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Last Updated: 07-22-2026 08:29 PM (UTC)

Grav

No database anywhere in the stack: Grav, the leading flat-file CMS, builds every page from a folder of Markdown and YAML on PHP, Symfony components, Twig templating, and Doctrine caching. That architecture is the whole argument: content is Git-versionable, rsync-able, and lock-in-free; pages render in well under 100ms without database round-trips; and backup means copying a directory. Content authors write Markdown (or plain HTML), configure with readable YAML, and define custom page structures via blueprint files that generate editing forms automatically. The optional Admin panel adds a polished editing layer: dashboard with site activity, page management with a syntax-highlighted editor and live preview, drag-and-drop media uploads, one-click plugin/theme updates, and normal/expert modes for form-based or raw YAML editing. The ecosystem runs deep - hundreds of open-source plugins and themes installed through the GPM package manager, with an event-hook architecture that gives plugins full control over the request lifecycle, and downloadable skeletons providing entire pre-built sites. Grav 2.0 modernizes the stack (PHP 8.3+, Symfony 7, Twig 3) and adds a first-party REST API, an MCP server for AI agents, and a SvelteKit single-page admin with real-time collaborative editing. Ideal for docs, blogs, and marketing sites. MIT-licensed.

Grav
Grav

Benefits

  • No Database, No Problem
  • Content is folders of Markdown and YAML - Git-version it, rsync it, back it up with a copy.
  • Fast by Architecture
  • Flat files plus Doctrine caching render pages in under 100ms without database round-trips.
  • Writers Write Markdown
  • Clean authoring in Markdown with YAML frontmatter, or the admin panel's live-preview editor.
  • Extensible to the Core
  • Hundreds of GPM plugins and themes hook into an event architecture with full request control.

Features

  • Flat-File Content
  • Pages as Markdown files in folders with YAML configuration throughout.
  • Twig Templating
  • Full-control themes with extra Grav filters and access to plugin event hooks.
  • Admin Panel
  • Dashboard, page editor with preview, drag-and-drop media, and one-click updates.
  • YAML Blueprints
  • Custom page structures that auto-generate admin editing forms.
  • GPM Package Manager
  • Install and update plugins, themes, and Grav itself from CLI or admin.
  • Grav 2.0 Platform
  • First-party REST API, MCP server for AI agents, and a SvelteKit collaborative admin.