Collections API Endpoints

The Collections API provides a public endpoint to check whether any active collections exist in the database. Collections are curated groupings of items managed through the admin panel and stored in the database via the collection repository.

Source: template/app/api/collections/exists/route.ts

---

Check Collections Existence

Checks if there are any active collections available in the system.

Property	Value
Method	GET
Path	/api/collections/exists
Auth	None (public)

Query Parameters

None.

Response

Status 200 -- Collections existence checked successfully.

{
  "exists": true,
  "count": 5
}

Field	Type	Description
exists	boolean	Whether any active collections exist
count	number	Number of active collections

Error Response

Status 500 -- Internal server error.

{
  "exists": false,
  "count": 0,
  "error": "Failed to check collections existence"
}

Field	Type	Description
exists	boolean	Always false on error
count	number	Always 0 on error
error	string	Generic error message (detailed errors are logged server-side only)

curl Example

# Check if active collections exist
curl -s http://localhost:3000/api/collections/exists

TypeScript Usage

interface CollectionsExistResponse {
  exists: boolean;
  count: number;
  error?: string;
}

async function checkCollectionsExist(): Promise<CollectionsExistResponse> {
  const res = await fetch('/api/collections/exists');
  return res.json();
}

// Usage
const { exists, count } = await checkCollectionsExist();
if (exists) {
  console.log(`Found ${count} active collections`);
} else {
  console.log('No collections available');
}

Implementation Notes

• Collections are fetched from the database via collectionRepository.findAll() with includeInactive: false, meaning only active collections are counted.
• Unlike the categories endpoint, this endpoint returns a proper 500 status on error rather than silently returning safe defaults.
• The error response includes a generic error field -- detailed error information is logged server-side to avoid information disclosure.
• This endpoint is used by the frontend to conditionally render the collections navigation section.