Automad / A Flat-File CMS and Template Engine

Automad is a flat-file content management system and template engine that enables easy website creation and management without a database, ideal for developers and designers seeking simplicity and portability.

🚀 Overview

Automad is a lightweight, file-based CMS and template engine designed to make building and managing websites straightforward and efficient. All content is stored in human-readable text files, eliminating the need for a database, which makes it perfect for version control with Git and deployment on any PHP-enabled server.

This project solves the problem of heavy, database-dependent CMS platforms like WordPress that can be overkill for simple sites, portfolios, blogs, or documentation. It provides powerful features like a block editor, searching, tagging, and caching in a portable package. Automad is built for developers, designers, and indie makers who want a flexible tool to create beautiful, fast sites without complexity.

Marc Anton Dahmen created Automad in 2013 to offer a modern alternative focused on speed, security, and extensibility—now in active development with version 2.0 beta bringing native multilanguage support and a refined no-framework architecture.

✨ Key Features

Elegant Dashboard with Block Editor: Intuitive in-page editing using blocks for text, headers, galleries, slideshows, and more, making content creation user-friendly for non-technical users.
No Database Required: Content stored in flat files for easy version control, portability, and zero setup hassle.
Advanced Caching Engine: Multi-layer caching ensures super-fast performance even on limited hardware.
Flexible Template Engine: Secure PHP-based templating for custom themes, plus headless mode with JSON API for API-first workflows.
Optional: Native multilanguage support and extensions via Composer in v2.

🛠 Tech Stack

Frontend: TypeScript, Less CSS, JavaScript, HTML
Backend: PHP (pure, no frameworks)
Database: None (flat files)
Auth: Built-in dashboard user management
Hosting: Any PHP web server, Docker, Composer
Tools: esbuild, PostCSS, Vitest, PHPUnit, Psalm

👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

Developers who want to ___ build lightweight CMS-powered sites without database dependencies
Teams looking for ___ portable, version-control-friendly content management
Indie makers building ___ portfolios, blogs, documentation, or multilingual sites