Front Matter CMS
Best for developers who edit content in VS Code
What Front Matter CMS is
Front Matter CMS is a CMS that lives inside VS Code: a dashboard for the Markdown and MDX in your repository, front-matter forms, data files, and media, with no server or hosted service involved. It works with Astro, Hugo, Jekyll, Eleventy, Next.js, and most generators, and it is free and MIT-licensed.
That makes it a developer's tool, not a client handoff. Every editor needs the repository cloned and VS Code installed, changes go out as their own commits with no review step, and the maintainer's 2026 note says feature work now depends on sponsorship.
Why it is number 9
The whole CMS inside VS Code, free and MIT. Editors need VS Code and a clone of the repository.
Pros
- Free and open source, no server to run
- Works with almost any static site generator
- Front matter, data files, and media in one dashboard
Cons
Skip it if one of these is a deal-breaker.
- Editors need VS Code and a clone of the repository
- No review step, no hosted sign-in
- Feature development throttled without sponsorship
Pricing
Free and open source (MIT).
- Model
- VS Code extension
- Setup
- Local clone, frontmatter.json
- Review flow
- No
- Price
- Free (MIT)
Prices are what frontmatter.codes printed on . Check before you buy.
Alternatives to Front Matter CMS
- Sitepins
Best free hosted panel for agencies, GitLab on paid tiers
#8 in the ranking. Free tier; $12 to $49/mo
- Outstatic
Best free dashboard for Markdown in a Next.js app
#10 in the ranking. Free; PRO $9.99/user/mo
- CloudCannon
Best hosted visual editing
#7 in the ranking. From $55/mo + $10/user
- Free
- Open source
- VS Code
- Local only
