The payload-next recipe is designed for a realistic small-production stack without a long checklist. You import one YAML bundle, Zerops creates the database and services, and Git-connected builds keep Payload and the Next app in sync.
On the CMS side, production builds use Next standalone output, compile the admin panel, and deploy the runtime bundle. PostgreSQL is provisioned as a managed service; connection strings arrive through Zerops env isolation so you never hard-code credentials in the repo.
The Next storefront is a separate service. It bakes NEXT_PUBLIC_PAYLOAD_URL at build time from the project vault, which points at your Payload subdomain. After deploy, editors use Payload admin on the API host while visitors hit the frontend hostname.