Netlify CMS – An open-source CMS for Git workflows(netlifycms.org)
netlifycms.org
Netlify CMS – An open-source CMS for Git workflows
https://www.netlifycms.org/
74 comments
I setup winscp to automatically sync a directory from a coworkers laptop to a webserver so he can edit his html documents in Microsoft Frontpage locally and have it sync with the remote server.
I've done something similar by grabbing a google doc by url, scraping its html markup, and generating a site from it.
Some people have even done a google doc markup like language.
Some people have even done a google doc markup like language.
I highly recommend Sheets too for tabular data. The series of /vs pages at (like https://www.polleverywhere.com/vs/turning-technologies) are all generated from one Google Spreadsheet. You can see the spreadsheet data itself if you click "Download Spreadsheet" and see the tables if you click on any of the subpages.
I implemented the "scraping" via a Rake task. When marketing updates a point of comparison, an engineer runs the task which simply downloads a CSV file that is plugged into these pages and a nicely formatted XLXS file that's made available for download for people who want to see all the data in one place.
There's "big data". I call this "tiny data".
I implemented the "scraping" via a Rake task. When marketing updates a point of comparison, an engineer runs the task which simply downloads a CSV file that is plugged into these pages and a nicely formatted XLXS file that's made available for download for people who want to see all the data in one place.
There's "big data". I call this "tiny data".
As seen on HN 2 days ago: Show HN: HexoPress – a blog that syncs with your Google Docs https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13857137
I used to work at a project where I suggested doing EXACTLY this, because the customers were pretty old-school Microsoft Office users and we had to store lots of documents and organize them.
The idea never caught on because the people didn't find it as a good solution. Happy to see that somebody, somewhere out there has built exactly this and is happy with the outcome ;)
Cheered me up a lot, thanks for sharing!
The idea never caught on because the people didn't find it as a good solution. Happy to see that somebody, somewhere out there has built exactly this and is happy with the outcome ;)
Cheered me up a lot, thanks for sharing!
Your welcome! The engineering team got some chuckles out of me deploying WebDAV but it works! I originally wanted to use Dropbox to sync a shared folder, but their Linux client doesn't deploy well in a Docker container. The first attempt at a WebDAV server was nginx, but it had bugs in its WebDAV implementation, so we reached out for good 'ol Apache.
The whole thing feels so retro, but it works pretty well and makes it just that much more fun of a solution.
The whole thing feels so retro, but it works pretty well and makes it just that much more fun of a solution.
> I originally wanted to use Dropbox to sync a shared folder
This makes it even more funny, because I thought of that too! Wow, feels like reading an autobiography ;)
This makes it even more funny, because I thought of that too! Wow, feels like reading an autobiography ;)
Wow, didn't expect this much interest! If you find https://sitepress.cc (or are an avid Middleman/Jeckyll fan) and these workflows interesting we're hiring a marketing engineer to make this pipeline even better. https://www.polleverywhere.com/jobs#marketing-engineer or reach out to me Brad at Poll Everywhere dot Com
Looks like a typo in the Marketing Engineer vacancy copy:
> You understand how HTTP cache headers, HTTP/2, and asset fingerprinting can increase speed page load times
Overall meaning is obvious, but “increase speed page load times”—probably meant either increase loading speed or decrease load times.
Are you open to fully remote, by the way? (As in, someone working with you while on the move traveling in SE Asia)
> You understand how HTTP cache headers, HTTP/2, and asset fingerprinting can increase speed page load times
Overall meaning is obvious, but “increase speed page load times”—probably meant either increase loading speed or decrease load times.
Are you open to fully remote, by the way? (As in, someone working with you while on the move traveling in SE Asia)
Thanks for pointing out the typo. I'll fix that.
Yep! We are open to remotes that distant. In fact, we have an engineer working with us from Malaysia.
Yep! We are open to remotes that distant. In fact, we have an engineer working with us from Malaysia.
That's pretty cool. What are the marketing folks using as a WebDAV client?
They way I understood him, they simply mount the WebDAV share using their regular file manager, so Explorer on Windows or Finder on Mac.
On macOS people mount the WebDAV volume as a network drive in Finder. To them it seems like just another folder.
As others point out WebDAV is also integrated into Windows Explorer.
The beauty of it is that people don't need to install additional software and almost everybody knows how to use a file system.
As others point out WebDAV is also integrated into Windows Explorer.
The beauty of it is that people don't need to install additional software and almost everybody knows how to use a file system.
I do it often for my website. The unix command is sshfs remotehost:remote_dir local_dir.
How do you do it with windows 10 ?
How do you do it with windows 10 ?
> The unix command is sshfs remotehost:remote_dir local_dir.
That's not WebDAV, but using SSH/SFTP. Requires extra software on windows (either an SFTP client, or if you want the filesystem integration specifically there is a version of sshfs for Windows)
Basic WebDAV support is integrated in Windows Explorer, and has been for ages, but there are alternative clients (both paid and free) as well.
That's not WebDAV, but using SSH/SFTP. Requires extra software on windows (either an SFTP client, or if you want the filesystem integration specifically there is a version of sshfs for Windows)
Basic WebDAV support is integrated in Windows Explorer, and has been for ages, but there are alternative clients (both paid and free) as well.
I work on this project, and it's been a big day for us - Smashing Magazine just released a preview of its new site[0], which uses Netlify CMS as the admin interface. I'm happy to answer any questions about the project.
[0]: https://next.smashingmagazine.com/2017/03/a-little-surprise-...
[0]: https://next.smashingmagazine.com/2017/03/a-little-surprise-...
Congratulations! This is exciting stuff. I enjoyed reading Smashing Mag's writeup – their new site feels fast, and seeing their integrations with GoCommerce and Algolia makes static hosting much more compelling.
Do you have plans to extend this to a “batteries included” platform? At the moment it's one piece of a puzzle; users must still choose and configure their build and deployment pipeline, which puts it out of reach for less technical users.
To make static site hosting appealing to a wider audience it feels like a click-and-go platform with themes/plugins may be a good direction to follow. I have used https://www.siteleaf.com/ in the past and been impressed with the workflow. I'd love to help contribute to an open version that appealed to a wider non-technical audience.
Do you have plans to extend this to a “batteries included” platform? At the moment it's one piece of a puzzle; users must still choose and configure their build and deployment pipeline, which puts it out of reach for less technical users.
To make static site hosting appealing to a wider audience it feels like a click-and-go platform with themes/plugins may be a good direction to follow. I have used https://www.siteleaf.com/ in the past and been impressed with the workflow. I'd love to help contribute to an open version that appealed to a wider non-technical audience.
We do really want to build a viable workflow around this stack, and get to a point where setting up a project like this is completely click-and-go - without giving up the fundamental basis of being open-source, based on open-standards and based on an open concept of the web!
Wordpress and the whole ecosystem around the LAMP stack did a great job around this and was a big player in building an open web, but the underlying tech stack is way outdated now, and the developer experience is so far off what modern front-end tooling is evolving into, so we aim to build something for a modern stack, that doesn't give up on the fundamental openness of an open-source ecosystem.
Wordpress and the whole ecosystem around the LAMP stack did a great job around this and was a big player in building an open web, but the underlying tech stack is way outdated now, and the developer experience is so far off what modern front-end tooling is evolving into, so we aim to build something for a modern stack, that doesn't give up on the fundamental openness of an open-source ecosystem.
This is so close for what I am want. However, why are you using Liquid block elements
http://spec.commonmark.org/0.26/#container-blocks-and-leaf-b...
{% section %}
::: section
http://spec.commonmark.org/0.26/#container-blocks-and-leaf-b...
There's a markdown-it plugin that implements container blocks as described:
https://github.com/markdown-it/markdown-it-container
Not an official part of the spec, but certainly something this CMS could support since you'd just parse the markdown it saves with whatever parser you choose with your static generator.
https://github.com/markdown-it/markdown-it-container
Not an official part of the spec, but certainly something this CMS could support since you'd just parse the markdown it saves with whatever parser you choose with your static generator.
I'm not sure where you're getting that `::: section` syntax from. It doesn't appear anywhere in the CommonMark spec. Container blocks in Markdown are just things like blockquotes and list items...
Look like you are correct.
I had thought the `::: section` syntax was a recommended approach (if not yet part of the formal spec).
In the past, I have used various home grown solutions to this, but recently I have been using markdown-it and the accompanying plying markdown-it-container. On the CommonMark forums, I see that the ::: syntax is a leading contender, but that CommonMark itself will not address extensions to basic markdown until after the spec reaches 1.0
https://github.com/markdown-it/markdown-it-container
I had thought the `::: section` syntax was a recommended approach (if not yet part of the formal spec).
In the past, I have used various home grown solutions to this, but recently I have been using markdown-it and the accompanying plying markdown-it-container. On the CommonMark forums, I see that the ::: syntax is a leading contender, but that CommonMark itself will not address extensions to basic markdown until after the spec reaches 1.0
https://github.com/markdown-it/markdown-it-container
Haven't had a chance to fully try this out but am curious if it's possible to take advantage of Hugo shortcodes through the CMS admin?
There's no built-in support for Hugo shortcodes that I'm aware of, but you can enter them into posts fine, as there's built-in support for arbitrary Markdown content. Depending on your use case, it might be possible to extend the editor with a new widget to do what you want, as well [0]. Feel free to start an issue at https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/ if you're interested further.
[0]: https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/blob/master/docs/exte...
[0]: https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/blob/master/docs/exte...
Very minor fix, but you might want to fix your menu links in your template to have the forward slash at the end. It's causing a 301 which adds an unnecessary few ms to your load time.
Otherwise this is a really nice CMS & first time I've seen Netlify. I'm recommending we take a look at this as a possible solution to a writer's first & headless/decoupled CMS for our company. It was very easy to add a new content type. I think our non-developers could even do it fairly easily. I also really like your affordable options for hosting, especially the free open source stuff with a custom domain name & HTTPS. I will for sure give that a test run with some stuff.
Otherwise this is a really nice CMS & first time I've seen Netlify. I'm recommending we take a look at this as a possible solution to a writer's first & headless/decoupled CMS for our company. It was very easy to add a new content type. I think our non-developers could even do it fairly easily. I also really like your affordable options for hosting, especially the free open source stuff with a custom domain name & HTTPS. I will for sure give that a test run with some stuff.
This is an excellent project, thank you so much.
Is it possible to parse and edit embeds put into the articles via custom widgets? I see in the example how to add a widget to add something to my page. But I don't see how to parse markdown to present an editing to an 'old' widget. I also see that images are non-editable (both image file and alt) once placed into the article.
Is this is a hard limitation or rather widgets are half-baked?
Is it possible to parse and edit embeds put into the articles via custom widgets? I see in the example how to add a widget to add something to my page. But I don't see how to parse markdown to present an editing to an 'old' widget. I also see that images are non-editable (both image file and alt) once placed into the article.
Is this is a hard limitation or rather widgets are half-baked?
You can definitely to parse and edit from custom widgets. Take a look at the documentation here:
https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/extending/
The "fromBlock" property is what detects the insertion from the markdown to present back the widget interface when editing.
The "fromBlock" property is what detects the insertion from the markdown to present back the widget interface when editing.
We have pretty big plans for the markdown editing component. It currently has a system of "editorComponents" that lets you define block level components that can be edited inside markdown bodies.
There's still some work ahead to make this really smooth, but the idea is to give simple ways to work with shortcodes, etc, without having to be aware of the syntax.
There's still some work ahead to make this really smooth, but the idea is to give simple ways to work with shortcodes, etc, without having to be aware of the syntax.
I planned on building something just like this for my current project, UI wise something like the Delve blog editor but for Markdown with Hugo shortcode support
Pretty interesting and this is the first time I came across the term JAMStack (a concept I always had trouble in explaining to other developers).
Rendering content blocks in server and then further enhancing them on client-side using a JSON API can be how most sites will be built in future (especially, with ServiceWorkers we would be able to create more fine-grained offline experience too).
I'm also currently working on a project on similar lines, check out the initial blog post for more details - http://www.laktek.com/2016/11/29/introducing-pragma/
Edit: also loved the idea of a kanban board for edit-review-publish process. Might steal that idea ;)
Rendering content blocks in server and then further enhancing them on client-side using a JSON API can be how most sites will be built in future (especially, with ServiceWorkers we would be able to create more fine-grained offline experience too).
I'm also currently working on a project on similar lines, check out the initial blog post for more details - http://www.laktek.com/2016/11/29/introducing-pragma/
Edit: also loved the idea of a kanban board for edit-review-publish process. Might steal that idea ;)
Consider adding your project a list of headless cms's. I am hoping to expand the category and spread the JAM.
https://headlesscms.org/
https://headlesscms.org/
I've been using Netlify for over a year to host static websites on custom domains and it's been impressive to me. Their control panel and tight git integration makes for a powerful combination. Not to mention that they also introduced a free tier for custom domains that I'm now using for some sites.
This is exciting to see them work on. I'm disappointed to see that they aren't focusing on designers though. Something like RespondCMS for Netlify hosting would be a superior combo.
This is exciting to see them work on. I'm disappointed to see that they aren't focusing on designers though. Something like RespondCMS for Netlify hosting would be a superior combo.
If I follow instructions in the "Try it out"[1] link and click on "Connect to github" I end up having to giving r/w access to ALL of my github repositories.
Also, reading the Step by Step guide[2] I'd end up giving r/w access to my public keys as well.
Now, I just wake up and maybe I missed something but documentation should make it clearer that you either have to create a dedicated github account, or how to manage permission in a more granular fashion.
[1] https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/test-drive/
[2] https://www.netlify.com/blog/2016/10/27/a-step-by-step-guide...
Also, reading the Step by Step guide[2] I'd end up giving r/w access to my public keys as well.
Now, I just wake up and maybe I missed something but documentation should make it clearer that you either have to create a dedicated github account, or how to manage permission in a more granular fashion.
[1] https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/test-drive/
[2] https://www.netlify.com/blog/2016/10/27/a-step-by-step-guide...
Unfortunately, GitHub's API does not provide per-repo permissions, so in order to read/write to any repo, the CMS has to get permission to read/write to all of them. This is a fundamental limitation of the GitHub API [0] - we'd love to be able to request more fine-grained permissions. This is a pretty frequent complaint about any application built with GitHub's API.
The r/w access to public keys is specific to setting up continuous deployment from a GitHub repo to Netlify's static hosting service. You can read more about why Netlify requests those permissions for continuous deployment here: https://www.netlify.com/docs/github-permissions/.
While Netlify's continuous deployment is (obviously) the deployment strategy we recommend, you can use the CMS for any static site, as it's totally build/deploy agnostic. You can use the CMS to edit your content and then build that content with Hugo and host on a VPS if you wish. You can also use Netlify to host your content without continuous deployment - it supports updating content with both an in-browser interface and a REST API [1].
The CMS is entirely open source, so you're free to inspect or fork the code - you can find the repository at https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/
[0]: https://developer.github.com/v3/oauth/#scopes
[1]: https://www.netlify.com/docs/api/
The r/w access to public keys is specific to setting up continuous deployment from a GitHub repo to Netlify's static hosting service. You can read more about why Netlify requests those permissions for continuous deployment here: https://www.netlify.com/docs/github-permissions/.
While Netlify's continuous deployment is (obviously) the deployment strategy we recommend, you can use the CMS for any static site, as it's totally build/deploy agnostic. You can use the CMS to edit your content and then build that content with Hugo and host on a VPS if you wish. You can also use Netlify to host your content without continuous deployment - it supports updating content with both an in-browser interface and a REST API [1].
The CMS is entirely open source, so you're free to inspect or fork the code - you can find the repository at https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/
[0]: https://developer.github.com/v3/oauth/#scopes
[1]: https://www.netlify.com/docs/api/
I have another question based on the instructions. Why does a Netlify user have to create an oAuth application of their own?
> … in order to use the CMS, you’ll need to set up authentication with GitHub.
That's the opposite of how oAuth is typically used and I notice that at this point in the process the user has already gone through an oAuth flow when they clicked "Sign in with Github".
> … in order to use the CMS, you’ll need to set up authentication with GitHub.
That's the opposite of how oAuth is typically used and I notice that at this point in the process the user has already gone through an oAuth flow when they clicked "Sign in with Github".
What about supporting github read/write deploy keys? Those can be generated with permissions for a single repo, no?
That was my first thought, too. Why not do it that way?
I'm no Github expert however, I have contributed to other repos without having write access. Could the software fork a repo and submit a PR rather than giving it write access?
I guess I answered my own question. A person could fork a repo and give write access to the fork, preserving their initial copy.
I guess I answered my own question. A person could fork a repo and give write access to the fork, preserving their initial copy.
So the best you can really do in terms of not giving access to all your other projects is to create a new GitHub user just for your site?
Looks very cool. Does this only work with Github?
Unfortunately that renders it pretty much useless for me (and probably other non-Github users) if so.
Unfortunately that renders it pretty much useless for me (and probably other non-Github users) if so.
Unfortunately GitHub is the only backend we've implemented so far. However, we are planning to support multiple backends, and the CMS is already architectured to do so.
There is an open issue, if you have any insight in providing other APIs backend https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/issues/57
How does this compare to Contentful? I've been trying to combine their headless CMS with Middleman but it hasn't been that easy to use, although the experience I'm trying to create is non-standard (imagine a normal blog post but with cards inserted throughout). Plus, the cheapest paid plan is $249/month which is really hefty when compared to the competition. Their free tier does give you a good amount of features though and their admin UI is the best.
I was planning to deploy my site onto Netlify once done. Wondering if maybe your CMS is a better alternative to Contentful and I should just combine services.
I was planning to deploy my site onto Netlify once done. Wondering if maybe your CMS is a better alternative to Contentful and I should just combine services.
Contentful is nice and since it's been around longer, it's a bit more baked. However, there's an amazing feature of static sites that are based off of local content (markdown and yaml files, for example): every aspect of your site can live in git.
Treating the content like code offers the advantage of being able to easily roll back a website to any one point in time, and I think it generally makes collaboration between designers, coders, and content editors easier.
When developing, it's really nice to just create a new branch and work on the content and design all at the same time.
The aim of this CMS is to hopefully offer the content editing experience of Contentful without requiring an external dependency, while also keeping all aspects of your site tightly integrated with your git workflow.
Treating the content like code offers the advantage of being able to easily roll back a website to any one point in time, and I think it generally makes collaboration between designers, coders, and content editors easier.
When developing, it's really nice to just create a new branch and work on the content and design all at the same time.
The aim of this CMS is to hopefully offer the content editing experience of Contentful without requiring an external dependency, while also keeping all aspects of your site tightly integrated with your git workflow.
But the whole point of me using Contentful is that a non-developer will have an easy time editing content within Contentful vs. having to set up a local way of accessing those markdown/yml files through a git repo. Or do you somehow abstract that away?
Yeah, that would be nice to know, because that is one of the reasons I use Contentful at the moment. The source is on github and triggers Travis if I push changes, which in turn get's the content from Contentful, builds the static site with metalsmith and uploads the site through FTP. Or if the non-developer makes changes on Contentful this triggers Travis as well etc.
Works quite nice so far (especially since I didn't need to explain how to optimize the images) but would prefer a open source solution.
Works quite nice so far (especially since I didn't need to explain how to optimize the images) but would prefer a open source solution.
Late reply, but content authors only need to create a GitHub account for this cms. They don't need to run git or anything else locally.
Have you seen Contentful's webinar about lookbooks? Sounds like it could help: https://www.contentful.com/blog/2015/09/10/creating-a-digita...
This does look useful, thank you!
Thanks for citing DatoCMS, Netlify, appreciate it :)
Really love what these guys are trying to build: critical mass over static websites. That's what we need.
Really love what these guys are trying to build: critical mass over static websites. That's what we need.
+1 for DatoCMS! For simple use cases it works great and combined with Netlify makes for a great way to deploy simple static sites. Although I must say I'm pretty excited about Netlify CMS :)
Thank you michael :)
sorry, what exactly does this? Assuming one is looking for a CMS, the description on the frontpage does not tell me anything. How does it compare to other CMSes? After "Find out more" I know now that it does something with Github, but what exactly? (Also I now know that it has something to do with a JAMstack, whatever that might be.)
I am looking around for a smallish CMS, but I got no idea from the introductory pages on whether or not netlify could help me
I am looking around for a smallish CMS, but I got no idea from the introductory pages on whether or not netlify could help me
> sorry, what exactly does this?
It's a CMS that works on static sites. Currently it primarily supports GitHub repos for storage, but the plan is to support other alternatives (it already supports pluggable backends, but the GitHub backend is the only one with significant support at this point).
> How does it compare to other CMSes?
- It doesn't require a database - it works on static files.
- It doesn't handle building or serving websites - just editing their content.
- It has a built-in editorial workflow, which allows you to manage publishing and reviewing entries in a sophisticated manner (it uses Git repositories to do this, currently through the GitHub API), where "publishing" means pushing to a specific branch - you're free to build and deploy your website with any tooling you want.
- It supports arbitrary content types and build tools, by allowing you to describe your content in a config file.
- It is itself usable as a simple set of static files - its entire functionality is implemented as a JS application, so there's no server support required to host it beyond serving files. You can also use it as an npm module for more complex workflows (such as adding custom extensions to the CMS).
> After "Find out more" I know now that it does something with Github, but what exactly?
The current primary backend for Netlify CMS is the GitHub API. This means that it allows you to store your files in a GitHub repo, connect Netlify CMS to it, and it will use that repo to store your changes. A build system could then pull that repo to deploy your site. The CMS itself is entirely build and deploy agnostic.
It's a CMS that works on static sites. Currently it primarily supports GitHub repos for storage, but the plan is to support other alternatives (it already supports pluggable backends, but the GitHub backend is the only one with significant support at this point).
> How does it compare to other CMSes?
- It doesn't require a database - it works on static files.
- It doesn't handle building or serving websites - just editing their content.
- It has a built-in editorial workflow, which allows you to manage publishing and reviewing entries in a sophisticated manner (it uses Git repositories to do this, currently through the GitHub API), where "publishing" means pushing to a specific branch - you're free to build and deploy your website with any tooling you want.
- It supports arbitrary content types and build tools, by allowing you to describe your content in a config file.
- It is itself usable as a simple set of static files - its entire functionality is implemented as a JS application, so there's no server support required to host it beyond serving files. You can also use it as an npm module for more complex workflows (such as adding custom extensions to the CMS).
> After "Find out more" I know now that it does something with Github, but what exactly?
The current primary backend for Netlify CMS is the GitHub API. This means that it allows you to store your files in a GitHub repo, connect Netlify CMS to it, and it will use that repo to store your changes. A build system could then pull that repo to deploy your site. The CMS itself is entirely build and deploy agnostic.
I wish people would actually use open protocols instead of private APIs, at least in cases where both seem to be available.
As far as I can see, the only feature this needs that only github provides is pull requests – omitting those would still leave you with a useful CMS, and the information could also be communicated in, for example, branch names. That way, you could conceivably use any client you want to work on the repo.
So instead of implementing Gitlab next, why not make it work with git?
This situation reminds me of email clients and libraries, many of whom now use private APIs of a bunch of providers instead of SMTL and IMAP.
As far as I can see, the only feature this needs that only github provides is pull requests – omitting those would still leave you with a useful CMS, and the information could also be communicated in, for example, branch names. That way, you could conceivably use any client you want to work on the repo.
So instead of implementing Gitlab next, why not make it work with git?
This situation reminds me of email clients and libraries, many of whom now use private APIs of a bunch of providers instead of SMTL and IMAP.
I work at buttercms.com and we are huge fans of Netlify and how easy they've made hosting static websites and SPAs. This CMS looks awesome and it is clever how it hooks into Github.
I'm looking to create a back office for a consultancy company. Typical data like clients, users, billing, etc. It seems like Netlify CMS would allow me to create custom collections and data types correct? So instead of pages and posts, I'd could have clients, users, invoices, etc.
Yes - the CMS allows you to specify custom content types using the config (example at [0]), which can have a variety of fields. There's a variety of built-in fields, and you can create your own as well [1].
That said, the focus of the CMS team is mostly on online publishing right now - we're trying to make editing static sites accessible enough for everyday users and featureful enough for large publications. I'd love to hear more about your use case and what you were thinking about using Netlify CMS for - you can reply here, raise an issue at https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/, or contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to speak privately.
[0]: https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/blob/master/example/c...
[1]: https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/blob/master/docs/exte...
That said, the focus of the CMS team is mostly on online publishing right now - we're trying to make editing static sites accessible enough for everyday users and featureful enough for large publications. I'd love to hear more about your use case and what you were thinking about using Netlify CMS for - you can reply here, raise an issue at https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/, or contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to speak privately.
[0]: https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/blob/master/example/c...
[1]: https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/blob/master/docs/exte...
I was literally gearing up to build something almost exactly like this this week as my own hackathon project. I needed a blog and I don't wanna do static site generation on command line. I may still do it, but dang, way to take the wind out of my sails. :P
Seems like a neat idea, I have not yet found a good example of the output that this generates on github.
I've used prismic.io and other such systems in the past, all wonderful. I'm glad to see this is evolving in other ways.
I've used prismic.io and other such systems in the past, all wonderful. I'm glad to see this is evolving in other ways.
The output is very flexible - you can define entry types as collections of "widgets", which would include stuff like a title, a cover image, a markdown body, etc. It's designed so you can use it as a CMS for almost any static site generator by defining how your data looks in the config - see https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/blob/master/example/c... for an example config (this is a configuration for the in-memory, non-persistent backend which we use for testing and demonstration).
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Minor nitpick on the screencast; when clicking save, it took 4-6 seconds for it to complete and then load another page? That's not the best way to show of your CMS and instantly makes me fear what will happen if I have a lot of content in there.
Netlify CMS is a single-page app, so the delay you're seeing is the wait for an external API to respond that the entry has saved succesfully - you wouldn't want to leave the page only to find out that your changes weren't saved. When using the in-memory backend (which doesn't persist changes), saving happens with no such delay. Since the delay is almost entirely from the network and external API, it shouldn't get worse with lots of files unless the external API takes longer to respond. Our current primary backend is the GitHub API, which handles lots of files without much change in response time in my experience.
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Surprised in all this that no one has mentioned www.cloudcannon.com - works with Jekyll and allows our marketing group to make live edits on the website while maintaining the whole thing on Github.
When CMS is not Conversational Monitor System...
Great idea, definitely going to try it out
So this does not work with gitlab, right?
Not yet - there's an issue [0] for that in the GitHub repository [1].
[0]: https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/issues/57
[1]: https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms
[0]: https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms/issues/57
[1]: https://github.com/netlify/netlify-cms
How does user management work?
If the marketing team wants to edit something, they mount the content drive, make changes using their text editor of choice, and are able to preview when they hit Save.
After they make a bunch of changes and add whatever media an engineer copies the changes off of the drive into a commit and deploys to production.
So far it's been working pretty well. The marketing and CS team are all able to edit markdown copy and run it easier through their content editing processes since it's just files. They don't need to learn or care about git. Designers can throw images in the volume without thinking too much about it.
Engineering is happy because they control their git history and commits. When it's time to optimize PNGs, compress assets, etc. the engineer can deal with and deploy to product with confidence.
We also run rspecs against every single page of content to enforce SEO, branding, etc.
Happy to answer questions or write something more detailed about it if others are interested.