Grav
Grav is a fast, simple, file-based CMS and web platform for creating lightweight sites without a database.
Platform availability
Available on 3 of 6 install platforms
Also on Docker Hub
Health score
85/100 Excellent
- Maintained
- 100last commit 2 days ago
- Popular
- 8415,684 GitHub stars
- Easy to install
- 553 install platforms, install notes, Docker image
- Light to run
- No data
Based on 3 of 4 factors.
How is this calculated?
A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.
Availability: platform listings confirmed today, links checked 7 days ago
- GitHub stars
- 15,684
- Open issues
- 417
- Last commit
- 2026-10-07
- Latest release
- 2.2.5
- License
- MIT
- Activity
- rising
Checked today - source: GitHub (getgrav/grav)
Resources & Compatibility
ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is supported.
Checked 10 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs
First-install notes
- Start the app after setup After setup, run npm start in the project folder (npm is the Node.js package manager that starts the app). If you skip this, the server never starts and the site won't load. source
- No database required Grav is file-based, so no database is required for normal operation. source
- Installation Native Grav is zero-install; extract the ZIP archive and it is ready to run. source
Fetched today - each note links to its source
Variants
Alternatives (12)
- Blogger - Create and manage blogs with free hosting, custom domains, flexible templates, Google AdSense monetization, built-in analytics, and secure…
- Directus - An Instant App & API for your SQL Database.
- Drupal - Drupal is a powerful website builder used to create everything from personal blogs to complex corporate sites.
- Ghost - Ghost is an open-source content management system for professional publishers, bloggers, and newsletter creators that provides a streamline…
- Hugo - Run a Hugo open-source static site generator.
- Jekyll - Jekyll is a simple, blog aware, static site generator.
- Joomla - Another free and open-source CMS
- ProcessWire - ProcessWire is a friendly and powerful open source CMS and CMF with an exceptionally strong foundation.
- Publii - Publii allows to you build, modify and manage an unlimited number of sites from the same app with instant switching; no databases or other…
- WordPress - WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) and publishing platform used to create and manage websites, blogs, and online p…
- blobsaver - Blobsaver is a simple tool for iPhone and iPad users that saves digital "permits" for your device.
- cosmo - This is the official Helm Chart for WunderGraph Cosmo - The Full Lifecycle GraphQL API Management Solution.
Checked 7 days ago - source: AlternativeTo
Common questions
Do I need a database or long install process to run Grav?
No. Grav is a file-based platform with zero installation required, and you can extract the ZIP archive and start using it.
How do I update Grav and its plugins or themes?
Use the built-in package management system, which supports simple installation and upgrading of plugins and themes and updating Grav itself.
Where can I find common Grav problems and their fixes?
The documentation’s common problems page lists frequent issues raised on the forum and Discord chat, along with the relevant solutions.
Answers sourced from github.com, learn.getgrav.org
Community
- Does anyone here use Grav? : r/selfhosted - Reddit (reddit)
- Grav - A Modern Flat-File CMS : r/selfhosted - Reddit (reddit)
- Which CMS do you prefer? : r/selfhosted - Reddit (reddit)
- Grav flat file blog ? : r/selfhosted - Reddit (reddit)
- Problem with GravCMS and Reverse Proxy : r/selfhosted - Reddit (reddit)
Collected 9 days ago - public community threads