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Last Updated: 08-23-2026 06:27 AM (UTC)

Halo

Halo is a modern CMS that handles blogs, knowledge bases, corporate sites, and full e-commerce storefronts from a single installation, distinguished by a polyglot plugin architecture that runs both Java and JavaScript extensions on a GraalVM runtime. Built on Spring Boot 3 with a Vue.js admin console, the platform delivers a clean content management experience with Markdown and rich-text editing, live preview, scheduled publishing, draft management, media uploads, and granular multi-user role-based access controls. Plugins can be enabled or disabled at runtime without restarting the server, and the official marketplace offers over 100 free themes plus a growing library of extensions covering SEO optimization, search integration, paid content access, AI writing assistance, and Q&A chatbots. Storage backends are configurable through plugins, supporting local disk, S3-compatible object storage, and other providers. The fully documented RESTful API enables headless CMS usage for decoupled frontend architectures. Database support includes embedded H2 for quick starts, with production deployments on PostgreSQL or MySQL. Nearly 40,000 GitHub stars and over 2.5 million Docker pulls reflect the project's maturity and active development pace. A single Docker command gets a functional instance running on port 8090. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. GPL-3.0 licensed.

Halo
Halo
Halo
Halo
Halo

Benefits

  • Polyglot Plugin Architecture
  • Write extensions in Java or JavaScript using the GraalVM-powered plugin runtime, enabling both backend and frontend developers to extend functionality without learning a new language stack.
  • Rich Theme Marketplace
  • Choose from over 100 free community themes with live preview, per-theme configuration options, and multi-language support, enabling complete visual customization without modifying the CMS core.
  • Live Plugin Hot-Reload
  • Enable or disable plugins at runtime without server restarts, allowing administrators to add SEO tools, search engines, storage backends, and authentication methods on-the-fly in production.
  • Effortless Docker Deployment
  • Launch a fully functional instance with a single Docker command on port 8090, with production support for PostgreSQL, MySQL, and embedded H2 databases requiring minimal configuration overhead.

Features

  • Content Management
  • Rich text and Markdown editing with live preview, scheduled publishing, draft management, media uploads, and granular role-based access controls for multi-user teams.
  • Headless CMS API
  • Fully documented RESTful API with OpenAPI specifications covering Console, Extension, Public, and User domains for decoupled frontend architectures.
  • Plugin Ecosystem
  • Official marketplace with plugins for SEO optimization, full-text search, S3-compatible storage, paid content gating, AI writing assistants, and Q&A chatbots.
  • Multi-Site Support
  • Build blogs, knowledge bases, corporate websites, and online storefronts from a single Halo installation using configurable themes and modular plugin combinations.
  • Enterprise Features
  • LDAP integration, mobile app management, AI-assisted site generation, and integrated e-commerce with payment gateway support available through professional and commerce editions.