Mella CMS

Mella CMS

A self-hosted content management system: a rich editor, a page builder, several languages, comments and an optional e-shop. No database server is needed: the data lives in SQLite and everything runs as one Node.js process.

Download 1.3.1mella-cms-1.3.1.tar.gz · 0.9 MB
Released 2026-10-22
Needs Node.js 22.13 or newer

What it does

Editor

A rich text editor, tables, pictures from the media library, scheduled publishing and revision history.

Page builder

The header, footer, posts and pages are put together from blocks; style without knowing CSS.

Several languages

A site in several languages, with each language's own translations and a language switch.

Comments

Comments, replies and star ratings, with moderation.

E-shop

Optional: products, a cart, Stripe and PayPal, orders and digital downloads. Needs an activation code.

Safe and light

Bot protection for the contact form, visit statistics without cookies, an activity log and a backup script.

What is new (1.3.1)

  • Security: a request that changes something is refused when another site started it. Mails to the owner link to the saved site address only. Traffic log limits also count per address. Authors cannot change where a contact form's mail goes, and scheduled posts are not readable by authors. Font names in styles need closed quotes, and the builder canvas is sandboxed.
  • Shop: a payment for a cancelled order is logged and mailed to the owner instead of being dropped. A digital product that people have bought cannot be deleted or lose its file. The shop needs a site address before it is switched on.
  • Pictures: the plain <img> of a picture points to a WebP copy, so a big original is no longer fetched when a page shows it.
  • Accessibility and search: picture links on blog cards no longer read as empty links, links in the line under a title are underlined, a page title that already names the site is not followed by the name again, and shared pictures (og:image) and language flags carry their sizes.
  • The sitemap no longer fails above 32,000 items.

Installation

  1. Unpack

    Copy the package to your server and unpack it.

  2. Set up

    ./setup.sh checks Node.js, installs the dependencies and asks a few questions (the port, whether to listen only on this computer).

  3. Start

    ./start.sh starts the server. Open /admin and create the first account.

tar xzf mella-cms-1.3.1.tar.gz
cd mella-cms-1.3.1
./setup.sh
./start.sh

For HTTPS put Apache, nginx or Caddy in front (examples are in the package, in examples/). To keep it running use pm2 or systemd.

Check the package before you install it:
echo "51a148906615e262a9d7ac17e98fb566f5b7fbf45eceb427e869c3cc1ee615f6 mella-cms-1.3.1.tar.gz" | sha256sum -c

Updating

The CMS looks once a day for a newer version and tells you in the admin. Update with ./update.sh in the install folder, or with the Update button in the admin (when the server's .env has UPDATE_RESTART_CMD). A backup is made first and the signature is checked; if the new version does not start, the old one is put back.

Earlier versions

1.3.02026-10-22
Notes
  • Design effects, per block (Design tab): ready-made looks, gradients (also on text), filters, frosted glass and blend modes, hover effects (also for a part of a block, such as a card's picture), a fixed background picture, entrance animations (blocks can come in one after another), movements that keep going and movements tied to scrolling. Nothing moves for visitors who prefer less motion.
  • New Marquee block: a line of words or pictures that moves sideways.
  • Site style: a fade or a slide when one page gives way to the next (Chrome, Edge and Safari).
  • The Menu block is a list of links: each opens in the same tab, a new tab or a pop-up, and can hold a submenu. Existing menus keep working.
  • Fixed: a block with an entrance animation at the very end of a page could stay invisible.
  • The user guide is updated, with new pictures.
mella-cms-1.3.0.tar.gz
1.2.42026-10-22
Notes
  • Security: sanitize-html is updated (2.18.1); a crafted piece of HTML could make the old version run out of stack.
  • The download page: the newest version with its checksum, what is new, install and update instructions and the earlier versions, at cms.mella.ee/releases/.
mella-cms-1.2.4.tar.gz
1.2.32026-10-22
Notes
  • New: an Update button in the admin (Settings → Updates and the notice) installs a new version in one click. It backs up first, shows the steps, and puts the old version back if the new one does not start. It appears when UPDATE_RESTART_CMD is set in the server's .env.
  • The user guide is refreshed: new pictures, and chapters for comments, the e-shop section, updates and moving the cards.
  • Fixed: the user guide's folder addresses (cms.mella.ee/releases/guide/et/) open correctly.
mella-cms-1.2.3.tar.gz
1.2.22026-10-21
Notes
  • The user guide is now also published as web pages (English and Estonian) at cms.mella.ee/releases/guide/.
  • The Updates section of the user guide is in the right place.
  • The pm2 example uses the process name Mella-CMS.
mella-cms-1.2.2.tar.gz
1.2.1
Notes

Update notices, update.sh

mella-cms-1.2.1.tar.gz