Introduction

Substrukt is a schema-driven CMS built in Rust. You define content types using JSON Schema, edit data through a web UI, and serve it via a REST API. Content is stored as plain JSON files on disk – not in a database – making it easy to version, sync, and inspect.

Why Substrukt

Most CMS options fall into two camps: heavy database-backed systems that require significant infrastructure, or headless CMSes locked behind SaaS platforms. Substrukt takes a different approach:

• Schema-first: Content types are defined as JSON Schema. The UI, validation, and API are all generated from the schema at runtime. No code changes needed to add a new content type.
• Files on disk: Content lives as JSON files in a directory. You can read them, version them in git, or sync them between environments with a tar.gz bundle. SQLite is only used for infrastructure (users, sessions, API tokens).
• Single binary: One Rust binary handles everything – the web UI, REST API, file storage, and background jobs. No external services required beyond the filesystem.
• Minimal frontend: The UI is server-rendered with htmx for interactivity and twind for styling. No build step, no node_modules, no bundler. Includes dark mode with a theme toggle.

What it does

1. You create schemas that describe your content types (blog posts, settings, pages, etc.)
2. The CMS generates forms from those schemas for editing content through the web UI
3. Content is saved as JSON files on disk and cached in memory for fast reads
4. A REST API serves the content to your frontend, static site generator, or mobile app
5. Import/export bundles let you sync content between local and production environments
6. Webhooks can trigger rebuilds of your frontend when content changes

Core concepts