GitHub - Netrun-Systems/sigil-cms: Multi-tenant headless CMS with native PostgreSQL RLS. 21 plugins, 2FA, site cloning, audit log, block clipboard, data export. TypeScript SDK, GraphQL + REST, Next.js integration. Free self-hosted, unlimited.

Why Sigil?

Every headless CMS forces agencies to choose between cloud lock-in (Sanity), plugin hell (Strapi), or running separate deployments per client. Sigil is the first headless CMS with native multi-tenancy -- one deployment serves unlimited client tenants with Row-Level Security at the database layer. No per-seat pricing traps, no separate instances per client, no vendor lock-in.

Ship client sites with a Design Playground (1,400+ CSS variables, 70+ Google Fonts), block-level Resonance analytics, AI design generation (describe a page, get editable blocks), and 21 built-in plugins covering e-commerce, booking, docs, artist content, and more -- all from a single MIT-licensed codebase you own.

Quick Start

npx sigil-cms create my-site --template website
cd my-site
sigil dev

Open http://localhost:4000/admin to launch the admin panel.

# Other templates
npx sigil-cms create my-blog --template blog
npx sigil-cms create my-docs --template docs
npx sigil-cms create my-store --template ecommerce
npx sigil-cms create my-band --template artist

What Makes Sigil Different

Features

Native Multi-Tenancy

One Sigil deployment. One database. Unlimited tenants. Each agency client gets their own isolated space with separate sites, themes, users, and media -- all protected by Row-Level Security at the PostgreSQL layer.

Agency (Tenant)
 ├── Client A (Site) ── pages, blocks, themes, media
 ├── Client B (Site) ── pages, blocks, themes, media
 └── Client C (Site) ── pages, blocks, themes, media

// Every API call is tenant-scoped via JWT
const client = createClient({
  baseUrl: 'https://cms.agency.com',
  siteSlug: 'client-a',
});
const pages = await client.pages.listPublished();

Users can have different roles per site -- an editor on one client site and a viewer on another, all within the same tenant.

Tenant switcher: Super-admins managing multiple agencies can switch between tenants from a single login — no separate URLs or re-authentication.

Subdomain routing: Each tenant gets a subdomain (client-a.agency.com) that auto-routes to the correct tenant and site. Custom domains (clientsite.com) also resolve automatically.

Site cloning: Onboard a new client in one click. POST /sites/:id/clone duplicates all pages, blocks, theme, and settings into a new site — preserving page hierarchy.

Bulk provisioning: Create a complete tenant environment in one API call — tenant + admin user + site + default theme + starter pages:

curl -X POST /api/v1/tenants/provision \
  -d '{ "tenant": { "name": "Acme Agency", "subdomain": "acme" },
        "site": { "name": "Client Site", "slug": "client-site" },
        "admin": { "email": "admin@acme.com", "name": "Admin", "password": "..." } }'

Audit log: Every write operation is recorded with who, what, when, and which tenant — queryable for SOC2/GDPR compliance. GET /api/v1/audit?resource_type=page&from=2026-01-01

Design Playground

Give designers control without filing tickets. The Design Playground exposes 1,400+ CSS variables through a visual editor -- colors, typography (70+ Google Fonts), spacing, border radius, shadows, backdrop blur, and glass effects. Seven built-in presets provide starting points. Designers work in the browser; developers never need to touch a config file.

• Real-time dark/light mode preview
• Custom CSS injection for edge cases
• Theme duplication and multiple themes per site
• Font browser with Google Fonts search and custom font upload (.woff2, .ttf, .otf)

Resonance Analytics

Block-level engagement metrics that tell you which block users engage with, not just which page they visited. Resonance tracks viewport time, scroll depth, clicks, and bounce points per content block.

• Composite resonance score (0-100) per block per time period
• A/B experiments between block variants with traffic splitting
• AI-generated improvement suggestions per block (via Gemini)
• Embeddable resonance_insights block for in-page analytics

AI Design Generation

Describe a page in plain English. Get structured, editable content blocks.

Stitch integration generates full-page HTML from a text prompt, then the Stitch-to-blocks converter parses it into Sigil blocks (hero, feature grid, CTA, text). Import the result directly to any page.

Charlotte AI provides context-aware design advice grounded in your actual theme tokens and block structure -- not generic tips. She knows your colors, your fonts, and your block types.

POST /api/v1/sites/:siteId/design/generate
{ "prompt": "A dark-themed landing page for a jazz musician with hero and upcoming shows" }
→ Full HTML mockup

POST /api/v1/sites/:siteId/design/import
{ "screenId": "...", "pageId": "..." }
→ Structured Sigil blocks added to page

21 Built-In Plugins

Every plugin is environment-gated -- missing env vars cause a graceful skip, never a crash. The core CMS always works.

Developer Experience

TypeScript SDK -- zero dependencies, works in Node.js, browsers, and edge runtimes:

npm install @sigil-cms/client

import { createClient } from '@sigil-cms/client';

const cms = createClient({ baseUrl: 'https://cms.example.com', siteSlug: 'my-site' });
const page = await cms.pages.getBySlug('about');
const tree = await cms.pages.getTree(); // hierarchical nav
const theme = await cms.sites.getPublicTheme();

Next.js integration -- App Router, server components, static generation, ISR:

npm install @sigil-cms/next @sigil-cms/client

// app/[[...slug]]/page.tsx
import { SigilPage, generateSigilMetadata, generateSigilStaticParams } from '@sigil-cms/next';

export const generateMetadata = ({ params }) => generateSigilMetadata(params.slug?.join('/') ?? 'home');
export const generateStaticParams = () => generateSigilStaticParams();

export default async function Page({ params }) {
  const { slug } = await params;
  return <SigilPage slug={slug?.join('/') ?? 'home'} />;
}

GraphQL API at /graphql with queries for pages, blocks, themes, media, sites, navigation, and search.

CLI for scaffolding, dev server, builds, migrations, and seeding:

npx sigil-cms create my-site    # scaffold project
sigil dev                        # dev server with hot reload
sigil build                      # production build
sigil migrate                    # run database migrations
sigil seed                       # seed demo content
sigil info                       # environment diagnostics

REST API versioned at /api/v1/ with public and authenticated endpoints. Bearer JWT auth. Full CRUD on sites, pages, blocks, media, themes, users, and all plugin resources.

23 Built-In Block Types

Plugins add more: product_grid, buy_button, booking_calendar, service_list, resonance_insights, doc_callout, doc_code. Build your own with the CmsPlugin interface.

Content Management

• Hierarchical pages with computed URL paths, full-text search, and SEO fields (meta title, description, OG image) with database-enforced character limits
• Content versioning -- unlimited revision history with full snapshots, revert to any version
• Content scheduling -- publish and unpublish at specific times via built-in daemon
• 15-language i18n via page-clone model with per-language slug uniqueness
• Media library -- bulk upload (20 files, 50MB each), folder organization, dimension metadata, multi-provider storage, image focal point for responsive cropping
• Block templates -- save and reuse block presets across sites in a tenant. Three scopes: site-only, tenant-wide (all sites), or global (platform presets)
• Block clipboard -- copy blocks from one page and paste them into any other page, even across different sites within the same tenant
• Data export -- export a full site as JSON (pages + blocks + theme) or CSV (pages for spreadsheet reporting). Import bundles into any site.
• Live preview -- split-view editor with desktop/tablet/mobile viewports

Security

• Two-factor authentication -- TOTP (RFC 6238) compatible with Google Authenticator, Authy, and 1Password. Setup via QR code, 8 backup codes, ±30s clock skew tolerance. Pure Node.js crypto — no external dependencies.
• Row-Level Security -- tenant isolation enforced at the PostgreSQL engine level, not the application layer. No shared slug tables, no cross-tenant data leakage.
• Per-tenant media isolation -- uploaded files stored under media/{tenantId}/{siteId}/ paths. Serving validates the tenant prefix matches the requesting user's JWT.
• Audit log -- every write operation recorded with user, action, resource, tenant, IP, and duration. Queryable by date range, user, resource type, and site. Compliant with SOC2 and GDPR audit requirements.
• JWT authentication with 4 roles (admin, editor, author, viewer) and per-site permission overrides

Self-Hosting

Sigil runs on Node.js + PostgreSQL. No proprietary dependencies. Self-host for free -- forever, with no feature limits.

Scale-to-zero on Cloud Run and Fargate means you pay almost nothing when the admin panel is idle. A $5/mo VPS handles thousands of page views.

Cloud Pricing

For teams that want managed hosting, automatic updates, and priority support.

Annual billing: 2 months free (save 17%). Self-hosted is always free and unlimited.

Architecture

sigil-cms/
├── packages/@netrun-cms/
│   ├── core         — TypeScript types, enums (28), Zod schemas, utilities
│   ├── db           — Drizzle ORM schema, migrations, PostgreSQL client
│   ├── ui           — 64 Shadcn/Radix components + 1,400+ CSS variable design system
│   ├── theme        — ThemeProvider + 7 presets
│   ├── blocks       — Composable content block components
│   ├── embeds       — Platform embed components (Spotify, YouTube, etc.)
│   └── plugin-runtime — Plugin loader, registry, manifest system
├── packages/
│   ├── client       — @sigil-cms/client TypeScript SDK
│   ├── cli          — sigil-cms CLI (create, dev, build, migrate, seed)
│   └── next         — @sigil-cms/next App Router integration
├── apps/
│   ├── api          — Express.js backend (REST + GraphQL)
│   └── admin        — Vite + React 18 SPA
└── plugins/         — 21 feature plugins (env-gated, graceful skip)

Stack: TypeScript 5.7, Node.js 20+, Express.js, React 18, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, Vite, Turborepo, pnpm workspaces.

Documentation

• TypeScript SDK -- @sigil-cms/client API reference
• Next.js Integration -- @sigil-cms/next App Router guide
• CLI Reference -- sigil-cms command reference
• Whitepaper -- Full technical architecture and competitive analysis
• Pricing -- Detailed pricing, self-hosting templates, competitor comparison
• Contributing -- How to contribute

Community

• GitHub Issues -- Bug reports and feature requests
• GitHub Discussions -- Questions and ideas
• Contributing -- Fork/branch/PR workflow and code style
• Code of Conduct -- Contributor Covenant v2.1

Built With

Sigil was built by a solo founder with 25 years of cloud infrastructure experience and 20 AI development agents under SDLC v2.3 governance. The entire platform -- API, admin panel, 21 plugins, SDK, CLI, Next.js integration, Design Playground, Resonance analytics, AI design generation -- was architected and shipped by one person coordinating a fleet of specialized AI agents.

We use our own products to bring Sigil to market: KOG CRM for lead tracking, Intirkast for social media scheduling, KAMERA for prospect research, Charlotte for AI assistance. Built, not subscribed.

Netrun Systems -- California, USA.

License

MIT -- use it, modify it, ship it. No feature gating, no watermarking, no betrayal.