Minnow

Small fish. Big ocean. Experimental CMS.

Minnow is a very early, experimental, MIT-licensed CMS for developers who want a clean PHP 8.1+ architecture without leaving WordPress data behind. It runs standalone and speaks WordPress databases fluently, but expect rough edges and breaking changes.

Start with the core Roadmaps

          $ on('app.boot', fn() => log('ocean ready'))
          
          $ onFilter('post.title', escapeHtml(...))
          
          $ query('posts').where('post_status', 'publish')

Why Minnow

Built for people who read docs and ship code

Minnow is an early, experimental standalone CMS with WordPress database compatibility. You get a clean core, strict typing, YAML-driven plugins, and a Vue 3 admin, but it is not production-ready and will change rapidly. It is designed for engineers who care about architecture and are comfortable with evolving foundations.

WordPress DB compatible

Read and write existing WordPress databases with zero PHP runtime dependency.

MIT-licensed core

No GPL runtime. Build commercial or internal tooling without legal friction.

Modern PHP architecture

PHP 8.1+, strict typing, PSR-4, and a clean PDO-based data layer.

Hook + filter system

Event-driven extensibility with dot-namespaced hooks for sane plugin APIs.

Plugin Pipeline

Analyze WordPress plugins, generate Minnow equivalents

The analyzer extracts structure, schema, and routes into a generated manifest. You enhance the YAML, then the generator produces entities, APIs, and admin UIs. Protected manifests prevent accidental overwrites.

1. Analyze plugin-analyzer
Creates plugin.generated.yaml

2. Enhance Human or AI review
Edit plugin.yaml

3. Generate plugin-generator
Produces Minnow plugin code

Roadmap Snapshot

No 1.0 yet — early foundations are evolving

Minnow has no 1.0 release yet. The foundation is in active development: core database, hooks, entities, CLI, plugin system, API layer, and Vue admin are being built and refined.

Standalone runtime with no WordPress PHP files loaded (in progress).

Plugin system with YAML manifests and generator workflow (in progress).

Admin usability features like scheduling, menus, media, and permalinks (in progress).

Frontend decoupling with standalone rendering (in progress).

Who it is for

Developers who want a CMS they can reason about, extend, and experiment with without legacy baggage. Minnow is not for the general public. It is for hackers who need control and accept instability.

Read the design goals

Core API

Hackable without being fragile

The hook system and query builder keep extension points obvious and safe. It feels like a framework, not a pile of global state.

Hook system

Events and filters with predictable naming and priority.

Query builder

Fluent, PDO-based, and WordPress prefix aware.

Entity system

Active Record-style models for posts, users, comments, terms, and more.

Vue admin

Modern UI for content, settings, and system management.