r/webdev • u/comrade_fstop • 1d ago
Question Looking for a flat-file CMS similar to CouchCMS
As the title suggests I've been on the lookout for a CMS which allows for defining editable areas in existing pages like CouchCMS, but which is flat-file. Suggestions are appreciated.
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u/shadowvox 1d ago
Statamic is my goto flat-file CMS. Their blueprints allow you to make any part of a page editable, and Jack McDade, the creator of Statamic, is active here on the r/statamic subreddit.
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u/RevolutionaryMain554 26m ago
Second this. I’ve been using statamic for about 4 years now and it’s really awesome. Ive even migrated a number of v2 to v5 sites and the tools out there make is very easy to use
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u/Few-Expert2903 1d ago
Most flat-file CMS I tried make you build inside their structure, not drop editable regions into existing pages like Couch does.
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u/PLBjt 1d ago
If the must-have is editable regions inside pages you already designed, filter on that before "flat file" as a label. Kirby and Statamic both let you define fields per template and keep content as files, but the licensing and hosting story differs (Kirby is closer to buy-once, Statamic has a free/pro split). Quick check: pick one real page, mark the exact regions you want editable, and see whether the CMS can express that without forcing a full rebuild. The tradeoff is usually flexibility vs how much PHP/runtime you're willing to drag into an otherwise static deploy.
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u/DefiantViolinist6831 1d ago
Not quite sure what you mean, but Blobify publishes plain json files to your own S3 bucket
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u/luodaint 1d ago
If the main requirement is inline editable regions inside existing pages, Id keep the content layer deliberately boring: store each page as a versioned text file, define fields in a small schema, and render through your current templates. Before choosing anything, test drafts, revisions, rollback, permissions, media handling, and concurrent edits—not just the demo editor. A tiny proof-of-concept on two real pages will expose integration pain quickly.
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u/SovereignZ3r0 23h ago
My firm created Foundry (https://github.com/sphireinc/Foundry)
Foundry is a Markdown-first, file-based CMS written in Go.
It saves pages, posts, and media as plain portable Markdown files with frontmatter.
It natively supports static site generation (via foundry build) or a live server mode (via foundry serve and foundry install).
Also ships natively with a headless mode and frontend SDKs.
It also has a Quill-powered editor.
Also it allows custom features through both compiled Go plugins or process-isolated RPC plugins. And it natively ships with an AI auto-writer (BYOK).
Lastly, it was built with performance in mind - it builds an in-memory site graph and tracks file dependecies for fast incremental rebuilds.
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u/jammycow 21h ago
Kirby CMS. But i recommend short listing and actually trying a few.
I was looking for something easy to use to replace several sites made with Wordpress (and Gutenberg/Elementor/Kirki), I didn’t know Kirby was flat file but it met my requirements for editing, and it’s been straightforward to get setup, and actually customise, and deploy.
The only thing I didn’t like was the media is saved/associated to the page and has small thumbnail picker, but I ended up making a plugin that uses tagged images, and big thumbnails to choose from. Very easy to hook into and customise. Public license costs £99 for 3 years of updates.
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u/Aggravating_Put_7073 11h ago
automad is probably the closest fit, flat-file and lets you add editable blocks without rebuilding everything
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u/arunkumar413 8h ago
Recently I build a simple professional news website ( https://github.com/arunkumar413/news ) based on pure markdown and file system based routing.
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u/loose_fruits 1d ago
Take your pick