Quick Start Guide

Get FlowCMS up and running in minutes. This guide walks you through installing FlowCMS, creating your first content model, and making your first API request.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ installed
• npm or pnpm package manager
• A FlowCMS account (sign up free)

Installation

# Using npm
npm install -g @flowcms/cli

# Or using pnpm
pnpm add -g @flowcms/cli

# Verify installation
flowcms --version

# Create a new project
flowcms init my-website

# Navigate into the project
cd my-website

# Install dependencies
npm install

flowcms dev

# Server running at
# ➜  Local:   http://localhost:3000
# ➜  Admin:   http://localhost:3000/admin
# ➜  API:     http://localhost:3000/api/v1

// flowcms.schema.js
import { defineType } from '@flowcms/schema';

export const post = defineType({
  name: 'post',
  label: 'Blog Post',
  fields: [
    {
      name: 'title',
      type: 'string',
      required: true,
      validations: [ { max: 200 } ]
    },
    {
      name: 'slug',
      type: 'slug',
      from: 'title',
      required: true
    },
    {
      name: 'body',
      type: 'richText',
      required: true"
    },
    {
      name: 'coverImage',
      type: 'media',
      mediaType: ['image']
    },
    {
      name: 'tags',
      type: 'relation',
      to: 'tag',
      multiple: true
    },
    {
      name: 'publishedAt',
      type: 'datetime',
      isPublishDate: true
    }
  ]
});

import { createClient } from '@flowcms/client';

const cms = createClient({
  spaceId: 'your-space-id',
  apiKey: process.env.FLOWCMS_API_KEY,
  environment: 'preview'  // or 'master'
});

// Fetch all published posts
const posts = await cms.getEntries({
  contentType: 'post',
  status: 'published',
  limit: 10,
  order: '-publishedAt'
});

console.log(`Found ${posts.total} posts`);

Installation

FlowCMS can be installed as a managed cloud service, self-hosted instance, or via Docker. Choose the option that best fits your needs.

Cloud (Managed Service)

The easiest way to get started. No installation required — just create an account and start building.

1. Go to app.flowcms.io and create your account
2. Create a new space from the dashboard
3. Use your space credentials to connect via SDK or API

Self-Hosted (Docker)

Run FlowCMS on your own infrastructure:

# Pull the latest image
docker pull flowcms/core:3.2

# Run with docker-compose
docker compose up -d

# Access at http://localhost:3000

Requirements

Configuration

FlowCMS can be configured via environment variables, a config file, or the admin dashboard.

Environment Variables

Config File

Create a flowcms.config.js file in your project root:

export default {
  spaceId: process.env.FLOWCMS_SPACE_ID,
  apiKey: process.env.FLOWCMS_API_KEY,
  env: process.env.FLOWCMS_ENV || 'development',

  server: {
    port: 3000,
    cors: true,
    rateLimit: 1000
  },

  preview: {
    enabled: true,
    webhookSecret: process.env.WEBHOOK_SECRET
  },

  seo: {
    autoGenerate: true,
    sitemaps: true,
    robots: true
  }
};

API Reference Overview

FlowCMS exposes a comprehensive REST API and a GraphQL API for content management and delivery. All API responses are in JSON format and support pagination, filtering, sorting, and field expansion.

Authentication

FlowCMS uses API keys for authentication. Include your key in the Authorization header:

GET /api/v1/spaces/:spaceId/entries
Host: api.flowcms.io
Authorization: Bearer fc_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Content-Type: application/json

FlowCMS provides two types of API keys:

Response Format

All API responses follow a consistent envelope structure:

{