Open-Source CMS & Headless CMS
Guides to open-source and headless content management systems — architecture, licensing, and building on them.
In this category
alchemy_cms
AlchemyCMS is an open-source Rails CMS engine supporting both traditional server-side rendering and headless architectures. It provides component-based content …
alinea
Alinea is a modern, file-based content management system for TypeScript/Node.js projects that stores content as flat files in your repository, making it queryab…
Azuriom
Azuriom is an open-source PHP-based CMS and web platform purpose-built for game server management, supporting 11+ games including Minecraft, Rust, and FiveM. It…
backdrop
Backdrop is a GPL v2 PHP-based content management system forked from Drupal, designed for ease of use and rapid learning. It enables non-technical users to mana…
badaso
Badaso is an open-source Laravel-based headless CMS and admin panel builder that generates REST/GraphQL APIs and CRUD interfaces via a Vue.js dashboard. It targ…
bbs
BBS is a modern community and forum platform built on JDK 21 and Spring Boot 4.x with separate frontend/backend architecture. It supports forum topics, Q&A, mem…
beacon
Beacon is an open-source CMS built on Phoenix LiveView that prioritizes fast rendering for SEO-heavy content sites. It combines a functional core, LiveView admi…
Blogifier
Blogifier is a self-hosted, open-source blogging platform built with ASP.NET and Blazor WebAssembly. It provides a lightweight alternative to WordPress for pers…
bludit
Bludit is a lightweight, flat-file CMS written in PHP that stores content as JSON instead of requiring a database. It's designed for fast deployment and easy ma…
botonic
Botonic is an open-source React-based framework for building chatbots and conversational applications that deploy to messaging platforms (WhatsApp, Facebook Mes…
builder
Builder.io is an open-source visual development platform that lets you turn Figma designs and drag-and-drop components into production code for React, Vue, Svel…
ClassicPress
ClassicPress is a lightweight, community-maintained fork of WordPress 6.2 that removes the Gutenberg block editor in favor of the classic TinyMCE editor. It emp…
cms
SSCMS is a .NET Core-based open-source content management system designed for rapid website deployment with minimal resources. It supports cross-platform deploy…
CMSeeK
CMSeeK is a Python-based CMS detection and exploitation scanner that identifies over 180 content management systems and performs targeted security assessments o…
cody
Cody is a Node.js-based content management system with a graphical interface and WYSIWYG editor, designed to let non-technical users manage site content, users,…
cofoundry
Cofoundry is an open-source .NET Core CMS and application framework designed for code-first development with minimal integration overhead. It emphasizes extensi…
concretecms
Concrete CMS is an open-source PHP content management system maintained by a distributed community. It provides a web-based interface for building and managing …
Conduit
Conduit is a self-hosted backend platform that provides pre-built modules for common backend tasks like authentication, databases, email, and storage, allowing …
content
Nuxt Content is a file-based CMS module for Nuxt 3 applications that reads Markdown, YAML, CSV, and JSON files from a content directory and exposes them as a qu…
courselit
CourseLit is an open-source learning management system (LMS) that lets you create and sell online courses, digital downloads, and blogs from your own website. I…
daptin
Daptin is an open-source backend-as-a-service platform written in Go that auto-generates REST, GraphQL, and OpenAPI interfaces from YAML schema definitions. It …
decap-cms
Decap CMS is a Git-based headless CMS that provides a simple UI for editing content stored in a Git repository, designed for static site generators and JAMstack…
deco
Deco is a Git-based visual CMS built on TypeScript, Deno, HTMX, and Tailwind for building and managing modern web applications. It bridges developers and conten…
directus
Directus is a backend-as-a-service platform that connects to any SQL database and instantly generates REST and GraphQL APIs, a visual admin interface, and AI ca…
Dnn.Platform
DNN Platform is a Microsoft .NET-based open-source CMS used to build websites, intranets, and portals. It includes content management, multi-site capability, RE…
DoraCMS
DoraCMS is a modern content management system built on EggJS 3.x, Vue 3, and TypeScript with a pnpm monorepo architecture. It supports dual databases (MongoDB a…
emdash
EmDash is a full-stack TypeScript CMS built on Astro and Cloudflare that positions itself as a modern WordPress alternative. It emphasizes type safety, sandboxe…
engineercms
EngineerCMS is a Go-based knowledge management system designed for civil engineering teams to organize project documentation, collaborate on files, and share re…
fae
Fae is a Ruby on Rails CMS engine that provides pre-built authentication, authorization, admin UI, form helpers, and image processing to accelerate CMS developm…
filament
Filament is an open-source PHP framework built on Laravel and Livewire that speeds up admin panel and app UI development. It provides pre-built components for t…
flowershow
Flowershow is an open-source markdown publishing platform that converts markdown files into hosted websites, docs, and knowledge bases. It integrates with Obsid…
forkcms
Fork CMS is a lightweight, MIT-licensed PHP content management system built on Symfony components. It targets small to medium websites that need straightforward…
frappe
Frappe is a full-stack Python web framework designed for building complex, data-driven business applications. It combines server-side Python/MariaDB with integr…
builder
Frappe Builder is an open-source, low-code visual website builder with a Figma-like editor, one-click publishing, and AI-powered page generation. It integrates …
GEOFlow
GEOFlow is an open-source PHP-based content engineering and multi-site distribution system designed for generative engine optimization (GEO). It combines knowle…
grav
Grav is a flat-file PHP-based CMS requiring no database setup, built on Markdown, Twig, and Symfony components. It emphasizes speed, simplicity, and ease of dep…
halo
Halo is an open-source, Java-based website builder and CMS supporting blogs, knowledge bases, corporate sites, and online storefronts. It offers a visual admin …
htmly
HTMLy is a lightweight, database-free PHP blogging platform and flat-file CMS designed for simplicity and speed. It requires no database, stores content as file…
ikaros
Ikaros is an open-source Java-based CMS designed for managing anime, comics, games, music, and novel content libraries. It provides unified resource management,…
Instatic
Instatic is a self-hosted visual CMS built on Bun and TypeScript that combines a canvas editor, content engine, and publisher in a single server. It generates c…
intlayer
Intlayer is a TypeScript-based i18n library that manages translations at the component level with built-in AI assistance and a visual CMS editor. It supports Ne…
Jasmine
Jasmine is a lightweight, responsive blog theme for Typecho (a PHP-based CMS). It emphasizes clean design, readability, and includes features like dark mode, sy…
jekyll-admin
Jekyll Admin is a Ruby gem that adds a web-based CMS interface to Jekyll static sites, letting non-technical users create and manage content without touching co…
jfinal_cms
jfinal_cms is a Java-based content management system for news and information websites. It provides a complete feature set including user management, permission…
keystatic
Keystatic is a TypeScript-based CMS that stores content as Markdown, YAML, and JSON files without requiring a database. It integrates directly with GitHub and i…
keystone
Keystone is a headless CMS framework built on Node.js, GraphQL, and React that generates a content management UI and GraphQL API from schema definitions. It tar…
learnhouse
LearnHouse is an open-source learning management platform built with Next.js/React and FastAPI/Python, offering course creation, interactive content editing, re…
lektor
Lektor is a Python-based static site generator with an integrated admin UI and desktop app, designed for building content-driven websites from static files. It …
letterpad
Letterpad is a TypeScript-based, open-source blog publishing platform built with Next.js and React that provides an admin dashboard, inline editing, and multi-u…
lin-cms-spring-boot
Lin-CMS Spring Boot is a Java-based content management system framework built on Spring Boot 2.5.2 and MyBatis Plus 3.4.1. It provides pre-built CMS features in…
lin-cms-vue
lin-cms-vue is a Vue 3 + Element Plus content management system framework designed to accelerate CMS development. It provides pre-built user management, permiss…
luya
LUYA is a PHP-based CMS and web framework built on Yii 2, offering pre-built admin interfaces, content management, and agency workflow tools. It targets develop…
markdown-site
markdown-site is an open-source publishing framework that lets developers write content in markdown files, sync them to a live site via CLI commands, and automa…
marmite
Marmite is a minimal static site generator written in Rust that converts a directory of Markdown files into a flat HTML blog with RSS feeds, tags, and multi-lan…
Masuit.MyBlogs
Masuit.MyBlogs is a .NET 9-based personal blog CMS with Vue 3 frontend, designed for high performance and low resource consumption. It includes article manageme…
microfeed
Microfeed is a lightweight, self-hosted CMS built on Cloudflare's serverless infrastructure (Pages, R2, D1, Zero Trust). It publishes content as web feeds, RSS,…
microweber
Microweber is a drag-and-drop CMS and website builder built on Laravel 10, designed primarily for e-commerce and small business websites. It runs on PHP 8.2+, s…
mix.core
Mixcore is an open-source ASP.NET Core-based enterprise CMS supporting both headless and traditional approaches. It offers multi-database support, role-based ac…
Nameless
NamelessMC is a free, PHP-based website platform built specifically for Minecraft servers, offering forums, custom pages, user management, and deep Minecraft in…
nesta
Nesta is a lightweight, file-based CMS and static site generator written in Ruby. Content is stored as text files (Markdown, Textile, or HTML) and can be deploy…
next-drupal
Next-Drupal is a TypeScript-based Next.js integration layer that enables decoupled front-end development for Drupal sites. It provides SSG, SSR, ISR, multi-site…
next-wp
next-wp is a headless WordPress starter combining Next.js 16, React 19, and TypeScript to decouple WordPress content management from a modern frontend. It inclu…
nodepress
NodePress is a production-grade headless CMS API built with NestJS, designed to power the surmon.me blog platform. It provides a RESTful API for content managem…
oqtane.framework
Oqtane is an open-source .NET CMS and application framework designed for building web, desktop, and mobile applications using Blazor. It provides a modular, mul…
OrchardCore
Orchard Core is an open-source, modular ASP.NET Core framework and CMS designed for building multi-tenant web applications. It provides both a low-level applica…
pagescms
Pages CMS is an open-source, GitHub-integrated content management system designed for static site generators and JAMstack applications. It allows non-technical …
payload
Payload is an open-source, TypeScript-based headless CMS that installs directly into Next.js applications. It provides a self-hosted backend, admin panel, and c…
personal-management-system
Personal Management System is a self-hosted PHP web application for organizing personal data across multiple modules (tasks, notes, contacts, passwords, finance…
Pico
Pico is a lightweight, file-based CMS written in PHP that requires no database setup. Development has been abandoned; the README explicitly recommends against n…
piranha.core
Piranha.Core is a decoupled, cross-platform CMS built on .NET 8 and Entity Framework Core. It can be used as an integrated CMS with a built-in editor or as a he…
Piwigo
Piwigo is a self-hosted, open-source photo gallery application written in PHP that lets individuals, teams, and organizations manage and share their photo libra…
postbot
PostBot is an open-source browser extension that enables one-click syndication of articles, notes, images, videos, and audio to multiple Chinese social platform…
primo
Primo is a self-hosted CMS designed for developers building client sites. It combines a visual editor for non-technical users with a dual file/database represen…
pruvious
Pruvious is a free, open-source CMS purpose-built for Nuxt applications, written in TypeScript. It integrates directly into Nuxt projects without compatibility …
Publii
Publii is a desktop-based static site CMS for Windows, Mac, and Linux that lets users create and manage static websites through a graphical interface without ne…
puput
Puput is a Django-based blogging application built on top of Wagtail CMS, offering a ready-to-use blog engine with features like RSS feeds, category/tag managem…
QloApps
QloApps is a free, open-source hotel management and reservation system built in PHP that combines a Property Management System (PMS), booking engine, and websit…
reactpress
ReactPress is an open-source, zero-config CMS and blogging platform that combines a familiar WordPress-style editor with modern Next.js performance. It runs loc…
sharp
Sharp is a Laravel package that provides a code-driven CMS framework for building admin dashboards and content management systems without writing frontend code.…
shopware
Shopware 6 is an open-source e-commerce platform built on Symfony and Vue.js, offering both a ready-to-use shopping system and a framework for custom commerce s…
Single
Single is a clean, minimal Typecho blog theme featuring dark mode, article table of contents, image lightbox, and syntax highlighting. Built with CSS and JavaSc…
Smartstore
Smartstore is a modular, open-source eCommerce platform built on ASP.NET Core 10, offering multi-store, multi-language, and multi-currency capabilities with bui…
sonicjs
SonicJS is a TypeScript-based headless CMS designed for edge computing platforms like Cloudflare Workers, emphasizing sub-50ms API responses and zero cold start…
squidex
Squidex is an open-source headless CMS built on ASP.NET Core that separates content management from presentation. It provides a rich REST API with OData filteri…
strapi
Strapi is an open-source, self-hosted headless CMS built in JavaScript/TypeScript that auto-generates REST and GraphQL APIs from visual content models. It suppo…
studiocms
StudioCMS is an open-source headless CMS built specifically for Astro, offering server-side rendering capabilities with support for multiple databases (PostgreS…
sulu
Sulu is an open-source PHP content management system built on Symfony that supports multi-lingual and multi-portal websites with an extensible admin interface. …
sveltia-cms
Sveltia CMS is a free, open-source Git-based headless CMS built as a modern rewrite of Netlify CMS. It provides a web UI for managing content stored in Git repo…
terminusdb
TerminusDB is a distributed graph database with built-in version control (git-like operations) for structured data. It combines document storage with knowledge …
textpattern
Textpattern is a free, open-source PHP-based content management system (CMS) designed for flexibility and ease of use. It requires PHP and MySQL, runs on standa…
tinacms
TinaCMS is an open-source headless CMS that manages Markdown, MDX, JSON, and YAML content stored directly in Git repositories. It provides a GraphQL API, visual…
tutor
Tutor is a Docker-based distribution of Open edX, an open-source learning management system. It simplifies deployment, customization, and scaling of Open edX pl…
twill
Twill is an open-source Laravel CMS toolkit that enables developers to build custom admin consoles rapidly without rebuilding standard features. It provides pre…
typemill
Typemill is an open-source flat-file CMS for creating documentation, manuals, and informational websites using Markdown. It requires no database, runs on PHP 8.…
typicms
TypiCMS is a modular, multilingual content management system built on Laravel that lets developers manage structured content like pages, news, and events with a…
typo3
TYPO3 is a mature, open-source PHP-based enterprise content management framework released under GPL-2.0. It provides a modular architecture with an extension ec…
ujcms
UJCMS is an open-source Java-based content management system built on Spring Boot, MyBatis, and Vue 3, supporting both traditional template-based and headless A…
velite
Velite is a TypeScript tool that converts Markdown, MDX, YAML, and JSON files into a type-safe data layer using Zod schema validation. It enables static content…
vscode-front-matter
Front Matter is a VS Code extension that functions as a headless CMS for managing content in static site generators (Hugo, Jekyll, Hexo, Next.js, Gatsby, etc.).…
Vvveb
Vvveb is a self-hosted, open-source CMS with drag-and-drop page builder for websites, blogs, and ecommerce stores. It supports multiple sites, multi-language co…
wagtail
Wagtail is an open-source Django-based content management system designed for flexibility and user experience. It serves organizations from NASA to the NHS and …
winter
Winter CMS is a free, self-hosted, Laravel-based PHP content management system designed for rapid development and prototyping. It was forked from October CMS in…
wondercms
WonderCMS is a lightweight, flat-file PHP CMS designed for simple websites. It requires no database or configuration—just unzip and upload five files to get sta…
xibo
Xibo is an open-source digital signage platform featuring a web-based content management system and display players for Windows, Linux, and commercial options f…
zblogphp
Z-BlogPHP is a PHP-based blogging and CMS platform developed in China, maintaining active updates since 2005 with support for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite. It …
ZKEACMS
ZKEACMS is a .NET 8/9-based open-source CMS with visual WYSIWYG page design and drag-and-drop layout capabilities. It supports multiple databases (SQL Server, M…
zola
Zola is a fast, all-in-one static site generator written in Rust that ships as a single binary. It includes built-in features like Markdown rendering, Sass comp…
zotonic
Zotonic is an open-source web framework and CMS built on Erlang, designed for high-performance, real-time applications. It combines content management capabilit…
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