Quickstart

Get CatCMS running in under 60 seconds and create your first content-driven application. [object Object]

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

Node.js (version 18 or higher)
npm or pnpm
Git

For production deployment, you’ll also need a Cloudflare account with access to Workers, D1, KV, and R2.

Quick Start

Create a new CatCMS application with a single command. The setup is fully automated and takes less than 60 seconds:

# Create a new CatCMS application
npx create-catcms my-app

# Navigate to your project
cd my-app

# Start development server
npm run dev

# Your CMS is now running at http://localhost:8787

One-Command Setup

The create-catcms command automatically:

✅ Creates a new project directory
✅ Installs all dependencies
✅ Sets up the database schema
✅ Configures Cloudflare Workers
✅ Creates the admin user
✅ Runs initial migrations

Your CatCMS instance will be available at http://localhost:8787

Access the admin dashboard at http://localhost:8787/admin

First Steps

Access the Admin Dashboard

Navigate to http://localhost:8787/admin and log in with the default credentials.

The admin interface provides:

System Overview - Real-time health checks and activity feed
Content Management - Create, edit, and publish content
Media Library - Upload and manage media files
Plugin Management - Install and configure plugins
User Management - Manage users, roles, and permissions

Create Your First Content

Via Admin UI:

Navigate to Content → New Content
Select a collection (e.g., “Blog Posts”)
Fill in the fields and click Save

Via API:

# Get auth token
curl -X POST http://localhost:8787/auth/login \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email":"admin@catcms.app","password":"admin123"}'

# Create content
curl -X POST http://localhost:8787/admin/content \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "collection": "blog_posts",
    "title": "My First Post",
    "data": {
      "slug": "my-first-post",
      "content": "<p>Hello World!</p>",
      "status": "published"
    }
  }'

// Get auth token
const authResponse = await fetch('http://localhost:8787/auth/login', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    email: 'admin@catcms.app',
    password: 'admin123',
  }),
})
const { token } = await authResponse.json()

// Create content
const response = await fetch('http://localhost:8787/admin/content', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    collection: 'blog_posts',
    title: 'My First Post',
    data: {
      slug: 'my-first-post',
      content: '<p>Hello World!</p>',
      status: 'published',
    },
  }),
})

Create Content

Fetch Content via API

# Get all content
curl http://localhost:8787/api/content

# Get content by collection
curl http://localhost:8787/api/collections/blog_posts/content

# Get single content item
curl http://localhost:8787/api/content/:id

// Get all content
const response = await fetch('http://localhost:8787/api/content')
const data = await response.json()

// Get content by collection
const posts = await fetch('http://localhost:8787/api/collections/blog_posts/content')
const blogPosts = await posts.json()

Fetch Content

Next Steps

Now that you have CatCMS running, explore these guides:

Define custom collections

Learn about the architecture

Explore the API reference

Deploy to production