Get up and running in minutes — whether you’re a Developer installing the system, an Administrator configuring permissions, or a Content Creator building your first site.

💡 Default: SQLite (zero-config, in-process, sub-millisecond). No Docker, no external database needed. Upgrade to PostgreSQL/MongoDB/MariaDB when you need multi-instance scale.

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👥 Choose Your Path

• 🛠️ Installation — For developers and DevOps
• 🎨 First Steps — For administrators and content editors
• 📚 Workflow Templates — Blog, e-commerce, multi-language

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1. Installation (For Developers)

SveltyCMS features a Self-Healing Setup Wizard that automates database configuration and environment setup.

Quick Install

Option A: Scaffolding CLI (recommended)

npx create-sveltycms@latest my-cms
cd my-cms
bun run dev

Templates: website, blog, agency, saas, corporate, ecommerce · Databases: sqlite (default), postgresql, mariadb, mongodb

Option B: Clone from GitHub

git clone https://github.com/SveltyCMS/SveltyCMS.git
cd SveltyCMS
bun install
bun run dev

Navigate to http://localhost:5173. The system detects the absence of config/private.ts and launches the self-healing Setup Wizard.

Step	What Happens
1. Choose Database	SQLite (default, fastest for local dev), PostgreSQL, MariaDB, or MongoDB
2. Test Connection	Auto-installs required drivers, validates connectivity
3. Create Admin	Set master credentials with Argon2id password hashing
4. Configure System	Site name, languages, media storage, optional Redis
5. Email & Complete	Optionally configure SMTP (optional), review settings, complete setup. System transitions to READY with progressive warmup.

The system seeds the database and transitions to READY — no manual config file editing.

💡 After setup, all /api/setup endpoints are permanently blocked (403) as a security measure.

Production Build & Dual-Runtime Deployment

SveltyCMS supports dual runtime targets out of the box:

Deployment Target	Build Command	Start Command	Best For	Architecture
Node.js (Recommended for Production)	bun run build:node (or bun run build)	node index.cjs	Maximum sustained throughput (4,000+ RPS), low tail latency, long-running servers	@sveltejs/adapter-node with V8 TurboFan deep JIT compilation and native connection pooling.
Bun 1.3 / 1.4	bun run build:bun	bun build/index.js	Cold-start sensitive deployments, edge containers, and developer environments	Native svelte-adapter-bun targeting Bun.serve with sub-10ms startup and zero node:http bridge overhead.

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2. First Steps (For Admins & Editors)

Access the CMS

Once setup completes, you will be automatically redirected to the CMS dashboard. If you need to log in again, navigate to http://localhost:5173/login and use your admin credentials.

Understanding the CMS Layout

The CMS is designed for clarity and speed.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🏠 SveltyCMS            [Search] 👤 Admin ▼ │
├──────────┬──────────────────────────────────┤
│          │                                   │
│ 🏠 Home  │   📊 Dashboard Overview           │
│ 📚 Collections                              │
│ 📁 Media │   • System Health                │
│ 👥 Users │   • Recent Content               │
│ ⚙️ Config    • Online Users                │
│          │   • Storage Usage                │
│          │                                   │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────┘

First Tasks

1. Configure Settings: Go to ⚙️ Config to set your Site Name, Default Language, and Theme.
2. View your homepage: With the default Website Starter preset, visit http://localhost:5173/ — guests see a published homepage designed with Svedit.
3. Design the frontpage: Edit Pages → Home in the form (free), or use Live Preview for inline Svedit editing (Editable Website plugin — 14-day trial, auto-enabled on Website Starter).
4. Add more content: Create additional pages entries (about, contact, …) or add collections from templates (Blog, Agency, SaaS, Corporate, E-commerce).

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3. Common Workflow Templates

Website Starter (recommended — SvelteKit + Svedit)

Website Starter is pre-selected in the Setup Wizard. After setup you get:

1. In-repo SvelteKit public routes at routes/(site)
2. A Pages collection with a published home entry (Svedit layout in content)
3. Svedit inline block editing when Live Preview is enabled
4. Live Preview bridge (trial included): Editable Website (€14.99 after trial) — iframe sync and inline Svedit editing; CMS form editing stays free

See the Site Starter guide. For Astro/Next.js/Vue, disable the site starter and consume the headless API instead.

Blog

1. Create collections: Posts, Categories, Tags
2. Link Posts → Categories (multi-select) and Users (author)
3. Use the Status field for Draft → Published workflow
4. Enable comments or SEO metadata via widget options

E-Commerce Catalog

Use the E-commerce Setup Wizard preset (products + variants, carts, orders, coupons, tax, shipping) rather than inventing collections. Full map: E-Commerce Overview.

1. Select the ecommerce template (or add the ecommerce preset collections)
2. Optional: import an existing catalog with Smart Importer — WooCommerce WXR/REST (--format=woocommerce) or Shopify JSON/CSV (--format=shopify) into products
3. Upload images in 📁 Media Hub and link them on products
4. Add the Commerce Orders and Commerce Inventory dashboard widgets (14-day trial) from the dashboard picker
5. Query /api/collections/products for the storefront (publication policy applies)
6. Enable the Commerce plugin (Extensions) and the Stripe plugin for card payments — amount is server grandTotal. Map: E-Commerce Overview

Multi-Language

1. Enable i18n: Go to ⚙️ Config → Languages and add your target languages.
2. Translate: Open any entry and use the language switcher to enter localized content. Paraglide JS handles the compile-time switching.

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🛡️ User Roles & Permissions

Granular RBAC with field-level access control:

• Admin: Full access.
• Editor: Can manage all content and media.
• Contributor: Can create content but cannot publish without approval.
• Custom Roles: Create these in ⚙️ Config → Roles & Permissions to define field-level access.

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Next Steps

• Site Starter — Optional SvelteKit public frontend + live preview
• API Reference — REST, GraphQL, Local SDK
• Widget Development — Build custom field types
• Security Overview — 4-layer defense-in-depth
• Performance Benchmarks — 48 tests across 4 databases
• E-Commerce Overview — Opt-in store: plugins, widgets, gated API — core stays a CMS
• Smart Importer — WooCommerce / Shopify catalog import
• Dashboard widgets — Commerce Orders + Inventory (14-day trial)