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Technical Proposal for a Mini Git‐Based CMS
This proposal outlines the development of a mini Git-based CMS to provide content management capabilities using Git repositories as the backend. The CMS will be built incrementally across multiple stages, beginning with a simple YAML-based solution and progressively adding features, culminating in a user-friendly CMS interface. Each stage will be built upon before ensuring iterative and agile development.
- Simplicity: Leverage Git for version control and content storage.
- Scalability: Start with basic functionality and evolve into a full-fledged CMS.
- Flexibility: Provide capabilities for non-technical and technical users.
- Transparency: Maintain a clear development roadmap with defined deliverables.
Using Git as the backend for the CMS provides several advantages over a traditional database-driven approach:
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Version Control:
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Git inherently supports version control, enabling detailed tracking of changes, rollbacks, and collaboration.
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Unlike databases, which often require additional tooling for change history, Git provides this functionality out of the box.
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Distributed Nature:
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Git's distributed model allows content to be cloned and edited offline, which is not feasible with most database systems.
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This ensures availability and resilience, even in cases of network outages.
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Transparency and Auditing:
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Every change in Git is logged with author information and timestamps, ensuring a transparent audit trail.
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Databases often require custom logging mechanisms to achieve the same level of traceability.
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Ease of Use for Developers:
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Developers are often familiar with Git workflows, making adopting and integrating into existing processes easier.
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Managing content through Git provides a seamless experience for technical teams.
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Cost-Effectiveness:
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A Git-based system eliminates the need for a dedicated database server, reducing infrastructure costs.
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Hosting content on platforms like GitHub or GitLab can be a low-cost or free solution for many use cases.
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Portability:
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Content stored in Git repositories is portable and can be migrated or shared easily without complex database export/import processes.
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YAML or similar file-based formats ensure compatibility across different systems.
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Security:
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Git provides robust access control and permissions mechanisms, especially when integrated with platforms like GitHub.
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Database security requires additional configurations and monitoring tools.
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Flexibility in Deployment:
- A Git-based CMS can be hosted on any platform that supports Git, offering more deployment flexibility than databases tied to specific environments.
By leveraging Git, the CMS combines the benefits of version control, collaboration, and simplicity, making it a strong foundation for scalable content management.
The CMS will manage content using YAML files stored in a Git repository. Users will edit these files directly in the GitHub UI.
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Content Storage: Store structured content in YAML files.
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Versioning: Leverage Git’s version control for tracking changes.
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Editing: Allow users to edit YAML files directly in the GitHub web UI.
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Structure:
- Repository structure:
/content/
page1.yaml
page2.yaml- Sample YAML format:
title: "Page Title"
body: "This is the body of the page."
metadata:
author: "Author Name"
date: "2025-01-01"- Validation: Add GitHub Actions for YAML linting to ensure file validity.
- Repository template with YAML-based structure.
- YAML linting workflow using GitHub Actions.
- Requires users to understand YAML syntax.
- No dedicated UI for non-technical users.
Develop a basic web-based UI to allow users to interact with the CMS without directly editing YAML files.
- Authentication: Integrate with GitHub OAuth for secure login.
- Content Listing: Display a list of existing YAML files.
- Content Editing: Provide a form-based editor for YAML content.
- Git Integration: Push updates to the repository through Git APIs.
- Frontend: HTML-based (for user interface).
- Backend: Node.js or Python (for API layer).
- GitHub API: For repository interactions.
- A minimal web interface for:
- Listing pages.
- Editing pages.
- Adding new pages.
- Deployment instructions (e.g., Docker-based deployment).
- Basic UI with limited customisation.
- No advanced content workflows (e.g., drafts, publishing).
Introduce features to enhance the CMS functionality, including workflow support and metadata management.
- Drafts and Publishing: Support for draft status and publishing workflows.
- Metadata Management: Enhanced form fields for metadata (e.g., tags, SEO).
- Previews: Add a live preview feature for content.
- Search: Search functionality for content.
- Workflow management in the UI.
- Live preview for content.
- Enhanced search capabilities.
Focus on building a full-featured CMS with advanced capabilities for non-technical users.
- Theming and Templates: Allow users to manage themes and templates.
- Plugins/Extensions: Support plugins in extending functionality.
- Access Control: Role-based permissions for users.
- Analytics: Basic analytics for content views and engagement.
- Database: Introduce a lightweight database (e.g., SQLite) if necessary for non-content-related data.
- Backend Scaling: Transition to a more scalable backend architecture.
- Polished UI with advanced capabilities.
- Role-based access control implementation.
- Theming and plugin system.
Finalise the CMS by focusing on deployment ease and comprehensive documentation.
- Deployment Options: Support for self-hosting and cloud hosting.
- Documentation: Provide extensive user and developer documentation.
- Community Engagement: Set up a community forum or discussion board.
- Detailed documentation for installation, usage, and development.
- Deployment scripts for common platforms (e.g., Docker, AWS, Heroku).
This phased approach ensures that the CMS evolves in a structured manner, starting with simple functionality and gradually adding more advanced features. Each stage will be accompanied by thorough testing and user feedback to ensure the system meets its intended goals.
Providers Team