Node.js-based CMS is a content management system created with Node.js, a JavaScript runtime environment. It allows developers to build and handle content for websites, applications, and other digital experiences. Here are some advantages of using Node.js CMS:

  • Developer-Friendly: Node.js CMS is built using JavaScript, which is a popular and widely-used programming language. This makes it easier for developers to work with and customize the CMS according to their needs.
  • Stability: Node.js CMS is known for its stability and performance. Node.js is built on the V8 JavaScript engine, which provides efficient and high-performance execution of JavaScript code. This ensures that the CMS can handle high traffic and complex operations without compromising stability.
  • Community Support: Node.js has a large and active community of developers. This means that there are plenty of resources, libraries, and plugins available to enhance the functionality of Node.js CMS. The community also provides support and updates, ensuring the CMS stays up-to-date and secure.
  • Productivity: Node.js CMS offers features and tools that can significantly improve developer productivity. With its flexible architecture and modular approach, developers can easily create and manage content, define data models, handle user authentication, and perform other tasks efficiently. The use of JavaScript also enables developers to reuse code and leverage existing libraries, reducing development time and effort.

Overall, Node.js CMS provides developers with a powerful and flexible platform to build content-driven websites and applications. Its benefits include developer-friendliness, stability, strong community support, and improved productivity.

In this post, you will find the most reliable open-source Node.js CMS that you can download, self-host, and run for free.

1- Keystone

Keystone is an open-source content management system (CMS) and web application framework. It provides developers with a powerful set of tools and features to build dynamic websites and applications.

With Keystone, you can easily create and manage your content, define data models, handle user authentication, and much more. It offers a flexible and customizable architecture, allowing you to tailor your website or application to your specific needs.

KeystoneJS: The superpowered Node.js Headless CMS for developers - Keystone 6
Build faster and scale further with the programmable open source GraphQL API back-end for structured content projects.

2- Ghost blog

Ghost is an open-source publishing platform for professional bloggers. It is designed to be simple, powerful, and elegant, offering a user-friendly interface and a range of features to create and manage blog content.

Ghost supports custom themes, Markdown syntax, and has a robust editor for writing and formatting blog posts. It also includes features such as scheduled posts, tags, and member management. Ghost is known for its focus on speed and performance, making it a popular choice for bloggers and content creators.

GitHub - TryGhost/Ghost: Independent technology for modern publishing, memberships, subscriptions and newsletters.
Independent technology for modern publishing, memberships, subscriptions and newsletters. - GitHub - TryGhost/Ghost: Independent technology for modern publishing, memberships, subscriptions and new…

3- Total.js CMS

Total.js is a web application framework for Node.js. It provides developers with a comprehensive set of tools and features to build scalable and efficient web applications. Total.js follows a modular architecture, allowing you to easily extend and customize your applications.

It includes features such as routing, server-side rendering, authentication, and database integration. With Total.js, you can create robust and high-performance web applications for various purposes.

Total.js CMS is highly customizable and developer friendly system that can be extended to a full-featured rich web app.

JavaScript libraries and components for web development - Total.js Platform

3- ApostropheCMS

Apostrophe is an open-source content management system (CMS) built on top of Node.js. It provides a flexible and intuitive interface for managing website content, including pages, blog posts, events, and more.

Apostrophe offers a wide range of features, such as a powerful editor, version control, media management, and multi-language support.

It also supports custom templates and themes, allowing developers to create unique and dynamic websites.

With its user-friendly admin interface and extensible architecture, Apostrophe is a popular choice for building content-driven websites and applications.

GitHub - apostrophecms/apostrophe: Apostrophe is a full-featured, open-source CMS built with Node.js that empowers organizations by combining in-context editing and headless architecture in a full-stack JS environment.
Apostrophe is a full-featured, open-source CMS built with Node.js that empowers organizations by combining in-context editing and headless architecture in a full-stack JS environment. - GitHub - ap…

4- NodePress

NodePress is an open-source content management system (CMS) built on top of Node.js. It provides a robust and scalable platform for creating and managing websites and blogs.

NodePress offers features such as user authentication, content publishing, media management, and SEO optimization. It also includes a flexible theming system, allowing developers to customize the appearance and functionality of their websites.

With its focus on simplicity and performance, NodePress is a suitable choice for developers looking to build modern and efficient web applications.

GitHub - surmon-china/nodepress: 🟢 RESTful API service for https://surmon.me blog, powered by @nestjs
🟢 RESTful API service for https://surmon.me blog, powered by @nestjs - GitHub - surmon-china/nodepress: 🟢 RESTful API service for https://surmon.me blog, powered by @nestjs

5- Microfeed

Microfeed is an open-source social feed microservice built on Node.js. It provides a scalable and flexible solution for developers to integrate social feed functionality into their applications. Microfeed allows users to create, read, and interact with feeds, posts, and comments.

It supports real-time updates, user authentication, and customizable feed designs. With its modular architecture and RESTful API, Microfeed offers developers the ability to easily incorporate social feed features into their projects.

GitHub - microfeed/microfeed: a lightweight cms self-hosted on cloudflare, for podcasts, blogs, photos, videos, documents, and curated urls.
a lightweight cms self-hosted on cloudflare, for podcasts, blogs, photos, videos, documents, and curated urls. - GitHub - microfeed/microfeed: a lightweight cms self-hosted on cloudflare, for podca…

6- Wiki.js

Wiki.js is an open-source wiki platform built on Node.js. It provides a powerful and flexible solution for creating and managing wikis. With Wiki.js, you can collaboratively create and edit content, organize information into pages and categories, and control access and permissions.

It supports Markdown syntax, version control, search functionality, and customizable themes. Wiki.js is designed to be easy to use and highly customizable, making it a popular choice for building wikis for both personal and professional use.

Wiki.js: A Modern Open-source Wiki Engine for the Enterprise
Whenever there is a mention of a Wiki, the first thing that always come to thoughts is: Wikipedia.org. So first let’s draw a like between Wiki and Wikipedia. A Wiki is a software that built to ease collaborative writing and editing processes for teams. They are designed with a
Wiki.js

7- Outline

Outline is an open-source knowledge management platform built with Node.js and React. It provides a collaborative and organized environment for teams to create, share, and manage knowledge within an organization. Outline offers features such as document collaboration, version control, rich text editing with Markdown support, and powerful search capabilities.

It also includes user permissions and access control to ensure information security. With its clean interface and focus on team collaboration, Outline is a valuable tool for enhancing knowledge sharing and documentation within teams.

Outline: An Open-source modern Wiki engine for teams and communities
The Outline app is a free self-hosted wiki engine and collaborative knowledge base for teams. Wiki engines are built to ease collaborative content creation for teams, organizations, and communities. However, many current open-source wiki engines are old, Outline and some others are new modern recre…

8- Strapi

Strapi is an open-source headless CMS (Content Management System) built with Node.js. It provides developers with a flexible and extensible platform for creating and managing content for websites, mobile applications, and other digital experiences.

Strapi offers a user-friendly admin panel, customizable content types, and a RESTful API, allowing developers to easily define and structure their content. With its powerful features and intuitive interface, Strapi is a popular choice for building content-driven applications.

GitHub - strapi/strapi: 🚀 Strapi is the leading open-source headless CMS. It’s 100% JavaScript/TypeScript, fully customizable and developer-first.
🚀 Strapi is the leading open-source headless CMS. It’s 100% JavaScript/TypeScript, fully customizable and developer-first. - GitHub - strapi/strapi: 🚀 Strapi is the leading open-source headless CMS…

9- Directus

Directus is a JavaScript-based open-source headless CMS (Content Management System). It offers developers a robust and customizable platform for content and data management across websites, apps, and other digital experiences.

Directus features a user-friendly admin interface, a flexible data model, and a RESTful API, making it effortless for developers to create and manage their content. Due to its emphasis on simplicity and extensibility, Directus is widely preferred for building modern and flexible content management systems.

Directus.io: An Open-source Self-hosted Headless System for Professionals and Novices
Directus is an enterprise-grade headless system that warps SQL database into production-ready API. It comes backed with a features-rich application, powerful API and SDK support and multiple SQL database engines support. Why do we like Directus? Here is a quote from the documentation that explain…

10- Payload

Payload is an open-source content management system (CMS) built with Node.js and React. It provides developers with a flexible and intuitive platform for creating and managing content-driven websites and applications.

Payload features a user-friendly admin interface, customizable content types, and a GraphQL API, making it easy to define and structure content. With its focus on simplicity, extensibility, and developer experience, Payload is a great choice for building modern and scalable CMS-powered projects.

Payload CMS: Modern CMS with Strong backend and Admin Dashboard For Developers
Payload CMS is a headless content management system (CMS) that allows developers to efficiently build and manage content-rich websites and applications. It provides a flexible and intuitive interface for content creation, editing, and publishing. Key Features Some key features of Payload CMS incl…
GitHub - payloadcms/payload: The best way to build a modern backend + admin UI. No black magic, all TypeScript, and fully open-source, Payload is both an app framework and a headless CMS.
The best way to build a modern backend + admin UI. No black magic, all TypeScript, and fully open-source, Payload is both an app framework and a headless CMS. - GitHub - payloadcms/payload: The bes…

11- TinaCMS

TinaCMS is an open-source content management system (CMS) built with React and Node.js. It provides a user-friendly interface for editing content on websites and applications.

TinaCMS integrates with static site generators like Gatsby and Next.js, making it easy to add content management capabilities. With its focus on simplicity and developer experience, TinaCMS is a popular choice for adding content editing functionality to web projects.

Tina is an amazing Open-source CMS that Speeds up Your Productivity
What is Tina CMS? Tina is a free open-source CMS editor, that uses GitHub to store your content. It comes with an amazing WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor as a visual aid to create rich, responsive, colorful pages. Unlike other static website generators, Tina offers almost
GitHub - tinacms/tinacms: A fully open-source headless CMS that supports Markdown and Visual Editing
A fully open-source headless CMS that supports Markdown and Visual Editing - GitHub - tinacms/tinacms: A fully open-source headless CMS that supports Markdown and Visual Editing

12- Webiny.js

Webiny-js is an open-source serverless CMS for enterprise with features like a page builder, headless CMS, form builder, and file manager. It is customizable, deployable to AWS, and integrates with leading identity providers.

Key features include drag&drop page editing, GraphQL API, asset management, and form creation with webhook support and ReCaptcha integration.

Webiny.js: Serverless CMS for Enterprise and Serious Developers
Webiny-js is an open-source serverless CMS for enterprise that includes a page builder, headless CMS, form builder, and file manager. It is easy to customize, deployable to AWS, and integrates with leading identity providers. Features include drag&drop page editing, GraphQL API, asset management, an…
GitHub - webiny/webiny-js: Open-source serverless enterprise CMS. Includes a headless CMS, page builder, form builder, and file manager. Easy to customize and expand. Deploys to AWS.
Open-source serverless enterprise CMS. Includes a headless CMS, page builder, form builder, and file manager. Easy to customize and expand. Deploys to AWS. - GitHub - webiny/webiny-js: Open-source…

13- FireCMS

FireCMS is a headless CMS and admin panel that integrates seamlessly with Firebase and Firestore, allowing for effortless generation of CRUD views and customization.

It covers a wide range of basic and advanced use cases, with the ability to create or modify views. FireCMS does not impose data structure restrictions, providing a smooth experience for any project.

GitHub - firecmsco/firecms: Awesome Firebase/Firestore-based CMS. The missing admin panel for your Firebase project!
Awesome Firebase/Firestore-based CMS. The missing admin panel for your Firebase project! - GitHub - firecmsco/firecms: Awesome Firebase/Firestore-based CMS. The missing admin panel for your Firebas…

14- Keystatic

Keystatic provides a first-class CMS experience with a TypeScript API. It is based on Markdown & YAML/JSON and does not require a database.

Built with DNA from Keystone, Keystatic connects directly to GitHub without interfering with your source code. It is specifically designed for modern front-end frameworks like Next.js, Remix, and Astro, and is designed to seamlessly integrate into your workflow.

GitHub - Thinkmill/keystatic: First class CMS experience, TypeScript API, Markdown & YAML/JSON based, no DB
First class CMS experience, TypeScript API, Markdown & YAML/JSON based, no DB - GitHub - Thinkmill/keystatic: First class CMS experience, TypeScript API, Markdown & YAML/JSON based, no DB

Next.js - MEDevel.com
Collecting and validating open-source software for healthcare, education, enterprise, development, medical imaging, medical records and digital pathology