Glossary

Definitions of key terms and concepts used throughout ModulaCMS documentation.

Content Model

Content Data -- A single content entry in the content tree. Each content data record belongs to a route, has a datatype, and is authored by a user. Content data records form a tree structure through parent-child relationships. Identified by a ULID.

Content Field -- A value associated with a content data record. Each content field links a field definition to a content data record and stores the actual data (text, number, date, etc.). A content data record typically has many content fields, one for each field in its datatype.

Datatype -- A content type definition, analogous to a "model" or "content type" in other CMS platforms. A datatype defines the structure of content by specifying which fields it contains. Examples: "Blog Post", "Product", "Page".

Field -- A field definition that describes a single property of a datatype. Fields have a label (e.g., "Title"), a data type (e.g., "string"), and a field type (e.g., "text", "rich_text", "number"). Each field belongs to a datatype.

Content Tree -- The hierarchical structure of content within a route. Content nodes can be nested under other nodes, forming a tree. You can reorder siblings and move nodes between parents through the API, TUI, or admin panel.

Routing

Route -- A named entry point that maps a slug (e.g., "blog", "products") to a content tree for delivery. Each route has a slug, a title, a status, and an author. When a client requests GET /blog, the API looks up the route with slug "blog" and returns its published content tree. Global trees exist independently and are served via /api/v1/globals.

Admin Route -- A route that manages the admin panel's own content structure. Admin routes use a parallel set of tables to store configuration and UI content separately from public content.

Site -- In ModulaCMS, the client_site and admin_site configuration fields define the primary domain and admin domain. Routes serve as the multi-site mechanism: different routes can represent different sections or sites within a single ModulaCMS instance.

Identity and IDs

ULID -- Universally Unique Lexicographically Sortable Identifier. A 26-character string (e.g., 01HXK4N2F8RJZGP6VTQY3MCSW9) used as the primary key for all entities in ModulaCMS. ULIDs are time-ordered (sortable by creation time), globally unique, and URL-safe.

Database

Database Backend -- ModulaCMS supports three database engines interchangeably: SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. Select the active backend with the db_driver field in modula.config.json. Application behavior is identical across all three.

Audit Trail -- ModulaCMS records an audit event alongside every content mutation, capturing the operation type, old and new values, request metadata, and a timestamp. This provides a complete history of changes for compliance and debugging.

Access Control

RBAC -- Role-Based Access Control. ModulaCMS assigns each user a role, and each role has a set of permissions. Permissions follow the resource:operation format (e.g., content:read, media:create, users:delete).

Three bootstrap roles are created on first run:

• admin -- All permissions. Bypasses permission checks entirely.
• editor -- 36 permissions covering content, media, routes, datatypes, fields, and field types.
• viewer -- 5 read-only permissions (content:read, media:read, routes:read, field_types:read, admin_field_types:read).

System-protected roles and permissions cannot be deleted or renamed through the API.

Permission Label -- A string in the format resource:operation that identifies a specific permission. Examples: content:create, roles:update, media:delete.

Interfaces

TUI -- Terminal User Interface. ModulaCMS runs an SSH server (default port 2233) that presents an interactive terminal interface. Connect with ssh user@host -p 2233 to manage content, datatypes, fields, routes, users, and media through a keyboard-driven UI.

Admin Panel -- A server-rendered web interface for managing your CMS. Pages load as complete HTML with interactive updates powered by HTMX -- no JavaScript framework or SPA. The admin panel requires authentication and provides CSRF protection.

REST API -- The JSON API at /api/v1 used by frontend applications, SDKs, and external integrations. All endpoints follow consistent patterns: collection endpoints at /api/v1/{resource}, item endpoints at /api/v1/{resource}/?q={ulid}, and standard HTTP methods for CRUD operations.

Content Delivery -- The public-facing endpoint at GET /{slug} that returns content trees in configurable output formats. Your frontend application calls this endpoint to fetch content. Supports contentful, sanity, strapi, wordpress, clean, and raw formats via the ?format= query parameter.

Configuration

modula.config.json -- The configuration file loaded at startup. Contains all runtime settings: database connection, server ports, TLS certificates, S3 storage credentials, OAuth configuration, CORS policy, and more. Environment variables can be referenced using ${VAR} syntax. If no config file exists on first run, the setup wizard creates one with defaults.

Environment -- The environment field in modula.config.json controls TLS behavior, server bind address, and admin panel appearance. Four stages are available: local, development, staging, production. Append -docker for container deployments (e.g., production-docker). Local environments disable HTTPS. Development uses self-signed certificates. Staging and production use Let's Encrypt autocert. The admin panel favicon changes color by stage (blue, green, amber, red) so you can identify the environment at a glance.

Infrastructure

Backup -- ModulaCMS can create and restore backups containing a SQL dump of the database and all media files. Backups can be stored locally or in S3-compatible storage. Configured via the backup_option field in modula.config.json.

Media Dimensions -- Named width/height presets that define the sizes generated when an image is uploaded. The optimization pipeline produces a cropped and scaled variant for each preset where the source image is large enough. Presets that would require upscaling are skipped.

S3-Compatible Storage -- Object storage for media files, accessed through the AWS S3 API. Any S3-compatible provider works: AWS S3, MinIO, DigitalOcean Spaces, Backblaze B2, Cloudflare R2. Configured through bucket_* fields in modula.config.json.