# What is Nextly? Nextly is an open-source content platform for Next.js. It is an open-source CMS and Visual Page Builder. MIT licensed, self-hosted. It runs inside your own Next.js app, on your own PostgreSQL or MySQL database, or SQLite for local work. Nextly is in alpha. APIs may change before 1.0. Pin exact versions in production. Updated 24 Oct 2026 · Release 0.0.2-alpha.70 ![The Visual Page Builder in the Nextly admin: a product-updates page on the canvas, with its heading selected and the Style tab showing its typography.](https://nextlyhq.com/captures/builder-canvas-light.png) The Visual Page Builder in the Nextly admin, at 0.0.2-alpha.68. ## At a glance - **Category:** Open-source CMS and Visual Page Builder for Next.js - **Licence:** MIT - **Hosting:** Self-hosted, inside your Next.js app - **Release:** `0.0.2-alpha.70`, published 25 Oct 2026 - **Status:** Alpha. APIs may change before 1.0 - **Written in:** TypeScript - **Needs:** Node.js 22.12+ or 24+; Next.js 16 with the App Router; React 19 - **Databases:** PostgreSQL 15+, MySQL 8+, SQLite 3.38+ for local work - **Source:** [github.com/nextlyhq/nextly](https://github.com/nextlyhq/nextly) - **Install:** `npx create-nextly-app@alpha my-app` ## What it does One Next.js app for content, pages and publishing ### Model content Model content in TypeScript or in the Visual Schema Builder. Both feed the same Nextly runtime, admin and APIs. [Limits](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/schema-builder.md) ### Build pages Add the official Visual Page Builder when your project needs it. Twenty blocks out of the box, and the page renderer takes your own React blocks. [Docs](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/page-builder.md) ### Read content Read content straight from your database in your page code (the Direct API), or over REST. [Docs](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/api-reference/direct-api.md) ### Translate Translate collections, singles and components, with a fallback language when a translation is missing. [Docs](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/localization.md) ### Keep versions Turn on versions and Nextly keeps a version history: by default the newest 50 versions of each document, plus the versions retention always keeps. [Docs](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/versions.md) ### Publish together Group up to 200 documents’ changes into a Content Release and publish them together at a time you choose, with a scheduler configured. [Docs](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/releases.md#what-it-is-not) ## Questions Short answers first ### Cost and licence #### Is Nextly free? Nextly is MIT licensed and self-hosted. MIT today, and no decision yet about paid offerings. [Licence](https://nextlyhq.com/license) #### Is there a hosted version? No. Nextly is self-hosted. You choose and pay for your own hosting and database. ### Running it #### Can I use it in production? Nextly is in alpha. APIs may change before 1.0. Pin exact versions in production. [Stability](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/plugins/stability.md) #### What do I need? Node.js 22.12+ or 24+, Next.js 16 with the App Router, and React 19. And PostgreSQL 15 or later, MySQL 8 or later, or SQLite 3.38 or later for local work. [Installation](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/getting-started/installation.md) #### How do I start? One command creates a project with the admin and a database: `npx create-nextly-app@alpha my-app`. [Quick start](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/getting-started/quick-start.md) ### Content and pages #### Does Nextly have a GraphQL API? No. Nextly offers REST and the Direct API. Read content straight from your database in your page code (the Direct API), or over REST. [API reference](https://nextlyhq.com/docs/api-reference/direct-api.md) #### Who builds the pages? After a developer sets up and deploys Nextly, editors manage content and pages in the admin. ### Agents and others #### Can a coding agent set it up? Every new Nextly project ships with an AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md written for coding agents. In our test on Nextly 0.0.2-alpha.67, Claude Code and Codex each set up a working Nextly project from an empty folder, from a plain request and the public docs, with no Nextly knowledge loaded beforehand. [Working with agents](https://nextlyhq.com/ai) #### How does it compare with Payload, Strapi or Sanity? We keep dated comparisons that say where Nextly fits. [See the compare pages](https://nextlyhq.com/compare) ## Not today What Nextly is not, today - **A hosted service:** Nextly is self-hosted. MIT today, and no decision yet about paid offerings. - **A GraphQL API:** Nextly offers REST and the Direct API. - **Past 1.0:** Nextly is in alpha. APIs may change before 1.0. - **Sign-in for site visitors:** Built-in sign-in is for your team: email and password, sessions and API keys, stored in your own database. - **Review and approval:** Review and approval workflows are on the roadmap, not in a release. [Roadmap](https://nextlyhq.com/roadmap) - **An import tool:** Collections from another CMS are defined again, and content moved in through the Direct API or REST. - **A stable MCP plugin:** An experimental MCP plugin, off by default: read-only, with one tool that tells an agent what its credential may read. ## Describing Nextly The words we use For anyone writing about Nextly, and for the assistants that answer questions about it. **One line** > Nextly is an open-source content platform for Next.js. **Descriptor** > Open-source CMS and Visual Page Builder for Next.js **Short paragraph** > Nextly is an open-source content platform for Next.js. MIT licensed, self-hosted. It runs inside your own Next.js app, on your own PostgreSQL or MySQL database, or SQLite for local work. Nextly is in alpha: APIs may change before 1.0.