Open-source alternatives to Ghost

Keystone is a GraphQL headless content management system and Node.js backend framework. It functions as a schema-driven data manager that automatically generates a GraphQL API and a React administrative dashboard based on a central data model configuration. The system uses an adapter-based database abstraction to decouple core logic from storage layers and a storage-provider abstraction for managing media assets via local or cloud drivers. It distinguishes itself through a component-based field rendering system and a hook-based middleware pipeline for data validation and automation. The fram

Apostrophe is a full-stack JavaScript content management framework built on Node.js. It functions as both a traditional CMS, integrating a backend data store with frontend template rendering, and a headless CMS that exposes content via JSON APIs for decoupled frameworks and mobile applications. The system features an in-context content editor that allows users to modify text and media directly on live pages. It also includes a multi-site management dashboard for coordinating and controlling several distinct websites from a single installation. The framework provides schema-driven content mod

Apostrophe is an open-source Node.js headless content management system that delivers structured content through REST APIs while providing a visual in-context page editor for live editing. It is built on a module-based plugin architecture that extends CMS functionality through reusable modules, each encapsulating logic, configuration, and templates. The system uses schema-driven content modeling to define data structures and validation rules through configurable schemas and custom field types, with all content stored as flexible JSON-like documents in MongoDB. The platform distinguishes itsel

This project is a full-stack TypeScript framework and boilerplate designed for building subscription-based software services. It provides a pre-configured development environment that integrates a React frontend with a Node.js and Express server and a MongoDB data layer. The framework includes integrated modules for managing subscription billing, multi-tenant user management, and secure identity verification via social logins and passwordless authentication. It further enables real-time application synchronization through a WebSocket server for bidirectional data streaming between clients and

WordPress is an open-source content management system and PHP-based application framework designed for building and maintaining websites. It functions as a visual, block-based website builder that allows users to construct layouts and manage digital content without manual code entry. The platform supports a wide range of operational needs, from managing individual sites to administering complex multi-site networks from a single installation. The system is distinguished by its highly extensible, plugin-driven modular architecture, which allows for the integration of third-party modules to add

Stirling-PDF is a self-hosted document processing suite designed for secure, private file management. It functions as a comprehensive transformation engine that executes complex operations—such as merging, splitting, converting, and redacting documents—directly on the host machine. The platform provides both a browser-based interface for interactive editing and a programmatic, API-first architecture that allows for the automation of document workflows through standard HTTP requests. The project distinguishes itself through its focus on private, infrastructure-agnostic deployment and granular

Agentic Digital Self Platform

Business class content management for Node.js (plugins, server cluster management, data-driven pages)

Writefreely is an open-source, multi-tenant publishing server and blogging engine. It provides a decentralized system for hosting minimalist blogs, utilizing the ActivityPub protocol to federate content and identities across different servers and social networks. The platform focuses on a distraction-free writing experience by removing social metrics and providing an auto-saving editor. It allows a single user account to manage multiple distinct blogs and pen names, maintaining separate writing personas within one installation. The system includes tools for content organization through hasht

Javascript Content Management System running on Node.js

Hexo is a command-line static site generator designed for content-driven blogging and website creation. It functions as a structured framework that transforms plain text files and markdown into production-ready static websites, utilizing a template-based rendering engine to separate site content from visual presentation. The project is distinguished by its event-driven build pipeline, which manages the entire site lifecycle through a series of hooks for file processing, asset generation, and deployment. Developers can extend the system’s core capabilities through a modular plugin architecture

SuperTokens Core is an open-source, self-hosted authentication and identity management platform designed for deployment within private infrastructure. It provides a comprehensive suite for managing user accounts, roles, and secure authentication flows, utilizing a modular, recipe-based architecture that allows developers to enable specific security features without modifying the core codebase. The platform distinguishes itself through its robust multi-tenancy capabilities, which allow for the logical or physical isolation of user records and configuration settings across different organizatio

Grav is a flat-file content management system that eliminates the need for a traditional database by storing site content and configuration in human-readable Markdown and YAML files. Built as a modular PHP web framework, it uses a hierarchical page routing system where the physical directory structure directly determines the site's URL paths. The platform is distinguished by its event-driven plugin architecture and a command-line interface that prioritizes system administration, deployment, and maintenance tasks. It utilizes a blueprint-driven system to generate administrative forms from stru

This project is a Model Context Protocol server that connects large language models to the Xiaohongshu social media platform. It acts as a connector and API wrapper, enabling language models to programmatically search, read, and publish media and text. The system provides automation for content discovery and publishing, allowing for the creation of image and video posts with associated titles and descriptions. It also facilitates social engagement by managing the posting of comments and tracking engagement metrics for specific entries. The tool covers data retrieval for user profiles, post d

Payload is a headless content management system and application framework that uses a code-first approach to define data schemas and administrative interfaces. By utilizing a centralized, type-safe configuration object, it automatically generates database schemas, API endpoints, and a fully customizable admin panel. The system is built on a database-agnostic architecture, allowing it to interface with various storage engines while providing a unified, type-safe API for server-side operations, REST, and GraphQL. What distinguishes Payload is its deep extensibility and developer-centric design.

Polar is a digital product monetization engine and subscription management system. It serves as a merchant of record platform that handles global sales tax and VAT compliance, providing the infrastructure for selling subscriptions and one-time digital goods via hosted checkouts and embedded payment flows. The project functions as an entitlement and access manager, automating the granting and restriction of digital benefits, license keys, and third-party platform roles. It includes a dedicated usage-based billing infrastructure that tracks customer activity through meters to apply aggregation

Casdoor is a centralized identity and access management platform that functions as an OAuth 2.0 authorization server. It provides a comprehensive suite of services for managing user identities, authentication sessions, and access policies across both web and machine-to-machine applications. Built with a decoupled frontend-backend architecture in Go, the platform supports high-concurrency environments and offers a web-based management interface for administrative tasks. The platform distinguishes itself through its extensive support for federated identity management, allowing integration with

BookStack is a self-hosted knowledge base platform designed for organizing, storing, and managing structured documentation. It utilizes a hierarchical content model that arranges information into nested trees of books, chapters, and pages, supported by a dedicated search index for rapid retrieval across the entire knowledge base. The platform distinguishes itself through deep integration with enterprise identity providers, allowing organizations to centralize authentication and access control via LDAP, SAML, or OIDC. It provides extensive administrative control over the content lifecycle, inc

Listmonk is a self-hosted email marketing platform and newsletter manager designed for high-volume bulk email distribution and transactional messaging. It provides a centralized system for organizing large subscriber databases and executing automated marketing campaigns directly from your own infrastructure. The platform distinguishes itself through its reliance on a relational database backend, which enables dynamic subscriber segmentation using complex query filtering at the time of delivery. It utilizes a concurrent worker pool to manage high-throughput email dispatch and incorporates a se

The Queen Mum of Weblog Hosting Systems – written in server-side JavaScript since 2001.

django-cms is a content management system framework for building enterprise websites using Python and the Django web framework. It functions as a component-based system that utilizes reusable content blocks, placeholders, and plugins to create flexible website layouts. The platform is distinguished by its focus on hierarchical page management, organizing site structures into a tree format to generate logical navigation and search-engine-friendly URLs. It also provides a multilingual platform for managing international content, including translation tools and site distribution across multiple

Lightweight self-hosted facebook-styled PHP blog.

Hatch.js - not officially supported

A Node.js CMS written in CoffeeScript, with a user friendly backend

A self hosted Web publishing platform on Rails.

Reaction is an event-driven, headless commerce platform designed to decouple backend business logic from the frontend presentation layer. It utilizes an API-first architecture with a GraphQL data layer to manage online sales and retail operations. The platform supports multi-tenant resource sharing, allowing multiple independent storefronts to be hosted and managed within a single installation. It features a plugin-based extension system that enables the integration of third-party services and custom business logic through composable workflows. The system covers core retail capabilities incl

Simple and fast databaseless PHP blogging platform, and Flat-File CMS