Getting Started

A code-first CMS for Astro. Define collections in TypeScript and get a generated admin UI and typed content API.

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Quick start

pnpx create-kide-app

It then asks how you want the CMS runtime:

Package or Embedded?

Package - recommended for most projects. The runtime is an @kidecms/core dependency, so most updates are just a version bump. If you outgrow it, pnpm exec kide eject converts the project to embedded in place.

Embedded - gives you full control. The CMS source scaffolds into src/cms/ as part of your project, so you can read, modify, and audit it directly, with no plugin API in the way. Upgrades arrive as patches you review and apply.

Both modes share the same runtime, API, and admin UI. The difference is where the runtime lives and how updates arrive.

Commands

Command	What it does
pnpm dev	Start dev server (auto-generates schema, pushes to DB)
pnpm build	Production build
pnpm check	astro check + Cloudflare TS profile + eslint
pnpm test	Run the test suite (vitest)
pnpm format	Format with Prettier
pnpm cms:generate	Regenerate .generated/ from cms.config.ts
pnpm cms:push	Sync the local SQLite DB to the generated schema (--recreate=<slugs>, --allow-data-loss)
pnpm cms:admin	Create an admin user from the CLI
pnpm cms:seed	Load src/cms/seed.ts into the database
pnpm cms:reindex	Rebuild the full-text search index (see Search)
pnpm cms:describe	Write .kide/model.json + MODEL.md, the content-model manifest (see Migrations)
pnpm cms:mcp	Start the local MCP server for AI-assisted editing
pnpm cms:upgrade	Embedded projects: upgrade to a newer release (see Updates)
pnpm cms:restore	Embedded projects: roll back a failed upgrade from its backup
pnpm exec kide eject	Package projects: convert to embedded mode (one-way)
pnpm db:generate	Generate migration SQL from schema changes (D1)

Every cms:* script runs the kide bin (pnpm cms:push is kide push), which works the same in package and embedded mode.

In dev mode, schema changes are pushed to the DB automatically. On the Node target, cms:push is the same sync used in deploys; migration files are for Cloudflare D1 only.

Project structure

src/cms/
  cms.config.ts           # CMS config (locales, admin, collection imports)
  collections/            # One file per collection (schema, access rules)
  adapters/               # db / email / storage adapters (project-owned)
  fields/                 # Custom admin field components (optional)
  migrations/             # Drizzle SQL migrations (Cloudflare D1 only)
  seed.ts                 # Seed content for `pnpm cms:seed` (optional)
  runtime.ts              # Wires adapters into the core runtime
  .generated/             # Auto-generated (don't edit)
    schema.ts             # Drizzle tables
    types.ts              # TypeScript interfaces
    validators.ts         # Zod schemas
    api.ts                # Typed API
  core/, admin/, routes/  # CMS runtime (embedded mode only — in package
  middleware/, platform/  # mode these ship inside @kidecms/core)
  client/, internals/

What each project-owned file is for, and the full cms.config.ts shape, is in Configuration.

Environment variables

None are needed for local development. Email, AI features, and production settings are configured through environment variables listed in Deploy.

Stack

Astro 7, React 19, Drizzle ORM, SQLite (local) / D1 (Cloudflare), Zod, Tiptap, shadcn/ui, Tailwind CSS v4