Collections

Collections — ProcessWire Module

Requires: ProcessWire 3.0.244+, PHP 8.2+
Author: Maxim Semenov · smnv.org · maxim@smnv.org
GitHub: github.com/mxmsmnv/Collections

The Problem

ProcessWire's default Page List is built for site structure — not data management. When you have thousands of pages as data records (products, listings, candidates, menu items), the default admin becomes painful fast:

• No table view. You see one page at a time, nested in a tree. Finding a specific record means clicking through folders or memorizing IDs.
• No inline filters. Want to see only unpublished products from Italy? You're writing a selector in the URL or building a custom admin page from scratch.
• No bulk actions. Publishing 200 seasonal items means 200 individual saves.
• No export. Getting your data out requires a custom template or a module.
• No REST API. Feeding a mobile app or a headless frontend means building endpoints yourself.
• No role scoping. Every editor sees every page. Limiting a franchisee to their own location's menu requires custom code.

Every ProcessWire developer has solved some version of this problem on every project. Collections solves it once.

What It Does

Collections gives any ProcessWire template a configurable admin table — with live search, dropdown filters, inline status toggles, bulk actions, CSV/JSON export, and a REST API — all configured through a UI, without writing code.

It installs as a dedicated section inside the ProcessWire admin. Editors get a professional, responsive interface. Developers get a REST API with zero boilerplate.

Real-World Use Cases

Product catalog (e-commerce) A spirits retailer manages 12,000+ products across ABV, country, region, brand, SKU, and size variants. Collections provides a filterable table where buyers bulk-publish seasonal items, export the filtered view to CSV for distributors, and jump to edit any row — without leaving the list.

Property listings (real estate) An agency runs listings across multiple cities. Each agent sees only their own listings via the permissions matrix and a created_by selector. The manager sees everything and exports weekly JSON reports fed to a mobile app through the built-in REST API.

Job board / HR A company posts vacancies across departments. HR manages the full board; department heads see only their own roles. When a hiring round closes, one bulk action archives the filled positions. Status dots show at a glance what's live and what's in draft.

Restaurant chain / franchise A franchise with 40 locations manages its menu centrally. Each location's menu is a separate collection scoped by a selector. The head chef publishes globally; location managers toggle availability for their own restaurant only — same module, different permission roles.

Media / editorial A magazine team of writers and editors. Writers see their own drafts; editors see everything. Publish status is inline — no need to open each article. Bulk-scheduling a campaign batch takes seconds.

SaaS client portal A B2B platform manages client projects as ProcessWire pages. Each account manager sees only their client records. The REST API feeds a React dashboard with paginated, filtered data using Bearer token auth.

Headless CMS with Next.js / Nuxt / SvelteKit ProcessWire as the content backend, Collections as the REST layer. Frontend frameworks fetch data from /api/products/?filter[category]=42&sort=modified&dir=desc. No custom API templates needed.

Mobile app backend iOS/Android apps consume the Collections API. API keys with expiration dates and usage tracking provide per-app access control. The /schema/ endpoint lets the app self-describe available fields without hardcoding.

Features

Admin UI

• Configurable table columns per collection with custom labels
• Live search with 300ms debounce, multi-field, including Page reference fields
• Dropdown filters for FieldtypePage and FieldtypeOptions fields
• Inline status toggle (publish / unpublish) via AJAX — no page reload
• Clickable rows with visual selection highlight themed to --pw-main-color
• Bulk actions: publish, unpublish, delete with CSRF protection
• Quick delete button per row (optional)
• Collapsible sidebar with persistent state (localStorage)
• "View in Collection" button injected into each page's edit form
• Admin UI colors adapt to ProcessWire's --pw-main-color theme variable

Data

• CSV and JSON export with current search/filter state preserved
• Configuration export / import as JSON
• Role-based permissions matrix (global and per-collection)

REST API

• Bearer token, query param (?api_key=), HTTP Basic Auth, and PW session
• API key management with optional expiration dates and per-key capability scopes
• SHA-256 hashed keys — raw key shown only once on creation
• Usage tracking: last used timestamp, request count
• Rate limit: 100 requests/minute per IP per collection (HTTP 429 on excess)
• WireCache support for GET responses (configurable TTL)

Field Types Supported Text, Textarea, Integer, Float, Checkbox, URL, Email, Color (hex), Date/Datetime, Image, File, FieldtypeFileB2, FieldtypePage (single and multi), FieldtypeOptions, MapMarker, Profields Table, Profields Textareas, Profields Multiplier, Profields Repeater Matrix, Profields Combo

Dot-notation column syntax Subfields of composite ProFields can be addressed directly in the Columns setting using field.subfield notation. The renderer auto-detects field types at each level — no type prefix needed.

Installation

1. Copy the Collections/ folder to site/modules/
2. In the admin go to Modules → Refresh
3. Install Collections — ProcessCollections installs automatically
4. Go to Admin → Collections → Configure to create your first collection

Quick Start

Go to Admin → Collections → Configure, click New Collection and fill in:

Global Settings

Admin → Collections → Configure → Global Settings

REST API

Full API reference and code examples for cURL, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Next.js, and React Query are in API.md.

Permissions

Assign permissions to roles under Access → Roles in ProcessWire, then configure which roles have which capabilities per collection under Configure → Permissions.

Database Tables

Four custom tables are created on install and dropped on uninstall:

File Structure

Collections/
 Collections.module.php          Autoload module — hooks, API routing, cache invalidation
 ProcessCollections.module.php   Admin Process — UI, bulk actions, configure
 src/
   Collection.php                Value object + PW selector builder
   CollectionConfig.php          DB-backed settings storage (4 tables)
   CollectionRenderer.php        HTML table + row renderer, ProFields support
   CollectionQuery.php           PW selector query execution + pagination
   CollectionPermissions.php     Role + capability permission checks
   CollectionExporter.php        CSV / JSON streaming export
   QueryParams.php               QueryParams + QueryResult value objects
   Api/
     CollectionApiRouter.php     REST router + rate limiter (100 req/min)
     CollectionApiHandler.php    CRUD handlers + field serialization
     CollectionApiResponse.php   JSON response wrapper
 views/
   layout.php                    Sidenav + main layout wrapper
   dashboard.php                 Dashboard with collection cards + counts
   collection-list.php           Collection table view + bulk bar
   configure.php                 Configure UI — collections, global, API, permissions, import/export
   partials/
     toolbar.php                 Search input + filter dropdowns
     pagination.php              Pagination widget
 assets/
   collections.js                Live search, AJAX toggle, bulk actions, row selection
   collections.css               Layout, table, sidebar, bulk bar, dark mode theming
 install/
   permissions.php               Creates 6 PW permissions on install
 API.md
 CHANGELOG.md
 README.md

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md.

Author

Maxim Semenov
smnv.org · maxim@smnv.org
GitHub: github.com/mxmsmnv/Collections