AVA
A fast, flexible, file-based CMS for building websites your way.
Markdown & HTML
Write Markdown or HTML in your favourite text editor. Your content stays readable, portable, and yours.
Instant feedback
No manual build steps, no deploy queues. Edit a file and see changes immediately with auto-indexing.
Design freedom
Build your way with whatever HTML, CSS and JavaScript you like. No heavy frameworks to fight here.
Model anything
Complete control. Define projects, events, recipes, products and more with custom content types.
Dynamic features
Get the speed of a static site with the power of PHP. Search, sort and filter out of the box.
Dev-friendly
Extend with plugins, shortcodes, hooks, and a robust CLI. Use the tools you already know and love.
Scale seamlessly
Seamlessly switch to tailored high-performance backend if your site grows massive.
Blazing fast
Dual cache layers and optimized code paths out of the box ensures your site loads in the blink of an eye.
Requires PHP 8.3+ | GPLv3 license
--- title: Hello World date: 2026-01-15 tags: [web, cms] summary: Launch notes and quick tips meta_title: Hello World | Ava CMS meta_description: Launch notes and quick tips for getting started with Ava CMS. featured: true hero_image: /media/hero.webp --- # Getting Started Write in Markdown and sprinkle in <strong>HTML</strong> when you need it. [highlight color="#ffeeba"] Tip: Custom fields are validated by the linter. [/highlight] - Easy to edit - Version control ready - No database needed
Publish in Markdown or HTML
Write content in Markdown or HTML using any editor you’re comfortable with, or the optional admin when it’s convenient. Everything is stored as readable files you can open, version, and move around freely.
Frontmatter keeps metadata clear and predictable, while custom fields add structure and validation where you want it. SEO features are baked in with frontmatter metadata, schema and OpenGraph features to control search snippets and social previews. Shortcodes help you reuse common patterns without cluttering your content.
Learn about content →app/ ├── content/ └── themes/ └── starter/ ├── theme.php ├── templates/ │ ├── home.php │ ├── page.php │ ├── post.php │ ├── archive.php │ └── partials/ │ ├── head.php │ ├── header.php │ └── footer.php └── assets/ ├── css/ └── js/
Easy theming
Ava doesn’t introduce a new templating mindset to learn. Themes use a simple, familiar hierarchy, with layouts built from partials and plain PHP templates.
You write your own HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, just as you would on any bespoke site. Behaviour can be extended with hooks and plugins, without pulling in a framework or fighting opinions you didn’t choose.
Learn about theming →▄▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ██▀██ ██▄██ ██▀██ ██▀▀▀ ██▀▄▀██ ███▄▄ ██▀██ ▀█▀ ██▀██ ▀████ ██ ██ ▄▄██▀ v1.0.0 ─── Usage ───────────────────────────────────────────── ./ava <command> [options] ─── Site Management ─────────────────────────────────── status Show site health and overview rebuild Rebuild the content index lint Validate all content files ─── Content ─────────────────────────────────────────── make <type> "Title" Create new content prefix <add|remove> [type] Toggle date prefixes ─── Webpage Cache ───────────────────────────────────── cache:stats (or cache) View cache statistics cache:clear [pattern] Clear cached webpages ─── Examples ────────────────────────────────────────── ./ava status ./ava make post "Hello World" ./ava lint
Your site, your way
Use the admin for quick edits, previews, media uploads, and system diagnostics — or manage everything directly through folders and configuration files. Ava stays out of the way either way.
If you prefer the terminal, the CLI handles content creation, linting, indexing, and cache management in seconds, making it easy to keep things tidy and fast as your site grows.
Explore admin → CLI reference →