Craft CMS
Database-backed PHP content management system with a control panel, Twig templating and a GraphQL API.
craftcms.comrepositorydocspricingplugins
Craft CMS is a PHP content management system built on Yii 2 by Pixel & Tonic. It has a browser control panel for editors, Twig templates for rendering and a GraphQL API for headless use, with content stored in a database. Multi-site and localization are included in every edition, including the free Solo edition. The paid editions raise the number of user accounts and add control panel branding.
Deployment needs SSH access to run console commands. The queue runner is web-based by default, and the vendor’s own hosting platform, Craft Cloud, is described in the deployment guide.
Worth knowing
The license is custom rather than open source, and each licensed copy can be installed in one production environment. A daemonized queue runner has to be restarted after each deploy, and the deploy steps include running php craft up. The requirements page lists the PHP extensions and the writable paths.
Identity
Rendering and deploy
- Runs as
- Per request12
- Rendering
- On a server4
- Install with
- ddev composer create-project craftcms/craft, composer create-project12
Releases
Adoption
Sources
- 2026-10-18: name, links
craftcms.com/ - 2026-10-18: links, GitHub stars
api.github.com/repos/craftcms/cms - 2026-10-18: links, License, Packagist downloads
packagist.org/packages/craftcms/cms.json - 2026-10-18: links, Categories, Content storage, Content API, Templating, Rendering
craftcms.com/docs/5.x/ - 2026-10-18: Maintainer, Maintained by
craftcms.com/about - 2026-10-18: Headquarters
pixelandtonic.com - 2026-10-18: Headquarters
api.github.com/orgs/craftcms - 2026-10-18: wikidata
www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110260868 - 2026-10-18: Written in, Runtime, Minimum runtime, Databases, Admin interface
craftcms.com/docs/5.x/requirements.html - 2026-10-18: Minimum runtime
repo.packagist.org/p2/craftcms/cms.json - 2026-10-18: Multilingual, links
craftcms.com/pricing - 2026-10-18: Install with, Runs as
craftcms.com/docs/5.x/install.html - 2026-10-18: License, License model
github.com/craftcms/cms/blob/5.x/LICENSE.md - 2026-10-18: Current major version, Last release
api.github.com/repos/craftcms/cms/releases/latest - 2026-10-18: Contributors
api.github.com/repos/craftcms/cms/contributors - 2026-10-18: Plugins
api.craftcms.com/v1/plugin-store/plugins?perPage=1 - 2026-10-25: Sites using it (HTTP Archive)
cdn.httparchive.org/v1/technologies - 2026-10-25: Dependent repositories, Dependent packages
packages.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/registries/packagist.org/packages/craftcms%2Fcms - 2026-10-25: Packagist downloads a month
packagist.org/packages/craftcms/cms/stats.json