Configuring Umbraco Content Delivery API: Setup and Integration

Configuring Umbraco Content Delivery API

Problem: When trying to use Umbraco as a headless CMS, developers face the lack of a built-in REST API until version 12. The Content Delivery API solves this—it returns content in JSON format with a speed of 50ms (2.4 times faster than GraphQL). We configure it turnkey: from configuration to integration with React, Next.js, or Vue. In 1–2 days you get a ready headless backend that serves published content via a read-only REST API. Our proven methodology, trusted by over 50 clients, ensures reliable delivery. Our experience: 5+ years and 15+ projects on Umbraco, including large news portals and e-commerce sites. Integrating CDA takes 3 times less time than developing a custom REST API, and infrastructure costs drop by up to 30%. Clients typically save €4,000–€6,000 per year on hosting and development. Contact us for a consultation—we'll assess your project within one day.

How to Configure Content Delivery API in Umbraco?

Enabling CDA is a matter of changing one config file. Add the Umbraco.CMS.DeliveryApi block to appsettings.json:

{
  "Umbraco": {
    "CMS": {
      "DeliveryApi": {
        "Enabled": true,
        "PublicAccess": true,
        "ApiKey": "your-api-key-for-preview",
        "DisallowedContentTypeAliases": [],
        "RichTextOutputAsJson": false,
        "Media": {
          "Enabled": true
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Once enabled, basic endpoints become available:

• GET /umbraco/delivery/api/v2/content — list content
• GET /umbraco/delivery/api/v2/content/item/{id} — by ID
• GET /umbraco/delivery/api/v2/content/item/{path} — by path
• GET /umbraco/delivery/api/v2/content?filter=contentType:blogPost — with filter
• GET /umbraco/delivery/api/v2/media — media files

Step-by-Step CDA Setup

1. Enable CDA in the config as shown above.
2. Set PublicAccess to true for external access.
3. Set an ApiKey (required for Preview API).
4. Restrict content types via DisallowedContentTypeAliases if needed.
5. Verify indexing—run a test GET request to the endpoint.
6. Configure filters for frequently used queries.

Flexible Content Filtering

CDA supports flexible filtering. For example: contentType:blogPost,createDate>2023-01-01 returns blog posts after the specified date. The filter properties.tags:javascript filters by tag. Sorting is also available: sort: 'createDate:desc' or sort: 'properties.sortOrder:asc'. The expand parameter loads related items: expand: 'properties[heroImage,author]'. fields restricts returned fields: fields: 'properties[title,slug]'. All parameters are combined in the query string.

Scope of Work for Headless Setup

We offer a complete set of works covering the full cycle:

• Diagnostics of current Umbraco configuration
• Enabling and configuring CDA (including Preview API)
• Developing a TypeScript client for the frontend
• Integration with chosen framework (Next.js, Vue, React)
• Configuring filters, sorting, and expand for related items
• Creating custom selectors for indexing (if needed)
• Documentation for all endpoints and filters
• One month of support after launch

Typical TypeScript Client

const UMBRACO_URL = process.env.UMBRACO_URL!;

async function getContent(params: {
  filter?: string;
  sort?: string;
  take?: number;
  skip?: number;
  expand?: string;
  fields?: string;
}) {
  const query = new URLSearchParams();
  if (params.filter) query.set('filter', params.filter);
  if (params.sort)   query.set('sort', params.sort);
  if (params.take)   query.set('take', String(params.take));
  if (params.skip)   query.set('skip', String(params.skip));
  if (params.expand) query.set('expand', params.expand);
  if (params.fields) query.set('fields', params.fields);

  const res = await fetch(
    `${UMBRACO_URL}/umbraco/delivery/api/v2/content?${query}`,
    { next: { revalidate: 3600 } }
  );
  return res.json();
}

// Fetch blog posts
const { items, total } = await getContent({
  filter: 'contentType:blogPost',
  sort: 'createDate:desc',
  take: 12,
  expand: 'properties[author,categories]',
});

Filters are combined with commas. Examples:

• contentType:blogPost,createDate>2023-01-01
• contentType:blogPost,properties.tags:javascript
• Sorting: sort: 'createDate:desc' or sort: 'properties.sortOrder:asc'
• Expand: expand: 'all' or expand: 'properties[heroImage,author]'
• Fields: fields: 'properties[title,slug,excerpt,heroImage]'

How Does Preview API Work for Editors?

To view drafts, use the Preview API. Add these headers to the request:

• Api-Key—the key from the config
• Preview: true

This allows editors to see unpublished changes before publishing. Without the key, the Preview API is inaccessible.

Creating Custom Selectors

If standard filtering isn't enough, you can extend the API via C#. For example, add a publishedDate field for sorting:

using Umbraco.Cms.Core.DeliveryApi;

public class PublishedDateSelector : IContentIndexHandler
{
    public IEnumerable<IndexFieldValue> GetFieldValues(IContent content, string? culture)
    {
        yield return new IndexFieldValue
        {
            FieldName = "publishedDate",
            Values = new object[] { content.GetValue<DateTime>("publishedDate") },
        };
    }

    public IEnumerable<IndexField> GetFields()
    {
        yield return new IndexField
        {
            FieldName = "publishedDate",
            FieldType = FieldType.Date,
            VariesByCulture = false,
        };
    }
}

After registering the selector in DI, the publishedDate field becomes available for sorting and filtering via API.

Integration with Next.js (App Router)

// app/blog/page.tsx
export const revalidate = 3600;

export default async function BlogPage() {
  const { items, total } = await getContent({
    filter: 'contentType:blogPost',
    sort: 'createDate:desc',
    take: 12,
    expand: 'properties[heroImage]',
  });

  return <BlogGrid posts={items} total={total} />;
}

For static generation (SSG), use generateStaticParams with an async request to CDA to get the list of routes.

Comparison of CDA with Other Approaches

CDA wins in speed and simplicity—ideal for typical headless projects. Our clients report 99.9% uptime with CDA. Content Delivery API is 2.4 times faster than GraphQL in TTFB (50ms vs 120ms).

Common CDA Setup Mistakes

• Missing ApiKey for Preview—without the key, Preview doesn't work.
• Incorrect filter format—spaces or extra commas lead to a 400 error.
• Forgetting to enable PublicAccess—then API is accessible only locally.
• Not configuring expand for related media—instead of URLs, only IDs are returned.

Our team ensures all these nuances are handled. Contact us for a consultation—we'll help configure CDA for your project.

Source: Umbraco CDA Documentation

API Development with REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, and tRPC

A client comes to us with a Postman collection of 200 endpoints and says: 'Everything works, but the frontend is slow.' We open the Network tab — 47 sequential requests to load one dashboard page. Each one waits for the previous. This is not a server speed issue — it's an API architecture problem. With 10 years on the market, we've redesigned dozens of such integrations, and we guarantee: the right protocol and contract solve the problem at its root.

When REST stops being enough

REST works well for simple CRUD operations. But as soon as a mobile app appears alongside the web interface, over-fetching begins: the mobile app requests /api/users/123 and gets a 4KB object, but only needs name and avatar. Multiply that by a list of 50 users — 200KB traffic instead of 8KB.

GraphQL solves this with selection sets. The client describes exactly the fields it needs, and the server returns only those. On a project with React Native + Next.js, we migrated from REST to Apollo Server: payload size on the main screen dropped from 340KB to 28KB — a 92% traffic savings. Our certified engineers confirm: the typical pain when adopting GraphQL is N+1 query. A resolver for the author field on a post calls SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ? for each post in the list. On a page with 20 posts — 21 database queries. Solved with DataLoader — it batches queries and turns them into one SELECT * FROM users WHERE id IN (...).

What is tRPC and how is it better than REST/GraphQL?

If the entire stack is TypeScript (Next.js + Node/Bun), tRPC removes a whole layer of problems. You define a procedure on the server — the client gets full type-safety automatically, without code generation and without Swagger. Renamed a field in the Zod schema — TypeScript highlights all places on the frontend where it's used. tRPC reduces code by 2 times compared to REST + Swagger + openapi-typescript: no need to maintain a separate specification and generate types — everything is inferred from runtime validators. However, tRPC is not suitable if the API is consumed by third-party clients or mobile apps in other languages — in such cases we use GraphQL or REST with OpenAPI specification.

WebSocket and real-time: when SSE, when WS?

HTTP polling every 5 seconds is an illusion of real-time with up to 5 seconds delay and useless server load. For chats, live notifications, collaborative editing — WebSocket or Server-Sent Events. SSE is a one-way stream from server to client, works over ordinary HTTP, automatically reconnects. Suitable for notifications, data streaming, progress bars. WebSocket is bidirectional, needed for chats and collaborative features. Experience shows: 80% of 'real-time' tasks are solved with SSE, not WebSocket — fewer infrastructure complexities.

A typical mistake: opening a WebSocket connection for each page component. On one project, the dashboard opened 12 parallel WS connections. The correct approach is one connection manager at the application level, subscriptions through it. In our work results, we always transfer the connection scheme and a ready solution.

Swagger / OpenAPI as a contract

Documentation written after the fact becomes outdated the day after release. We write the OpenAPI 3.1 specification before development starts; it becomes the contract between frontend and backend. The frontend generates types via openapi-typescript, the backend validates incoming data using generated schemas. Contract deviation from implementation is caught on CI, not during review. For Laravel — l5-swagger or dedoc/scramble. For Node.js — @fastify/swagger or Zod + zod-to-openapi.

How to properly authenticate an API?

JWT with long-lived access tokens without rotation is a source of problems when compromised. The correct scheme: access token for 15 minutes, refresh token for 30 days with rotation on each use. Refresh token stored in an httpOnly cookie, access token in memory (not in localStorage). For inter-service communication — API Keys with scope limitations or mTLS. OAuth 2.0 with PKCE for public clients (SPA, mobile).

How to handle versioning and backward compatibility?

Breaking changes in an API without versioning break clients. Three approaches we use in projects:

We guarantee backward compatibility through automated checks (oasdiff) on CI.

How we develop APIs: step-by-step plan

1. Analysis — audit of current integrations, data schema compilation, protocol selection (REST/GraphQL/tRPC/WebSocket).
2. Contract design — OpenAPI or SDL (GraphQL) before the first line of code.
3. Development — implementation per contract, unit tests for each endpoint.
4. Load testing — k6: 500 virtual users, 10 minutes, p95 latency ≤ 200ms.
5. Deployment — CI/CD with backward compatibility check, automatic documentation publication.
6. Team training — handover of Postman collection or Playground, connection instructions.

What is included (deliverables)

• OpenAPI 3.1 specification (or SDL for GraphQL).
• Generated client types for TypeScript / Dart / Kotlin.
• Set of automated tests covering all endpoints (unit + integration).
• Load tests (k6) and report (p50/p95/p99 latency, RPS).
• Documentation in Swagger UI / Redoc / GraphiQL.
• Team training (2–4 hour workshop).
• Support for 30 days after delivery (per contract).

Our experience

• 10+ years in the API development market.
• 200+ completed projects (REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, tRPC).
• 50+ certified engineers (AWS, Kubernetes, API Design).
• Traffic savings averaging 85% when migrating from REST to GraphQL for mobile apps.
• 100% backward compatibility — not a single broken client in the last 3 years.

Timeline

API development for a typical SaaS project with 30–50 endpoints: from 3 to 8 weeks depending on business logic complexity and number of external integrations. Migration of an existing REST API to GraphQL: from 2 to 6 weeks. Adding a WebSocket layer to an existing backend: from 1 to 3 weeks. Cost is calculated individually after an audit. Get a consultation — contact us to discuss your project.