CMS without a content database

Decap loads at /admin and edits files that live in git. This article covers the editor and content model — OAuth and gateway setup are in the content pipeline deploy guide.

Collections

public/admin/config.yml defines what editors can change:

Collection	Path	Format
Blog / capabilities	src/content/blog/{locale}/	MDX
FAQs	src/content/faqs/	JSON
Pages	src/content/pages/	MDX

Schemas in src/content.config.ts must match what Decap writes. Tags, locale, and category fields are validated at build.

Branch workflow

Default CMS branch is develop (test). Editors publish from the admin UI; merges to main promote content to production when you’re ready.

Local development

Without the OAuth gateway running locally, edit files directly under src/content/. For full CMS testing, use the test VPS or a tunnel to auth-gateway:3000.

Why Decap on a self-hosted stack?

• Content stays in your git repo
• No Netlify Identity or proprietary CMS backend
• Same review flow as code: PRs, diffs, rollback via git

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Related: OAuth login guide