Introduction
A flat-file PHP CMS. No database. No bloat. Just fast.
Live Demo · Download Themes · Download Plugins · Documentation · Changelog · Report a Bug
What is SynaptikCMS?
SynaptikCMS is a flat-file content management system built in PHP. Content is stored as individual JSON files — no database engine, no configuration overhead, no moving parts.
It was built for developers, designers, artists and creative professionals, writers, bloggers, or anyone who want a CMS that is fast by default, easy to deploy anywhere, and simple enough to theme from scratch without fighting a framework.
Installed footprint: ~2MB. Zero runtime dependencies beyond PHP.
Why SynaptikCMS?
| SynaptikCMS | WordPress | Grav | Kirby | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Database required | ✗ | MySQL | ✗ | ✗ |
| Admin panel included | ✓ | ✓ | Plugin | ✓ |
| WYSIWYG + Markdown | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Theme system | ✓ hooks/filters | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Built-in i18n | ✓ EN/FR/ES | Plugin | ✓ | ✓ |
| Image optimization | ✓ built-in | Plugin | Plugin | Plugin |
| License | MIT free | GPL free | MIT free | Paid |
| Install time | ~2 min | ~10 min | ~5 min | ~5 min |
SynaptikCMS is not trying to replace WordPress at scale. It is the right tool when you want a real admin panel with no database — for portfolios, documentation sites, small business sites, or any project where simplicity and load speed matter.
Features
Content
- 3 content types — Articles, Pages, Projects (Portfolio)
- WYSIWYG and Markdown editors — switch per post, content preserved
- Draft system — autosave at user-defined intervals, one-click publish
- Scheduled publication — set a future date, CMS publishes automatically
- Categories and Tags — hierarchical categories (up to 3 levels), tag management, merge and purge orphans
- Custom Fields — define extra fields per content type, use them in your theme
- Related Content — manual selection or automatic suggestions based on shared tags and categories
- Image Galleries — one or more galleries per post, 4 layouts: grid, masonry, justified, carousel
- Shortcodes —
[toc],[gallery],[callout],[quote],[button],[recent_articles],[recent_projects],[articles_by_tag],[contact_form]
Admin Panel
- Media Manager — upload, browse, rename, move with drag and drop, batch compression
- Menu Builder — drag and drop custom navigation, nested items, external links
- Template Editor — live-edit your active theme files with automatic backup before each save
- SEO Overview — audit meta titles, descriptions and keywords across all content in one view
- Alt Text Assistant — bulk-edit alt text and captions for gallery images
- Sitemap Generator — one-click XML sitemap, submit URL shown inline
- Backup and Restore — full ZIP backup of
/data/,/files/and settings; restore in one click - Automatic Updates — update notification in dashboard, one-click update with automatic safety backup
- Translation Editor — add or edit translations with the built-in editor (both for back-end and front-end), or simply customize the text strings displayed on your site
Themes
- Hook and filter system for theme developers
- Partials for article and project cards
- Live theme preview without activating
- Theme upload via ZIP with validation
- Theme manager with activate and delete
- Ships with default theme:
Mono. - Themes can be downloaded at https://synaptikcms.com/themes/.
Plugins
- Self-contained extensions under
/plugins/— own routing, data storage, and admin screens, with zero core file edits required - Plugin pages render inside the real admin panel (sidebar entry, standard layout) once activated
- Install by uploading a
.zipfrom Admin → Tools → Extensions, activate and deactivate with one click - Activation state tracked separately from installation — deactivating a plugin preserves its data
- Full plugin developer documentation at https://synaptikcms.com/docs/tools/plugin-system/
- Plugins can be downloaded at https://synaptikcms.com/plugins/.
SEO and Performance
- Meta title, description, keywords per content item
- Open Graph and Twitter Card tags
- JSON-LD schema markup
- Canonical URLs
- RSS feed auto-injected in
<head> - Per-request cache for settings and content indexes
- Split-file architecture — single item pages load exactly one JSON file
Internationalisation
- Front-end and admin panel fully localised
- Ships with English, French, Spanish
- Add a new language by dropping a JSON file in
/lang/or by using the built-in translation editor