📖 Getting Started with FlowCMS

What is FlowCMS?

FlowCMS is a modern, headless Content Management System designed for developers and content teams who need speed, flexibility, and scalability. Unlike traditional monolithic CMS platforms, FlowCMS separates the content layer from the presentation layer, allowing you to deliver content to any platform, device, or channel via a robust REST and GraphQL API.

Quick Start Guide

Get up and running in under 5 minutes. You'll create a new project, configure your first content type, and fetch data via the API.

1. Installation

Install the FlowCMS CLI tool using your preferred package manager:

# Using npm
npm install -g @flowcms/cli

# Using yarn
yarn global add @flowcms/cli

# Initialize a new project
flowcms init my-cms-project

2. Configure Your First Content Type

Content types define the structure of your data. Create a post.json schema file in your /content-types directory:

{
  "name": "Blog Post",
  "apiEndpoint": "/posts",
  "fields": [
    { "type": "text", "name": "title", "required": true },
    { "type": "textarea", "name": "excerpt" },
    { "type": "richtext", "name": "body" },
    { "type": "date", "name": "publishedAt" },
    { "type": "relation", "name": "author", "to": "User" }
  ]
}

3. Fetch Data

Use the REST API to retrieve your content. Replace <YOUR_API_KEY> with your token from the dashboard.

const fetchPosts = async () => {
  const res = await fetch(`https://api.flowcms.io/v2/posts`, {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>` }
  });
  const data = await res.json();
  console.log(data.results); // Array of posts
};

fetchPosts();

Authentication & API Keys

FlowCMS uses Bearer token authentication. You can generate API keys with granular permissions in your project dashboard under Settings → API Keys.

• Read-Only Keys: Ideal for frontend applications that only need to fetch content.
• Admin Keys: Grant full CRUD access. Store these securely and use only in server-side environments.
• Scoped Keys: Limit access to specific content types or environments (staging/production).

Content Types & Fields

FlowCMS supports a rich set of field types out of the box. You can combine them to create complex content structures.

Advanced features like conditional fields, validation rules, and computed fields are available in the schema configuration.