Open source CMS platforms, installed and run
Content management systems you can run yourself. The list is ordered by whether each project came up when Argusic installed it fresh, with the recording of that attempt one click away.
Tested between and . Each row shows its own test date; a project can change after that day.
21 of 23 tested projects run. 34 more waiting for a test.
In short: 19 of the 23 tested projects started as-is on a fresh machine: hugo, wagtail, decap-cms, grav, ponzu, qor, pagescms, and twill, and 11 more. 2 more started once a stand-in replaced a service they expect, such as a database: DoraCMS and builder. 2 could not be verified: vscode-front-matter and postbot; the log shows where each one stopped.
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence.
| # | project | verdict | Argusic Score | language | stars | tested on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | hugo | Runs | 100 / 100 | Go | 90,058 | |
The world’s fastest framework for building websites. What the test found: Hugo v0.167.0-DEV installed, all packages compile and pass tests, the binary produces a correct version string and successfully scaffolds and builds a static site. 53 minutes. | ||||||
| 2 | wagtail | Runs | 100 / 100 | Python | 20,530 | |
A Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience What the test found: Wagtail 8.1a0 installed from source via pip editable mode; npm ci and webpack build completed successfully; 2044/2044 tests passing on in-memory SQLite; development server starts and serves the admin interface with the expected redirect. 23 minutes. | ||||||
| 3 | decap-cms | Runs | 100 / 100 | JavaScript | 19,419 | |
A Git-based CMS for Static Site Generators What the test found: pnpm install completes with no errors; all 119 test suites pass (1495/2799 tests, 1304 skipped as expected); decap-cms-core builds both ESM (126 files) and production UMD (1.26 MiB) bundles successfully; decap-cms-lib-util ESM build (20 files) succeeds. 18 minutes. | ||||||
| 4 | grav | Runs | 100 / 100 | PHP | 15,683 | |
Modern, Crazy Fast, Ridiculously Easy and Amazingly Powerful Flat-File CMS powered by PHP, Markdown, Twig, and Symfony What the test found: Grav CMS is installed with all Composer dependencies, the full 1444-test unit suite passes, and the built-in PHP dev server returns HTTP 200 on the homepage. 7 minutes. | ||||||
| 5 | ponzu | Runs | 100 / 100 | Go | 5,760 | |
Headless CMS with automatic JSON API. Featuring auto-HTTPS from Let's Encrypt, HTTP/2 Server Push, and flexible server framework written in Go. What the test found: Ponzu v0.11.0 builds and runs from the repo root: ponzu CLI shows version, the HTTP server starts and responds on /admin/init (200), /admin/login (302), /api/contents?type=Review (200), and /api/search (400), the core HTTP API and admin system are operational. 17 minutes. | ||||||
| 6 | qor | Runs | 100 / 100 | Go | 5,346 | |
QOR is a set of libraries written in Go that abstracts common features needed for business applications, CMSs, and E-commerce systems. What the test found: Go package builds successfully (go build ./... and go vet ./... exit 0), all 25+ tests pass against a real PostgreSQL 16.4 server, npm dependencies install, but gulp frontend build fails because the admin views directory is not present (expected as it lives in a separate qor/admin repo). 40 minutes. | ||||||
| 7 | pagescms | Runs | 100 / 100 | TypeScript | 4,071 | |
The simplest CMS you'll ever need. Manage content and media right in your GitHub repository. What the test found: Pages CMS 2.1.8 builds and runs in both dev and production modes on localhost:3000 with PostgreSQL 16, returning HTTP 200 on all tested routes and a valid JSON version response from /api/app/version. 13 minutes. | ||||||
| 8 | twill | Runs | 100 / 100 | PHP | 3,976 | |
Twill is an open source CMS toolkit for Laravel that helps developers rapidly create a custom admin console that is intuitive, powerful and flexible. Chat with... What the test found: 404 PHPUnit tests pass (52 unit + 352 integration, 2569 assertions) and the Vue.js frontend builds successfully via npm run build. 10 minutes. | ||||||
| 9 | Pico | Runs | 100 / 100 | PHP | 3,904 | |
Pico is a stupidly simple, blazing fast, flat file CMS. What the test found: Pico 2.1.4 renders Markdown content into HTML via Twig templates using the PHP 8.3.32 built-in development server, serving homepage and sub-pages with HTTP 200. 46 minutes. | ||||||
| 10 | content | Runs | 100 / 100 | TypeScript | 3,672 | |
The file-based CMS for your Nuxt application, powered by Markdown and Vue components. What the test found: Nuxt Content v3.16.1 installed, built (dist/ generated, 712K), and all 352 tests pass on Node v22.14.0 with pnpm 11.24.0. 10 minutes. | ||||||
| 11 | sveltia-cms | Runs | 100 / 100 | JavaScript | 2,925 | |
Leading Git-based headless CMS. Successor to Netlify/Decap CMS. Modern UX, first-class i18n support, mobile support + numerous improvements... What the test found: Sveltia CMS v0.221.0 installs via pnpm, builds IIFE + ESM bundles, and passes all 10591 unit tests and 1348 component tests under Node v26.10.0. 26 minutes. | ||||||
| 12 | lin-cms-vue | Runs | 100 / 100 | JavaScript | 2,838 | |
🔆 Vue+ElementPlus构建的CMS开发框架 What the test found: lin-cms-vue Vue 3 CMS frontend installs dependencies, builds to dist/, and the dev server serves HTTP 200 at localhost:8080. 8 minutes. | ||||||
| 13 | keystatic | Runs | 100 / 100 | TypeScript | 2,438 | |
First class CMS experience, TypeScript API, Markdown & YAML/JSON based, no DB What the test found: Install succeeded with Node 24.12.0; packages built, linked, and localized; 1216 of 1288 tests pass across both test projects. 68 minutes. | ||||||
| 14 | typicms | Runs | 100 / 100 | PHP | 1,619 | |
A modular multilingual CMS built with Laravel, enabling developers to manage structured content like pages, news, events, and more. What the test found: TypiCMS Laravel app installed with SQLite database, migrations and seeders run, artisan serve responds on port 8000 with health endpoint at /up returning 200. 24 minutes. | ||||||
| 15 | nodepress | Runs | 100 / 100 | TypeScript | 1,522 | |
🟢 A production-grade headless CMS API service for surmon.me, built with @nestjs. What the test found: App built and launched on port 8000, responding HTTP 200 with project info; MongoDB 9.1 and Redis 7.2 connected; single test suite passes; Akismet and email services report mock config warnings as expected. 10 minutes. | ||||||
| 16 | winter | Runs | 100 / 100 | PHP | 1,521 | |
Free, open-source, self-hosted CMS platform based on the Laravel PHP Framework. What the test found: Winter CMS dev-develop installed, all dependencies resolved via Composer, 417 tests passing across system/backend/cms modules, artisan CLI responds, dev server serves HTTP 200, and database migrations run successfully against SQLite. 22 minutes. | ||||||
| 17 | bludit | Runs | 100 / 100 | PHP | 1,466 | |
Simple, Fast, Secure, Flat-File CMS What the test found: Bludit CMS 4.0.0-beta-1 installed with PHP 8.1.25 CLI, serving homepage (200) and admin login (200) via built-in web server, with 4 demo pages, 1 admin user, 3 categories and 6 plugins. 9 minutes. | ||||||
| 18 | sulu | Runs | 100 / 100 | PHP | 1,358 | |
Core framework that implements the functionality of the Sulu content management system What the test found: The Sulu CMS core framework builds and runs: PHP static binary 8.4.24, composer dependencies installed, MariaDB 10.11 stood up from portable binaries, all PHP test suites pass with zero failures on real MySQL backend, and 98.9% of JavaScript tests pass after minor jest-dom v6 compatibility patches. 59 minutes. | ||||||
| 19 | lektor | Runs | 90 / 100 | Python | 3,949 | |
The lektor static file content management system What the test found: Lektor 0.1.dev1+g9ebd5dcba is installed and its Python test suite passes completely. The CLI, builder, and dev server all work. The admin front-end JS builds. One JS test fails only because the container's Node 18 is below the jsdom@29 requirement. 11 minutes. | ||||||
| 20 | DoraCMS | Runs with mocks | 92 / 100 | JavaScript | 3,545 | |
DoraCMS 是一个基于 EggJS 3.x + Vue 3 + TypeScript 的现代化内容管理系统,采用 pnpm monorepo 架构管理。它不仅仅是一个 CMS 系统,更是一个优秀的企业级应用架构实践。 What the test found: Dependencies install and two standalone test suites pass (68 total). The EggJS app initializes with in-memory MongoDB but integration tests are blocked by Node 18 incompatibility with egg-watcher/EventSource and egg-mock context mocking. 50 minutes. | ||||||
| 21 | builder | Runs with mocks | 92 / 100 | Python | 2,422 | |
Craft beautiful websites effortlessly with an intuitive visual builder and publish them instantly What the test found: 147 total tests pass (129 Python with Frappe stubs, 18 frontend vitest with jsdom). The full app requires a Frappe Bench with MySQL for backend database tests and the frontend vite build links @framework/ui from the Frappe framework monorepo. 17 minutes. | ||||||
| 22 | vscode-front-matter | Could not verify | 30 / 100 | TypeScript | 2,547 | |
Front Matter is a CMS running straight in Visual Studio Code. Can be used with static site generators like Hugo, Jekyll, Hexo, NextJs, Gatsby, and many more... What the test found: npm install succeeded, all 3 webpack bundles build successfully (extension.js 1217 KB, dashboard.main.js 8.5 MB, panel.main.js 10 MB), npm pack creates valid 1.2 MB .tgz (713 files), tsc reports 0 errors in src/, but the VS Code extension cannot be launched without the VS Code runtime which is not available in this... 8 minutes. | ||||||
| 23 | postbot | Could not verify | 20 / 100 | TypeScript | 1,493 | |
PostBot 内容同步助手 一款开源的多平台内容同步分发生产力工具。 支持将文章、笔记、动态、图片、视频、音频等内容,一键同步发布至主流媒体平台。覆盖微信/微博/今日头条/小红书/知乎/百家号/企鹅号/视频号/抖音/快手/哔哩哔哩(B站)等国内主流媒体平台,可轻松扩展兼容... What the test found: could not be verified; the log shows where it stopped. | ||||||
| - | novel | Not yet tested | - | Java | 5,829 | - |
| - | moonshine | Not yet tested | - | PHP | 1,305 | - |
| - | next-wp | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 1,299 | - |
| - | beacon | Not yet tested | - | Elixir | 1,261 | - |
| - | skyeye | Not yet tested | - | Java | 1,220 | - |
| - | Conduit | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 924 | - |
| - | alchemy_cms | Not yet tested | - | Ruby | 905 | - |
| - | nesta | Not yet tested | - | Ruby | 899 | - |
| - | zblogphp | Not yet tested | - | PHP | 877 | - |
| - | fae | Not yet tested | - | Ruby | 852 | - |
| - | concretecms | Not yet tested | - | PHP | 851 | - |
| - | deco | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 850 | - |
| - | velite | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 820 | - |
| - | luya | Not yet tested | - | PHP | 802 | - |
| - | sharp | Not yet tested | - | PHP | 795 | - |
| - | letterpad | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 790 | - |
| - | pruvious | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 762 | - |
| - | reactpress | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 759 | - |
| - | wondercms | Not yet tested | - | PHP | 740 | - |
| - | next-drupal | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 711 | - |
| - | puput | Not yet tested | - | Python | 658 | - |
| - | Nameless | Not yet tested | - | PHP | 655 | - |
| - | property_web_builder | Not yet tested | - | Ruby | 644 | - |
| - | jfinal_cms | Not yet tested | - | JavaScript | 643 | - |
| - | markdown-site | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 628 | - |
| - | botonic | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 626 | - |
| - | typemill | Not yet tested | - | JavaScript | 619 | - |
| - | pagible | Not yet tested | - | PHP | 596 | - |
| - | mesh | Not yet tested | - | Java | 593 | - |
| - | fastschema | Not yet tested | - | Go | 575 | - |
| - | vaahcms | Not yet tested | - | PHP | 574 | - |
| - | markdowndb | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 548 | - |
| - | Ghost-CLI | Not yet tested | - | JavaScript | 498 | - |
| - | cms | Not yet tested | - | TypeScript | 464 | - |
runs installed and started with its real dependencies. runs with mocks started after stand-ins replaced external services such as a database or a third-party API. could not verify neither the standard agent nor the stronger one got it running within the time limit; the log shows where it stopped.
How we tested
On this list as of the latest test: 19 projects ran as-is, 2 with mocks, 2 could not be verified, 34 still waiting. Languages tested: Go, JavaScript, PHP, Python, TypeScript. Every attempt used a clean single-use machine, the subject at a pinned version, and a 45-minute limit; the complete procedure is on the methodology page.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
How is this list ranked?
By measurement, not opinion: projects Argusic installed and launched on a fresh machine come first, then those that ran with mocks in place of external services, then those it could not verify. Ties go to the Argusic Score, then how popular it is on its own source.
Why are some projects unranked?
34 projects are still waiting for a test or for a finished attempt. They are listed without a rank until Argusic has measured them.
Where is the evidence?
Every row links to the project's Argusic page, where each run has a full log and a terminal recording stored with a sha256 fingerprint. The same pages exist for every one of the tested projects, on this list or not.
More lists in this category
- static site generators (shares decap-cms, hugo, lektor, nesta, pagescms, sveltia-cms, vscode-front-matter with this list)
- low-code platforms (shares Conduit, builder, fastschema with this list)
- API gateways (shares cms with this list)
- AI agent frameworks
- self-hosted AI apps
- API clients
- CI/CD tools
- LLM gateways
- MCP servers
- VPN tools
- backup tools
- browser automation tools
- code editors
- open source coding agents
- Open source databases, installed and queried
- developer CLI tools
- e-commerce platforms
- ebook readers
- game engines
- open source games
- home automation tools
- map tools
- message queues
- Open source music servers, installed and played
- observability tools
- Open source office suites, installed and launched
- self-hosted password managers
- project management tools
- screen recorders
- search engines
- self-hosted analytics
- speech tools
- uptime monitors
- vector databases
- open source video editors
- video players
- web scraping tools
- whiteboard tools
- wikis
- workflow automation tools
- self-hosted Notion alternatives
- self-hosted dashboards
- self-hosted git servers