Open-Source CMS · BeaconCMS

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 admin interface, and early-stage drag-and-drop page builder, with installation via Igniter into new or existing Phoenix projects.

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Source: GitHub — github.com/BeaconCMS/beacon

1.2k

GitHub stars

134

Forks

Elixir

Primary language

MIT

License (OSI-approved)

Key facts

Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.

Field	Value
Repository	BeaconCMS/beacon
Owner	BeaconCMS
Primary language	Elixir
License	MIT — OSI-approved
Stars	1.2k
Forks	134
Open issues	69
Latest release	v0.5.1 (2025-04-01)
Last updated	2026-05-12
Source	https://github.com/BeaconCMS/beacon

What beacon is

Beacon is an Elixir/Phoenix LiveView CMS that stores content and components in a database, rendering server-side via LiveView for performance optimization. It integrates with existing Phoenix projects through Mix dependencies and provides a LiveView-based admin UI; the page builder component is still in early development.

Quickstart

Get the beacon source

Clone the repository and explore it locally.

terminalbash

1git clone https://github.com/BeaconCMS/beacon.git2cd beacon3# follow the project's README for install & configuration

Need it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.

Best use cases

Content-heavy sites requiring SEO optimization

Beacon's LiveView-based rendering delivers fast page load times and server-side rendering benefits, making it suitable for blogs, documentation sites, and marketing pages where SEO performance is critical.

Phoenix/Elixir teams building internal or client CMS solutions

Teams already invested in Elixir can embed Beacon directly into existing Phoenix applications, avoiding the complexity and dependency footprint of traditional CMS platforms like WordPress or Drupal.

Rapid prototyping of data-driven web applications

Beacon's database-backed component model and LiveView admin allow teams to quickly scaffold content management without building custom admin interfaces, reducing time-to-deployment for MVP-stage projects.

Implementation considerations

Requires Phoenix and Igniter installer setup; existing Phoenix projects must already use Phoenix LiveView to integrate Beacon cleanly.
Database schema for content, components, and layouts must be created during installation; ensure your database migrations align with Beacon's expectations.
LiveView server requires persistent WebSocket connections and session management; CDN caching and proxy configurations need adjustment for interactive components.
Admin UI (beacon_live_admin) is a separate package dependency; verify version compatibility between beacon and beacon_live_admin before deployment.
Page rendering performance depends on Elixir process management and ETS caching; baseline load testing required before production rollout.

When to avoid it — and what to weigh

You need a mature, stable v1.0 release — The README explicitly states: 'You can expect incomplete features and breaking changes before a stable v1.0 is released.' Current version is v0.5.1; production use carries significant API and feature risk.
You require a drag-and-drop page builder today — The page builder is documented as 'In the initial stages of development' and is not production-ready. If visual site building is a core requirement, this is a major gap.
Your team lacks Elixir/Phoenix expertise — Beacon requires deep familiarity with Elixir, Phoenix, and LiveView. Integration, customization, and troubleshooting demand skilled Erlang/OTP developers; unsuitable for teams using only Rails, Node.js, or Python stacks.
You need multi-tenant SaaS isolation out-of-the-box — No documentation provided on multi-tenancy features, row-level security, or data isolation guarantees. Custom implementation would be required for SaaS deployments.

License & commercial use

Beacon is licensed under the MIT License, which is a permissive OSI-approved license allowing commercial use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions (retain license and copyright notice).

MIT License permits commercial use. However, verify with legal counsel before relying on Beacon for production SaaS offerings, given pre-v1.0 status and incomplete features (notably the page builder). No warranty or support terms are part of the license.

DEV.co evaluation signals

Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.

Signal	Assessment
Maintenance	Active
Documentation	Adequate
License clarity	Clear
Deployment complexity	Moderate
DEV.co fit	Good
Assessment confidence	High

Security considerations

Pre-v1.0 status and incomplete feature set raise caution flags. Authentication/authorization mechanisms in the admin UI and content rendering are not detailed in provided data; review security audit history, input validation approach, and CSRF/XSS protections before handling sensitive user data. Database access control and permission model are unknown. No security advisory process is documented.

Alternatives to consider

Strapi (Node.js/TypeScript)

Mature headless CMS with a stable v4+ release, REST/GraphQL APIs, and broader ecosystem support. Better for teams not invested in Elixir, though more heavyweight.

WordPress with modern tooling

Ubiquitous, stable, large plugin ecosystem, and managed hosting options. Suitable for traditional content sites; trade-off is monolithic architecture and plugin quality variability.

Statamic (Laravel)

Modern Laravel-based CMS with flat-file or database storage, flat-file YAML-friendly, and live wire-driven UI. Good fit for Laravel teams seeking lighter alternatives to WordPress.

Software development agency

Build on beacon with DEV.co software developers

Contact our Elixir specialists to assess integration feasibility, architect deployment, and plan your migration from traditional CMS platforms.

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beacon FAQ

Can I use Beacon without an existing Phoenix project?

Yes. The `mix igniter.new` workflow scaffolds a new Phoenix project with Beacon and BeaconLiveAdmin pre-installed. Start with the Getting Started guide to generate a new site.

Is the page builder ready for production use?

No. The README states the page builder is 'in the initial stages of development.' Plan to use the admin LiveView UI or custom components for production sites today.

What hosting platforms does Beacon support?

Beacon runs anywhere Phoenix/Elixir runs (Fly.io, Heroku, AWS, Google Cloud, Render, etc.). Specific deployment guides are not provided in the data; consult the documentation and Phoenix deployment guides.

How do I integrate Beacon with an existing authentication system?

Not clearly documented. Review the beacon and beacon_live_admin source code and open issues for auth integration patterns; custom wrapper code may be required.

Software development & web development with DEV.co

Adopting beacon is usually one piece of a larger software development effort. As a software development agency, DEV.co provides software development services and web development expertise — pairing senior software developers and web developers with your team to design, build, and operate open-source cms software in production.

Ready to evaluate Beacon for your Elixir project?

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