents hold text written by other people, and no prompt-injection guidance was found. `overrideResponse` can strip fields before they reach a model (3 of 15). Versions record each change, and `onEvent` and `verboseLogs` expose MCP calls to the owner's own logging. No built-in audit log (7 of 15). SECURITY.md gives a reporting address and, since 16 October 2026, says Payload pays no monetary rewards and runs no bug bounty. Advisories are published on GitHub with affected versions, patches and workarounds. No security.txt or SOC 2 statement was found (9 of 20)." }, "scores": { "a": 47, "b": 57 } }, { "by": 8, "category": "maintenance", "leads": "cosmic", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "reasons": { "a": "MCP server v1.7.1 was tagged on 2 November 2026 (30). v1.7.0 on 9 September and v1.7.1, plus changelog entries on 14 and 31 August, 1, 8, 10, 22 and 23 September and 5 and 9 October 2026 (20). A dated changelog, a Discord server and support email; GitHub issue activity wasn't read because the GitHub API refused us for its rate limit (12 of 25). com.cosmicjs/mcp in the official MCP registry under a domain namespace, though the registry has 1.6.0 while the repository is at 1.7.1 (15). CI, deploy and publish workflows in the MCP repository (9 of 10). 30+20+12+15+9 = 86.", "b": "3.92.1 is tagged on 27 October 2026, 8 days before this check (30). Nine stable releases from 3.87.1 on 6 August to 3.92.1 on 27 October 2026, with 4.0.0 betas alongside, which don't count (20). 225 issues opened against 116 closed since 10 July, 140 open issues awaiting triage and 763 open pull requests, per the 8 October check (12 of 25). `@payloadcms/sdk` ships with each release but is beta and TypeScript only, and the official MCP registry has no Payload entry, which fits a plugin that runs inside each install (8 of 15). CI runs on every push. The latest 3.x run had failed on 8 October 2026, and runs couldn't be read on 4 November (8 of 10)." }, "scores": { "a": 86, "b": 78 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Cosmic Inc.", "b": "Payload CMS, Inc. (Figma)", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://mcp.cosmicjs.com/v1/buckets/{bucket_slug}", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio", "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "none", "b": "MIT for the core and the official packages. Enterprise add-ons are sold separately through sales", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "24", "b": "none", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "com.cosmicjs/mcp", "b": "not listed", "name": "MCP registry" }, { "a": "2026-11-02", "b": "2026-10-27", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "2024-03-28", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not read yet", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not read yet", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not read yet", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not read yet", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not read yet", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "295 npm/wk", "b": "45k stars, 1.1M npm/wk", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Cosmic scores 72.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Payload's 50.1 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Payload leads on security \u0026 auth.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Cosmic or Payload?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do Cosmic and Payload need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Cosmic has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.cosmicjs.com/v1/buckets/{bucket_slug}. No hosted endpoint is listed for Payload.", "question": "Can an agent call Cosmic and Payload without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "No open-source release is listed for Cosmic. Payload is open source (MIT for the core and the official packages. Enterprise add-ons are sold separately through sales).", "question": "Are Cosmic and Payload open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 90 against 76", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 88 against 70", "Agent ergonomics, 82 against 64", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 86 against 78" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install", "Runs on your own machine", "Free to start without a card", "No incidents deducted, where Payload loses 15 points for them" ], "goodFor": "Teams that want an agent to set up and fill a hosted CMS end to end, including signup.", "slug": "cosmic", "watchFor": "No SOC 2, ISO 27001 or HIPAA certification, by the security page's own statement" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 57 against 47" ], "also": [ "Open source" ], "goodFor": "Teams that build on Next.js and want the content model in TypeScript, with drafts, versions and localisation in the free core.", "slug": "payload", "watchFor": "38 security advisories on OSV in the 12 months to 4 November 2026, 7 critical, 28 published on 6 and 7 October" } ], "history": { "cosmic": null, "payload": [ { "causes": [ "evidence", "correction" ], "date": "2026-11-04", "delta": -5.4, "from": 55.5, "fromGrade": "C", "to": 50.1, "toGrade": "D" }, { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-27", "delta": 0.3, "from": 55.2, "fromGrade": "C", "to": 55.5, "toGrade": "C" } ] }, "job": { "capability": "cms.content", "name": "Content management" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bcms-vs-cosmic.json", "title": "BCMS vs Cosmic", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bcms-vs-cosmic" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bcms-vs-payload.json", "title": "BCMS vs Payload", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bcms-vs-payload" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-cosmic.json", "title": "ButterCMS vs Cosmic", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-cosmic" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-payload.json", "title": "ButterCMS vs Payload", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-payload" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-cosmic.json", "title": "Contentstack vs Cosmic", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-cosmic" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-payload.json", "title": "Contentstack vs Payload", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-payload" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-datocms.json", "title": "Cosmic vs DatoCMS", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-datocms" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-directus.json", "title": "Cosmic vs Directus", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-directus" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-dotcms.json", "title": "Cosmic vs dotCMS", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-dotcms" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-ghost.json", "title": "Cosmic vs Ghost", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-ghost" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-hygraph.json", "title": "Cosmic vs Hygraph", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-hygraph" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-kontent-ai.json", "title": "Cosmic vs Kontent.ai", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-kontent-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-prismic.json", "title": "Cosmic vs Prismic", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-prismic" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-sanity.json", "title": "Cosmic vs Sanity", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-sanity" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-storyblok.json", "title": "Cosmic vs Storyblok", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-storyblok" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-strapi.json", "title": "Cosmic vs Strapi", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-strapi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-webflow.json", "title": "Cosmic vs Webflow", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-webflow" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-wordpress.json", "title": "Cosmic vs WordPress", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-wordpress" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datocms-vs-payload.json", "title": "DatoCMS vs Payload", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datocms-vs-payload" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/directus-vs-payload.json", "title": "Directus vs Payload", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/directus-vs-payload" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dotcms-vs-payload.json", "title": "dotCMS vs Payload", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dotcms-vs-payload" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-payload.json", "title": "Ghost vs Payload", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-payload" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hygraph-vs-payload.json", "title": "Hygraph vs Payload", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hygraph-vs-payload" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kontent-ai-vs-payload.json", "title": "Kontent.ai vs Payload", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kontent-ai-vs-payload" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-prismic.json", "title": "Payload vs Prismic", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-prismic" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-sanity.json", "title": "Payload vs Sanity", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-sanity" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-storyblok.json", "title": "Payload vs Storyblok", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-storyblok" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-strapi.json", "title": "Payload vs Strapi", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-strapi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-webflow.json", "title": "Payload vs Webflow", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-webflow" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-wordpress.json", "title": "Payload vs WordPress", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-wordpress" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "by": 14, "cosmic": 90, "edge": "cosmic", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "payload": 76, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 18, "cosmic": 88, "edge": "cosmic", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "payload": 70, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 18, "cosmic": 82, "edge": "cosmic", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "payload": 64, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 10, "cosmic": 47, "edge": "payload", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "payload": 57, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "cosmic": 45, "edge": "", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "payload": 45, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 8, "cosmic": 86, "edge": "cosmic", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "payload": 78, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 2, "cosmic": 63, "edge": "payload", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "payload": 65, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Cosmic scores 72.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Payload's 50.1 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Payload leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do content management.", "tasks": null, "tutorials": [], "verdicts": { "cosmic": "Cosmic gives agents 24 annotated MCP tools with when-to-use descriptions, a read-only mode by key, documented limits and an agent signup API that returns working keys before a human claims the project. It holds no SOC 2 or ISO certification by its own statement, and read keys can travel in the URL.", "payload": "Payload generates REST, GraphQL and MCP interfaces from one typed config, with drafts, restorable versions and per-key MCP permissions in the free MIT core. The security record is the limit. 38 advisories were published in the 12 months to November 2026, most on 6 and 7 October, so an install older than 3.90.0 is exposed. No OpenAPI file is published." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-payload", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-payload.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-payload.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-payload.min.md" }, "markdown": "Cosmic scores 72.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Payload's 50.1 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Payload leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do content management.\n\n- Cosmic: grade BB, 72.5/100, rank #123 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cosmic.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cosmic.json\n- Payload: grade D, 50.1/100, rank #1068 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/payload.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/payload.json\n- Best headless CMS and website publishing for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/cms/index.md\n- All 136 cms comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cms/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Cosmic (BB)\n\nGood for: Teams that want an agent to set up and fill a hosted CMS end to end, including signup.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 90 against 76\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 88 against 70\n- Agent ergonomics, 82 against 64\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 86 against 78\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n- Runs on your own machine\n- Free to start without a card\n- No incidents deducted, where Payload loses 15 points for them\n\nWatch for: No SOC 2, ISO 27001 or HIPAA certification, by the security page's own statement\n\n### Payload (D)\n\nGood for: Teams that build on Next.js and want the content model in TypeScript, with drafts, versions and localisation in the free core.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 57 against 47\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: 38 security advisories on OSV in the 12 months to 4 November 2026, 7 critical, 28 published on 6 and 7 October\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: Cosmic +18\n\n- Cosmic (88): openapi.json at www.cosmicjs.com covers 21 operations on 12 paths, each with a summary, a description and documented 401, 402, 404, 429 and 500 responses, though the docs describe more endpoints than it covers (revisions, AI, search); MCP tools have typed inputs (20 of 25). llms.txt and every docs page as Markdown (10). Tool descriptions say when to use each tool and when not to, such as never calling delete speculatively (18 of 20). 11 enums in the spec, typed metafields and validation messages (11 of 15). Examples on every API page and an error model with a sample (14 of 15). API v3 paths and a dated changelog (15). 20+10+18+11+14+15 = 88.\n- Payload (70): No OpenAPI file is published or generated by the core packages, because endpoints depend on each project's config. Every MCP tool carries a typed input schema built from the collection's fields, and the GraphQL schema is generated from the same config (20 of 25). llms.txt per major version, llms-full.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page (10). Default MCP tool descriptions are one line, such as `Create a document in a collection.`, unless the owner writes one in the plugin config. The docs tell owners to do so (10 of 20). Field inputs are typed with bounds on `limit` and `depth`, but `where` is JSON passed as a string. `select` became an object in the MCP find tools in 3.91.0 (10 of 15). REST operations show a request and a response each. No reference page for error responses or status codes was found (8 of 15). Semver, release notes on GitHub and separate docs per major version. REST paths carry no version (12 of 15).\n\n### Agent ergonomics: Cosmic +18\n\n- Cosmic (82): 24 tools, in the 11 to 30 band (15), plus 5 because omitting the write key gives a read-only subset (20 of 25). limit, props, depth, cursor pagination with `after`, status and locale filters (20). Status codes with specific messages and fix-or-retry guidance per code (17 of 20). readOnlyHint and destructiveHint on the MCP tools; no idempotency keys for writes, though agent signup is idempotent (14 of 20). Few required parameters, a TypeScript SDK and a CLI, no SDK in a second language found (11 of 15). 20+20+17+14+11 = 82.\n- Payload (64): Four MCP tools per enabled collection and two per global, so five collections give 20 tools, the 11 to 30 band (15). We added 7 because the owner enables collections and operations one by one, each key narrows the list again, and find tools default to 10 documents at depth 0 with `select` (22 of 25). Page-based pagination with `limit` and `page`, 17 `where` operators, `sort`, `select` and `populate` (20). REST errors come back in an `errors` array and MCP tools return a text line beginning `Error:`. Neither format is documented as a list an agent can match on (10 of 20). No idempotency keys, and no `readOnlyHint` or `destructiveHint` in the plugin source. An update by id is repeatable (4 of 20). Few required parameters and sensible defaults. The one official client, `@payloadcms/sdk` for TypeScript, is labelled beta (8 of 15).\n\n### Reliability: Cosmic +14\n\n- Cosmic (90): Graded on the hosted service with the hosted lines. Statuspage at cosmicstatus.com with API and Web Dashboard components (20). The history page shows no incidents in September, October or November 2026, and the newest incident in the feed is from 26 May 2025. The MCP server isn't a component, so 25 of 30. 100 requests a second with a burst of 200, timeouts and size limits are documented (15). 429 is documented and the error page says which codes to fix and not retry; no Retry-After guidance was found. Agent signup is idempotent (12 of 15). The security page says Enterprise has an SLA from 99.95 per cent uptime; the SLA page itself wasn't read (8 of 10). Hosted MCP is announced as available now, with no beta label (10). 20+25+15+12+8+10 = 90.\n- Payload (76): Read with the local-software lines, since the graded surface is software its owner hosts. Official npm packages, with Node.js `^22.23.4 || \u003e=24.22.1` in `engines` and in the installation docs since 3.92.0 (20). A public `ci` workflow runs unit, type, integration and end-to-end tests on every push to 3.x. GitHub's pages and API couldn't be read on 4 November, so the result is unread (15 of 25). 499 issues were open on 8 October, 140 of them awaiting triage, with 225 opened and 116 closed since 10 July 2026, not re-read (12 of 25). A written semver policy marks breaking commits with `!` and lists them in release notes, but lets security fixes and experimental APIs change in minor releases (14 of 15). 3.x is the stable line, with 4.0 in beta (15).\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: Payload +10\n\n- Cosmic (47): Separate read and write keys per bucket, rotatable independently (25), less 10 because the docs give `read_key` as a query parameter on GET (15 of 30). Read-only MCP access by leaving out the write key, four user roles on every plan, and a delete tool told not to run speculatively; no approval step (14 of 20). Objects hold text written by people and AI generation writes into the bucket; no prompt-injection guidance was found (3 of 15). An append-only audit log of security-relevant actions on Workspace or Pro plans (10 of 15). No SOC 2, ISO 27001 or HIPAA by the security page's own statement, no security.txt, reports to support email (5 of 20). 15+14+3+10+5 = 47.\n- Payload (57): REST keys are per user, revocable and regenerable, shown once, and limited by that user's access control down to field level. MCP keys carry per-collection, per-operation switches. Both travel only in the Authorization header. Neither expires, and there is no OAuth (24 of 30). A find-only MCP key is a config switch away and the collection's access control still runs under it. Nothing asks a person to approve a delete or a publish in the free edition (14 of 20). Documents hold text written by other people, and no prompt-injection guidance was found. `overrideResponse` can strip fields before they reach a model (3 of 15). Versions record each change, and `onEvent` and `verboseLogs` expose MCP calls to the owner's own logging. No built-in audit log (7 of 15). SECURITY.md gives a reporting address and, since 16 October 2026, says Payload pays no monetary rewards and runs no bug bounty. Advisories are published on GitHub with affected versions, patches and workarounds. No security.txt or SOC 2 statement was found (9 of 20).\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: Cosmic +8\n\n- Cosmic (86): MCP server v1.7.1 was tagged on 2 November 2026 (30). v1.7.0 on 9 September and v1.7.1, plus changelog entries on 14 and 31 August, 1, 8, 10, 22 and 23 September and 5 and 9 October 2026 (20). A dated changelog, a Discord server and support email; GitHub issue activity wasn't read because the GitHub API refused us for its rate limit (12 of 25). com.cosmicjs/mcp in the official MCP registry under a domain namespace, though the registry has 1.6.0 while the repository is at 1.7.1 (15). CI, deploy and publish workflows in the MCP repository (9 of 10). 30+20+12+15+9 = 86.\n- Payload (78): 3.92.1 is tagged on 27 October 2026, 8 days before this check (30). Nine stable releases from 3.87.1 on 6 August to 3.92.1 on 27 October 2026, with 4.0.0 betas alongside, which don't count (20). 225 issues opened against 116 closed since 10 July, 140 open issues awaiting triage and 763 open pull requests, per the 8 October check (12 of 25). `@payloadcms/sdk` ships with each release but is beta and TypeScript only, and the official MCP registry has no Payload entry, which fits a plugin that runs inside each install (8 of 15). CI runs on every push. The latest 3.x run had failed on 8 October 2026, and runs couldn't be read on 4 November (8 of 10).\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Cosmic | Payload | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 90 | 76 | Cosmic +14 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 88 | 70 | Cosmic +18 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 82 | 64 | Cosmic +18 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 47 | 57 | Payload +10 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 45 | 45 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 86 | 78 | Cosmic +8 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 65 | Payload +2 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -15 | |\n| **Total** | | **72.5 · BB** | **50.1 · D** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Cosmic | Payload |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Cosmic Inc. | Payload CMS, Inc. (Figma) |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.cosmicjs.com/v1/buckets/{bucket_slug}` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | none | MIT for the core and the official packages. Enterprise add-ons are sold separately through sales |\n| Tools exposed | 24 | none |\n| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| MCP registry | `com.cosmicjs/mcp` | not listed |\n| Last release | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-27 |\n| Terms last updated | no date given | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2024-03-28 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not read yet |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not read yet |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not read yet |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not read yet |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not read yet |\n| Popularity | 295 npm/wk | 45k stars, 1.1M npm/wk |\n\n## How the scores have moved\n\n### Cosmic\n\nNo score change since it was listed.\n\n### Payload\n\n- -5.4 on 4 November 2026 (C to D): new evidence, correction\n- +0.3 on 27 October 2026: checklist\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Cosmic.** Cosmic gives agents 24 annotated MCP tools with when-to-use descriptions, a read-only mode by key, documented limits and an agent signup API that returns working keys before a human claims the project. It holds no SOC 2 or ISO certification by its own statement, and read keys can travel in the URL.\n\n**Payload.** Payload generates REST, GraphQL and MCP interfaces from one typed config, with drafts, restorable versions and per-key MCP permissions in the free MIT core. The security record is the limit. 38 advisories were published in the 12 months to November 2026, most on 6 and 7 October, so an install older than 3.90.0 is exposed. No OpenAPI file is published.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Cosmic\n\n1. Send only the read key in the Bearer token unless the task needs writes\n2. Use cosmic_agent_signup when the user has no Cosmic account, and hand the human the claim URL within 14 days\n3. Fix and don't retry on 400; wait and retry on 429\n4. Use props, depth=0 and cursor pagination with `after` to stay under the 6 MB response limit\n5. Confirm with the user before cosmic_objects_delete, which deletes permanently\n\n### Payload\n\n1. Check the installed version first. Anything below 3.90.0 carries published critical advisories, and 3.92.0 and later need Node.js 22.23.4 or 24.22.1, so ask the owner to upgrade before writing\n2. Send REST keys as `Authorization: {collection-slug} API-Key {key}` and MCP keys as `Authorization: Bearer {key}`. The two key kinds are separate\n3. To publish, set `_status: 'published'` in the data. The `draft` parameter only relaxes validation and chooses where an update is written\n4. Upload files with multipart POST to the upload collection, with other fields as JSON in `_payload`. No MCP upload tool is documented\n5. Roll back with `POST /api/{collection-slug}/versions/:id` after listing versions. Versions exist only where the collection config enables them\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Cosmic or Payload?\n\nCosmic scores 72.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Payload's 50.1 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Payload leads on security \u0026 auth.\n\n### Do Cosmic and Payload need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Cosmic and Payload without installing anything?\n\nCosmic has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.cosmicjs.com/v1/buckets/{bucket_slug}. No hosted endpoint is listed for Payload.\n\n### Are Cosmic and Payload open source?\n\nNo open-source release is listed for Cosmic. Payload is open source (MIT for the core and the official packages. Enterprise add-ons are sold separately through sales).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-payload.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-payload.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"cosmic\", \"b\": \"payload\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare cosmic payload`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cosmic.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/payload.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Cosmic or Payload\n\n- [BCMS vs Cosmic](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bcms-vs-cosmic.md)\n- [BCMS vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bcms-vs-payload.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Cosmic](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-cosmic.md)\n- [ButterCMS vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/buttercms-vs-payload.md)\n- [Contentstack vs Cosmic](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-cosmic.md)\n- [Contentstack vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-payload.md)\n- [Cosmic vs DatoCMS](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-datocms.md)\n- [Cosmic vs Directus](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-directus.md)\n- [Cosmic vs dotCMS](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-dotcms.md)\n- [Cosmic vs Ghost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-ghost.md)\n- [Cosmic vs Hygraph](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-hygraph.md)\n- [Cosmic vs Kontent.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-kontent-ai.md)\n- [Cosmic vs Prismic](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-prismic.md)\n- [Cosmic vs Sanity](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-sanity.md)\n- [Cosmic vs Storyblok](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-storyblok.md)\n- [Cosmic vs Strapi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-strapi.md)\n- [Cosmic vs Webflow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-webflow.md)\n- [Cosmic vs WordPress](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-wordpress.md)\n- [DatoCMS vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datocms-vs-payload.md)\n- [Directus vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/directus-vs-payload.md)\n- [dotCMS vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dotcms-vs-payload.md)\n- [Ghost vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-payload.md)\n- [Hygraph vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hygraph-vs-payload.md)\n- [Kontent.ai vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kontent-ai-vs-payload.md)\n- [Payload vs Prismic](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-prismic.md)\n- [Payload vs Sanity](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-sanity.md)\n- [Payload vs Storyblok](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-storyblok.md)\n- [Payload vs Strapi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-strapi.md)\n- [Payload vs Webflow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-webflow.md)\n- [Payload vs WordPress](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-wordpress.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link the page or API address you took it from (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-11-07", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.7", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "terms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Cosmic vs Payload", "url": "" } ], "description": "Cosmic scores 72.5 (BB) to Payload's 50.1 (D) for content management. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Cosmic BB 72.5", "Payload D 50.1", "scores" ], "h1": "Cosmic vs Payload", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/default.png", "path": "/compare/cosmic-vs-payload", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Cosmic vs Payload for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-11-07", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cosmic-vs-payload" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 4500, "slim": 2680 }, "version": 1 }