├── .gitignore └── README.md /.gitignore: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | .idea/ 2 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /README.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | Flat File CMS Systems 2 | ===================== 3 | 4 | Lot’s of folks are leaving Wordpress for a flat file CMS system with no database. Wordpress was built as a simple blogging platform and has evolved over the years into a feature rich CMS. Lot’s of these features aren’t needed by folk who merely want to blog without the bloat. We respect Wordpress and it will always be there, this small project simply aims to give people out there a chance to work with Flat File CMS’s also known as file–based CMS’s. 5 | 6 | We’re not talking about static site generators here, text of XML driven file CMS’s. 7 | 8 | What is a Flat-File CMS? 9 | ------------------------ 10 | 11 | Without a database the flat-file CMS stores content in files and folders unlike a traditional database. This means you don’t have to query any database of any kind in your system —there is no database. The flat-file system generates dynamic pages and each blog post or page is simply in a folder of its own (depending on the system and how you structure it). There are several ways to populate and parse content, xml and markdown being the most popular. 12 | 13 | There are certain advantages of not using a database like: 14 | 15 | * Simplicity 16 | * Speed 17 | * Security 18 | * Version Control 19 | * Maintenance 20 | * Portability 21 | * Less expense (server) 22 | 23 | Are they “CMS–Like Systems”, shouldn’t they be called “Content Publishing Systems”? 24 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 | 26 | Some people will argue that these flat-file CMS systems aren’t real content management systems. Whilst they do let you manage your content they aren’t full blown as they don’t let you authentication/authorization. The argument is a full blown CMS should somehow be able to grant and deny create/read/update/delete access and permissions to users. 27 | 28 | This can be a debatable topic, and this small project’s aim to is to introduce you to these Flat-File CMS’s. If you’re new to the game then it’s advantageous to seeing different views. 29 | 30 | Personally, I am all for Flat-File CMS’s for personal blogs. View them below in alphabetical order: 31 | 32 | ## AjaxCMS 33 | 34 | Client side (browser) based CMS. Only static files stored on server. Emphasis on background animation and page transitions. 35 | 36 | **Technology:** Javascript / Apache 37 | 38 | **Templating:** HTML / Bootstrap 39 | 40 | **Formatting:** HTML / Markdown 41 | 42 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/bhoult/AjaxCMS) 43 | 44 | **Website:** https://ajaxcms.org/ 45 | 46 | ## Automad 47 | 48 | A File-Based & Open Source Content Management System. 49 | 50 | **Technology:** PHP 51 | 52 | **Templating:** Built in 53 | 54 | **Formatting:** Markdown 55 | 56 | **Open source:** [yes](https://bitbucket.org/marcantondahmen/automad) 57 | 58 | **Website:** http://automad.org/ 59 | 60 | **Latest:** http://automad.org/release-notes 61 | 62 | ## Baun 63 | 64 | A modern, lightweight, extensible CMS for PHP. 65 | 66 | **Technology:** PHP 67 | 68 | **Templating:** Twig 69 | 70 | **Formatting:** Markdown 71 | 72 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/BaunCMS/Baun/blob/master/LICENSE) 73 | 74 | **Website:** [http://bauncms.com](http://bauncms.com/) 75 | 76 | ## Bludit 77 | 78 | Create your own Blog in seconds, Fast, Simple, Extensible and Flat-file CMS. 79 | 80 | **Technology:** PHP / JSON 81 | 82 | **Templating:** HTML5 / Css / JavaScript 83 | 84 | **Formatting:** Markdown and HTML 85 | 86 | **Open source:** Yes 87 | 88 | **Website:** [http://www.bludit.com](http://www.bludit.com/) 89 | 90 | **Latest:** 0.5 2015-11-01 http://forum.bludit.com/ 91 | 92 | ## BoidCMS 93 | 94 | BoidCMS is a free and open-source flat file CMS for building simple websites and blogs in seconds, developed using PHP and uses JSON as a database. 95 | 96 | **Technology:** PHP / JSON 97 | 98 | **Templating:** HTML / PHP 99 | 100 | **Formatting:** HTML 101 | 102 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/BoidCMS/BoidCMS) 103 | 104 | **Website:** https://boidcms.github.io 105 | 106 | ## CMS 107 | 108 | Relativ new flat file cms based on java. 109 | 110 | **Technology:** Java / JavaScript 111 | 112 | **Templating:** multiple (Freemarker, Thmyeleaf, Pebble) 113 | 114 | **Formatting:** Markdown 115 | 116 | **Open source:** Yes 117 | 118 | **Website:** [https://github.com/thmarx/cms](https://github.com/thmarx/cms) 119 | 120 | **Latest:** 2.1.0 2023-10-30 [https://github.com/thmarx/cms](https://github.com/thmarx/cms) 121 | 122 | ## Cuttlebelle 123 | 124 | The react static site generator that separates editing and code concerns 125 | 126 | **Technology:** NodeJS 127 | 128 | **Templating:** ReactJS 129 | 130 | **Formatting:** Markdown and YAML 131 | 132 | **Open source:** Yes 133 | 134 | **Website:** [https://cuttlebelle.com](https://cuttlebelle.com/) 135 | 136 | **Latest:** 1.0.0-alpha.44 2017-01-19 https://cuttlebelle.com 137 | 138 | ## Datenstrom Yellow 139 | 140 | Datenstrom Yellow is for people who make small websites. 141 | 142 | **Technology:** PHP 143 | 144 | **Templating:** HTML / PHP 145 | 146 | **Formatting:** Markdown 147 | 148 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/datenstrom/yellow) 149 | 150 | **Website:** https://datenstrom.se/yellow/ 151 | 152 | ## Dodger CMS 153 | 154 | DodgerCMS is a static markdown CMS built on top of Amazon S3. 155 | 156 | **Technology:** JavaScript 157 | 158 | **Templating:** PureCss 159 | 160 | **Formatting:** Markdown 161 | 162 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/ChrisZieba/dodgercms) 163 | 164 | **Website:** http://dodgercms.com/ 165 | 166 | ## Dropplets 167 | 168 | Dropplets is a minimalist, databaseless Markdown blogging platform. 169 | 170 | **Technology:** PHP 171 | 172 | **Templating:** ?? 173 | 174 | **Formatting:** Markdown 175 | 176 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/circa75/dropplets) 177 | 178 | **Website:** http://dropplets.com/ 179 | 180 | ## Feindura 181 | 182 | Flat File CMS for designers 183 | 184 | **Technology:** PHP 185 | 186 | **Templating:** PHP 187 | 188 | **Formatting:** HTML / Text / Markdown 189 | 190 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/frozeman/feindura-flat-file-cms) 191 | 192 | **Website:** http://feindura.org/ 193 | 194 | ## Flat Press 195 | 196 | FlatPress is a blogging engine that saves your posts as simple text files. 197 | 198 | **Technology:** PHP 199 | 200 | **Templating:** Smarty 201 | 202 | **Formatting:** Text 203 | 204 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/evacchi/flatpress/) 205 | 206 | **Website:** http://flatpress.org/home/ 207 | 208 | ## Flextype 209 | 210 | Flextype is an open-source Hybrid Content Management System with the freedom of a headless CMS and with the full functionality of a traditional CMS. 211 | 212 | **Technology:** PHP / YAML / JSON 213 | 214 | **Templating:** Twig 215 | 216 | **Formatting:** HTML / Text / Markdown / Shortcodes 217 | 218 | **Open source:** yes 219 | 220 | **Website:** https://awilum.github.io/flextype 221 | 222 | ## Flot 223 | 224 | no database CMS, written in PHP, supports themes, soon plugins, and flexible taxonomies (data types). Hybrid static/dynamic CMS that’s cached by default. Runs on anything with PHP. Still being developed, but has a good base of features. 225 | 226 | **Technology:** PHP 227 | 228 | **Templating:** HTML (optionally, add PHP) 229 | 230 | **Formatting:** HTML with WYSIWYG editor 231 | 232 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/samthomson/flot/) 233 | 234 | **Website:** https://github.com/samthomson/flot/ 235 | 236 | ## Get Simple CMS 237 | 238 | GetSimple is an XML based, stand-a-alone, fully independant and lite Content Management System. 239 | 240 | **Technology:** PHP / XML 241 | 242 | **Templating:** HTML, PHP 243 | 244 | **Formatting:** HTML / WYSIWYG editor 245 | 246 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/GetSimpleCMS/GetSimpleCMS) 247 | 248 | **Website:** http://get-simple.info/ 249 | 250 | ## Grav 251 | 252 | In a nutshell, installing Grav is a matter of unzipping the file. It is fast, has sophisticated caching, and a light footprint for optimal performance. 253 | 254 | **Technology:** PHP / YAML 255 | 256 | **Templating:** Twig 257 | 258 | **Formatting:** Markdown 259 | 260 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/getgrav/grav) 261 | 262 | **Website:** http://getgrav.org/ 263 | 264 | ## Hexo 265 | 266 | A fast simple, blog and framework 267 | 268 | **Technology:** Node 269 | 270 | **Templating:** Jade 271 | 272 | **Formatting:** Markdown 273 | 274 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/hexojs/hexo) 275 | 276 | **Website:** https://hexo.io/ 277 | 278 | ## Herbie CMS 279 | 280 | Herbie CMS is a simple, fast and highly customizable flat-file Content Management System powered by PHP, Twig, Markdown, Textile, reStructuredText and other human-readable text files. Create small but fully functional websites or blogs in no time and with little effort. 281 | 282 | **Technology:** PHP 283 | 284 | **Templating:** Twig 285 | 286 | **Formatting:** Markdown, Textile, reStructuredText 287 | 288 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/getherbie/herbie) 289 | 290 | **Website:** https://herbie.tebe.ch/ 291 | 292 | ## HTMLy 293 | 294 | HTMLy is an open source databaseless blogging platform that prioritizes simplicity and speed (Flat-File Blog). HTMLy can be referred to as a Flat-File CMS, since it will also manage your content. 295 | 296 | You do not need to use a VPS to run HTMLy, shared hosting or even free hosting should work as long as the host supports at least PHP 5.3. 297 | 298 | **Technology:** PHP 299 | 300 | **Templating:** ??? 301 | 302 | **Formatting:** Markdown 303 | 304 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/danpros/htmly) 305 | 306 | **Website:** https://demo.htmly.com/ 307 | 308 | ## Hugo 309 | 310 | Hugo is a general-purpose website framework. Technically speaking, Hugo is a static site generator. 311 | 312 | **Technology:** Go 313 | 314 | **Templating:** Go Templates 315 | 316 | **Formatting:** Markdown 317 | 318 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/spf13/hugo) 319 | 320 | **Website:** http://gohugo.io/ 321 | 322 | ## Jekyll 323 | 324 | Transform your plain text into static websites and blogs. 325 | 326 | **Technology:** Ruby 327 | 328 | **Templating:** Liquid 329 | 330 | **Formatting:** Markdown 331 | 332 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll) 333 | 334 | **Website:** http://jekyllrb.com/ 335 | 336 | ## Kirby 337 | 338 | Kirby is a file-based CMS. Easy to setup, easy to use, flexible as hell 339 | 340 | **Technology:** PHP 341 | 342 | **Templating:** Roll your own 343 | 344 | **Formatting:** Markdown 345 | 346 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/getkirby) 347 | 348 | **Website:** http://getkirby.com/ 349 | 350 | ## MetalSmith 351 | 352 | An extremely simple, pluggable static site generator 353 | 354 | **Technology:** Node 355 | 356 | **Templating:** Unopinionated 357 | 358 | **Formatting:** Markdown 359 | 360 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/metalsmith/metalsmith) 361 | 362 | **Website:** http://www.metalsmith.io/ 363 | 364 | ## Mecha 365 | 366 | Mecha is a file–based CMS. It does not require any database. Almost all files are stored as plain text files which grouped into folders, which you can even edit it manually through a plain text editor application. 367 | 368 | **Technology:** PHP 369 | 370 | **Templating:** PHP 371 | 372 | **Formatting:** Markdown / Markdown Extra / HTML 373 | 374 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/mecha-cms/mecha-cms) 375 | 376 | **Website:** http://mecha-cms.com/ 377 | 378 | ## Mozilo 379 | 380 | Simple, lightweight, beginner-friendly and expandable with plugins 381 | 382 | **Technology:** PHP 383 | 384 | **Templating:** HTML 385 | 386 | **Formatting:** Expandable own syntax 387 | 388 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/mozilo/mozilo2.0) 389 | 390 | **Website:** http://mozilo.de/ 391 | 392 | **Latest:** 2.0.49 2016-01-17 https://github.com/mozilo/mozilo2.0/commits/master 393 | 394 | ## Middleman 395 | 396 | Middleman is a static site generator using all the shortcuts and tools in modern web development 397 | 398 | **Technology:** Ruby 399 | 400 | **Templating:** Multiple 401 | 402 | **Formatting:** Markdown 403 | 404 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/middleman/middleman) 405 | 406 | **Website:** http://middlemanapp.com/ 407 | 408 | ## Nanote 409 | 410 | Nanote simple flat-file blog script, GPL v.3 411 | 412 | **Technology:** PHP 413 | 414 | **Templating:** HTML 415 | 416 | **Formatting:** HTML 417 | 418 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/muhas/nanote) 419 | 420 | ## Nesta 421 | 422 | A Ruby CMS for developers and designers. With simple code that’s easy to follow, Nesta is easily extended using the Sinatra web framework. 423 | 424 | **Technology:** Ruby / Sinatra 425 | 426 | **Templating:** Haml, Erb, Erubis, Liquid, Sass, Scss and Less 427 | 428 | **Formatting:** Markdown, Textile or Haml 429 | 430 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/gma/nesta) 431 | 432 | **Website:** http://nestacms.com/ 433 | 434 | ## Nibbleblog 435 | 436 | Easy, fast and free Blog system 437 | 438 | **Technology:** PHP 439 | 440 | **Templating:** PHP 441 | 442 | **Open source:** Yes 443 | 444 | **Website:** http://www.nibbleblog.com/ 445 | 446 | **Latest:** 4.03 2014-04-01 http://blog.nibbleblog.com/post/nibbleblog-v4.0.3-coffee/ 447 | 448 | ## Orbiter 449 | 450 | Simple and extendable PHP tool for publishing beautiful websites out of plain text documents 451 | 452 | **Technology:** PHP 453 | 454 | **Templating:** Mustache 455 | 456 | **Formatting:** Markdown 457 | 458 | **Open source:** Yes 459 | 460 | **Website:** http://viaorbiter.com/ 461 | 462 | **Latest:** https://github.com/kasparsd/orbiter 463 | 464 | ## Parvula 465 | 466 | Simple CMS for developers, designers and clients with admininistration panel. 467 | 468 | **Technology:** PHP 469 | 470 | **Templating:** PHP 471 | 472 | **Formatting:** Markdown (html if needed) 473 | 474 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/BafS/parvula) 475 | 476 | **Website:** https://github.com/BafS/parvula 477 | 478 | ## Pelican 479 | 480 | Pelican is an open source static site generator / CMS that requires no database or server-side logic. 481 | 482 | **Technology:** Python 483 | 484 | **Templating:** Jinja 485 | 486 | **Formatting:** Markdown or HTML 487 | 488 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/getpelican/pelican/blob/master/LICENSE) 489 | 490 | **Website:** https://getpelican.com/ 491 | 492 | 493 | 494 | ## PluXML 495 | 496 | PluXML is a free, open-source, self-hosted CMS platform where data are stored by using XML files. This system is used to be a blog one, but pages feature allows to code some php inside the backend. Many plugins extend its functionnalities. 497 | 498 | **Technology:** PHP / XML 499 | 500 | **Templating:** PHP 501 | 502 | **Formatting:** HTML, Text 503 | 504 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/pluxml/PluXml) 505 | 506 | **Website:** http://www.pluxml.org/ 507 | 508 | ## Phile CMS 509 | 510 | A Markdown File Based CMS 511 | 512 | **Technology:** PHP 513 | 514 | **Templating:** Twig 515 | 516 | **Formatting:** Markdown 517 | 518 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/PhileCMS/Phile) 519 | 520 | **Website:** http://philecms.github.io/Phile/ 521 | 522 | ## Pico 523 | 524 | A stupidly simple & blazing fast, flat file CMS. 525 | 526 | **Technology:** PHP 527 | 528 | **Templating:** Twig 529 | 530 | **Formatting:** Markdown 531 | 532 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/picocms/Pico) 533 | 534 | **Website:** http://picocms.org/ 535 | 536 | ## Pluck CMS 537 | 538 | Small, Simple Content Managment 539 | 540 | **Technology:** PHP 541 | 542 | **Templating:** PHP 543 | 544 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/pluck-cms/pluck) 545 | 546 | **Website:** http://www.pluck-cms.org/ 547 | 548 | **Latest:** 4.7.3 2014-12-08 https://github.com/pluck-cms/pluck/releases 549 | 550 | ## Pulse CMS 551 | 552 | Flat file CMS 553 | 554 | **Technology:** PHP 555 | 556 | **Templating:** PHP 557 | 558 | **Formatting:** HTML and Markdown 559 | 560 | **Open source:** no 561 | 562 | **Website:** http://www.pulsecms.com/ 563 | 564 | **Latest:** 5.3 2019-03-02 https://forum.pulsecms.com/t/pulse-5-3-is-here/1369 565 | 566 | ## Razor CMS 567 | 568 | razorCMS is a File Based Content Management System. All data in razorCMS is stored in flat files, and uses a “database” engine called razorDB. 569 | 570 | **Technology:** PHP 571 | 572 | **Templating:** ??? 573 | 574 | **Formatting:** Text 575 | 576 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/smiffy6969/razorCMS) 577 | 578 | **Website:** http://www.razorcms.co.uk/ 579 | 580 | ## Sculpin 581 | 582 | PHP static site generator / flat file cms 583 | 584 | **Technology:** PHP 585 | 586 | **Templating:** Twig 587 | 588 | **Formatting:** Markdown 589 | 590 | **Open source:** no 591 | 592 | **Website:** https://sculpin.io 593 | 594 | ## SingleCMS 595 | 596 | Single File CMS with <5 minute setup and user management 597 | 598 | **Technology:** PHP 599 | 600 | **Templating:** Nil 601 | 602 | **Formatting:** Inline 603 | 604 | **Open source:** no 605 | 606 | **Website:** https://singlecms.com 607 | 608 | ## Singularity 609 | 610 | A CMS in a Single PHP File 611 | 612 | **Technology:** PHP 613 | 614 | **Templating:** Nil 615 | 616 | **Formatting:** Markdown 617 | 618 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/csu/singularity-cms) 619 | 620 | **Website:** http://christophersu.net/2012/singularity-cms-single-php-file/ 621 | 622 | ## Sitecake 623 | 624 | Simple CMS for your HTML website 625 | 626 | **Technology:** PHP 627 | 628 | **Templating:** Nil 629 | 630 | **Formatting:** HTML 631 | 632 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/sitecake) 633 | 634 | **Website:** http://sitecake.com/ 635 | 636 | ## Statamic 637 | 638 | An entirely new kind of CMS. Pack up your content, markup, and style. Leave the database behind. Making websites just got fun again. 639 | 640 | **Technology:** PHP 641 | 642 | **Templating:** Built in 643 | 644 | **Formatting:** Markdown, Textile, HTML, Plain Text 645 | 646 | **Open source:** no 647 | 648 | **Website:** http://statamic.com/ 649 | 650 | ## Sphido 651 | 652 | A rocket rocket fast, light-weight and flexible static site generator. Basically, it's just two functions 653 | that allow you to process HTML or Markdown files into static pages. 654 | 655 | **Technology:** NodeJs 656 | 657 | **Templating:** Vanilla JS / anything else 658 | 659 | **Formatting:** Markdown, HTML 660 | 661 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/sphido/sphido) 662 | 663 | **Website:** https://sphido.org/ 664 | 665 | ## Typemill 666 | 667 | Typemill is a modern and author friendly flat file cms (PHP/Vue.js) for documentations, manuals, web-novels and similar publications. It provides a modern visual markdown editor (vue) and an easy page organisation with drag & drop. 668 | 669 | **Technology:** PHP/VUE.js 670 | 671 | **Templating:** Twig 672 | 673 | **Formatting:** Markdown 674 | 675 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/typemill/typemill) 676 | 677 | **Website:** https://www.typemill.net 678 | 679 | ## Typesetter 680 | 681 | An Open source CMS written in PHP focused on ease of use with true WYSIWYG editing and flat-file storage. 682 | 683 | **Technology:** PHP 684 | 685 | **Templating:** PHP 686 | 687 | **Formatting:** HTML / plain text 688 | 689 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/Typesetter/Typesetter) 690 | 691 | **Website:** http://www.typesettercms.com 692 | 693 | ## Urubu 694 | 695 | A micro CMS for static websites 696 | 697 | **Technology:** Python 698 | 699 | **Templating:** Jinja 700 | 701 | **Formatting:** Markdown 702 | 703 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/jandecaluwe/urubu) 704 | 705 | **Website:** http://urubu.jandecaluwe.com/ 706 | 707 | ## Vodka 708 | 709 | Simple and tiny PHP flat-file site engine. 710 | 711 | **Technology:** PHP 712 | 713 | **Templating:** HTML / PHP 714 | 715 | **Formatting:** HTML 716 | 717 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/deseven/vodka) 718 | 719 | ## Wintersmith 720 | 721 | Flexible, minimalistic, multi-platform static site generator built on top of node.js. 722 | 723 | **Technology:** Node.js 724 | 725 | **Templating:** Jade 726 | 727 | **Formatting:** Markdown 728 | 729 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/jnordberg/wintersmith) 730 | 731 | **Website:** http://wintersmith.io/ 732 | 733 | ## WonderCMS 734 | 735 | WonderCMS is a simple, secure flat file CMS 736 | 737 | **Technology:** PHP and jQuery 738 | 739 | **Templating:** PHP 740 | 741 | **Formatting:** HTML 742 | 743 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/robiso/wondercms) 744 | 745 | **Website:** http://wondercms.com/ 746 | 747 | ## ZwiiCMS 748 | 749 | No database CMS, plugins, responsive, 100% customizable theme since the administration without HTML/CSS. 750 | 751 | **Technology:** PHP 752 | 753 | **Templating:** HTML / PHP 754 | 755 | **Formatting:** HTML 756 | 757 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/remijean/ZwiiCMS) 758 | 759 | **Website:** http://zwiicms.com/ 760 | 761 | ## Decap CMS (netlify cms) 762 | 763 | Open source content management with Git workflow and GraphQL. You can use starter templates or setup your own react theme. Little technical but worth it. 764 | 765 | **Technology:** Gatsby Js 766 | 767 | **Templating:** React 768 | 769 | **Formatting:** JSON & React DOM 770 | 771 | **Open source:** [yes](https://github.com/decaporg/decap-cms) 772 | 773 | **Website:** https://decapcms.org/ 774 | 775 | Contributions 776 | ============= 777 | 778 | Help grow this list — awesome! Ensure you list a system which is classified as a CMS as opposed to just a static site generator. Thanks for your help! 779 | 780 | 781 | 782 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------