Introduction
Substrukt is a schema-driven CMS built in Rust.
Why Substrukt
Most CMS options fall into two camps: heavy database-backed systems that require significant infrastructure, or headless CMSes locked behind SaaS platforms. Substrukt takes a different approach:
- Schema-first: Content types are defined as JSON Schema. The UI, validation, and API are all generated from the schema at runtime. No code changes needed to add a new content type.
- Files on disk: Content lives as JSON files in a directory. You can read them, version them in git, or sync them between environments with a tar.gz bundle. SQLite is only used for infrastructure (users, sessions, API tokens).
- Single binary: One Rust binary handles everything -- the web UI, REST API, file storage, and background jobs. No external services required beyond the filesystem.
- Minimal frontend: The UI is server-rendered with htmx for interactivity and twind for styling. No build step, no node_modules, no bundler.
What it does
- You create schemas that describe your content types (blog posts, settings, pages, etc.)
- The CMS generates forms from those schemas for editing content through the web UI
- Content is saved as JSON files on disk and cached in memory for fast reads
- A REST API serves the content to your frontend, static site generator, or mobile app
- Import/export bundles let you sync content between local and production environments
- Deployments trigger webhooks to rebuild your frontend when content changes
Core concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Schema | A JSON Schema document with an x-substrukt extension that defines a content type |
| Content entry | A JSON object conforming to a schema, stored as a file on disk |
| Upload | A file (image, document, etc.) stored with content-addressed deduplication |
| App | An isolated content space with its own schemas, content, uploads, and deployments |
| Bundle | A tar.gz archive containing all schemas, content, and uploads for syncing |
| API token | A bearer token for authenticating API requests, scoped to a specific app |
| Deployment | A webhook target that fires when content changes, configured per app |