Open Source · PHP / Symfony

The static site generator that
gets out of your way.

Write Markdown. Define structure in YAML. Run one command. Get pure static HTML — no database, no runtime, no surprises.

Get Started GitHub
0
Database tables
100%
Static output
AI
Friendly structure
What is notACMS?

A CMS that stores
nothing at runtime.

notACMS is a PHP/Symfony static site generator built for developers who want full control. Your content lives in Markdown + YAML files. Your templates are Twig. Your output is pure HTML.

No database migrations. No plugin conflicts. No CMS lock-in. Just a build step that turns your local/content/ directory into a complete static site.

Designed for AI-friendly workflows — flat files are trivial to read, search, and generate with LLMs.

0
Database dependency
Content lives in flat Markdown + YAML files. No ORM, no migrations.
1
Build command
./notACMS deploy outputs your complete site to public/static/.
∞
Locales supported
Add any language with a line in _site.yaml. Content co-located per locale.
Apache 2.0
Licensed
Fork it, extend it, make it yours. No vendor lock-in.
Features

Everything you need.
Nothing you don't.

Built on Symfony 7.4 and PHP 8.5. Familiar tools, minimal magic.

Markdown + YAML
Write content in Markdown with YAML frontmatter. CommonMark with headings, tables, callouts.
Multilingual
First-class i18n. Content co-located per locale. URL overrides per language. hreflang out of the box.
Full-text Search
Pagefind integration. Static, zero-server-cost search indexed at build time. No external API.
PHP / Symfony Core
Full Symfony DI, console commands, Twig templates, SCSS via AssetMapper. PHP devs feel at home.
How it Works

Three steps from
idea to live site.

1
Write content
Create Markdown files in local/content/ with YAML frontmatter. Add pages, posts, and locales as needed.
2
Build
Run ./notACMS deploy --prod. notACMS compiles SCSS, processes images, renders Twig templates, and generates all static HTML.
3
Deploy anywhere
Upload public/ to any web server, CDN, or static host. No PHP runtime required — unless you use live mode.
# clone and start
$ git clone https://github.com/holas1337/notACMS
$ ddev start
 
# write your first page
$ mkdir -p local/content/pages/about
$ echo "---\ntitle: About\n---\n# Hello" > local/content/pages/about/en.md
 
# build and deploy
$ ./notACMS deploy --prod
✓ Cleared cache
✓ Compiled assets
✓ Generated 12 pages
✓ Built search index
✓ Done in 2.4s

This site is built with notACMS.

A living proof-of-concept: the product documents and markets itself using exactly the tools it provides.
View source on GitHub
Releases

Latest release

All releases
releases Apr 24, 2026 release announcement

notACMS 1.1.0 — Bare core, demo theme, pick your own

Two themes, one pick on first build The headline change in 1.1.0 is that notACMS now ships two themes out of the box, and you pick one on your very first build: ./notACMS deploy --demo # default — the…

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Start building today.

Clone the repo, add your content, run one command. Your site is live.

Read the Manual GitHub