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marcantondahmen

marcantondahmen/automad

A flat-file content management system and template engine written in PHP, with no database required.

Open-source alternative to:WordPress

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What is it?

Automad is a content management system that stores pages as flat files instead of in a database. Content is managed through a built-in dashboard, and pages are rendered with its own template language, so sites can be built and edited without a separate database server.

The project is written in PHP. The README describes several installation routes: Composer via create-project, a Docker image that bundles Nginx and PHP 8.3, or a manual install by copying a distribution bundle to a web server's document root and ensuring the PHP process can write to it.

The repository holds only the source code, while fully bundled builds are distributed separately. Automad also has community-made editor plugins for syntax highlighting and snippets in Neovim, VS Code, Atom and TextMate for its template language.

Key features

  • 01Stores site content as flat files with no database required.
  • 02Includes a web dashboard for creating users and editing pages.
  • 03Provides its own template language for building themes.
  • 04Can be installed via Composer, Docker, or manually.
  • 05Offers syntax highlighting plugins for several code editors.

Use cases

  • Building a small website or blog that should run without a database server.
  • Developing custom themes using Automad's template language.
  • Hosting a simple PHP-based site on a basic web server with file write access.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install via Composer

    composer create-project automad/automad . v2.x-dev
  2. 2

    Or run the Docker container

    docker run -dp 80:80 -v ./app:/app --name mysite automad/automad:v2
  3. 3

    Open localhost to view the new site

Things to know

  • The repository contains only source code, so a bundled version must be installed via Docker, Composer, or the distribution bundle.
  • The license is not clearly identified in the metadata; check LICENSE.md before use.

In collections

Self-hosted apps

Topics

#cms#flat-file#php#template-engine#self-hosted#docker#automad#template-language

FAQ

What is automad?
A flat-file content management system and template engine written in PHP, with no database required. Automad is a content management system that stores pages as flat files instead of in a database. Content is managed through a built-in dashboard, and pages are rendered with its own template language, so sites can be built and edited without a separate database server.
Is automad free to use? What license does it have?
automad is open source under the Other license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is automad still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to automad was on Nov 6, 2026.
What can I use automad for?
Building a small website or blog that should run without a database server. Developing custom themes using Automad's template language. Hosting a simple PHP-based site on a basic web server with file write access.
How do I install automad?
Install via Composer: composer create-project automad/automad . v2.x-dev Or run the Docker container: docker run -dp 80:80 -v ./app:/app --name mysite automad/automad:v2 Open localhost to view the new site
Where can I get automad?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/marcantondahmen/automad

Summary generated by AI from the project's README. GitHub stats refresh daily.

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