
Publii – Open Source CMS for Static Websites - indigodaddy
https://getpublii.com
======
gtirloni
The license is GPL but I can't find the code repository anywhere.

We'd love do ditch WordPress but our users demand a web-ish interface to work
with static sites. This could be it.

Also, what's the strategy for plugins?

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sgallant
Shameless plug:

\- We built [https://forestry.io](https://forestry.io) to get away from
WordPress. We support Jekyll & Hugo and a Git-based workflow :)

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nopar8
I set up forestry on my father's bed and breakfast website. I am very pleased.

~~~
sgallant
Glad to hear! I'd love to know how we could improv the experience if you have
sky feedback

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hiharryhere
I'm using forestry for my company site now to give my non-tech cofounder an
easy way to write blog posts.

Two suggestions that would really improve my life:

1\. A better wysiwyg editor. I've taught her some markdown but every time you
switch to wysiwyg and back and make a change I get loads of spans injected
into my md.

2\. A better media manager with: \- folders \- image resizing (maybe integrate
filestack.io as they have some image manipulation)

I love the simplicity of forestry and it's really close to perfect for my use
case. Github -> s3 is seamless and having edits committed back is great.

~~~
sgallant
Thanks for the suggestion! #1 is in the works and #2 is in early planning
stages.

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jacobwilliamroy
Here is a link to an interaction between a user and developer from June 23rd
2017 RE: publii source code:

[https://publii.ticksy.com/ticket/1216232/](https://publii.ticksy.com/ticket/1216232/)

From Bob:

"We still preparing the dev documentation and I think it will be ready this
holiday. Right now you can browse the themes packages and see how they are
built. Below you can download the .pdf with handlebars tags used in Publii
themes.

[https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B92PpHk85ShpZk50NVFVQlZjX3c...](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B92PpHk85ShpZk50NVFVQlZjX3c/view?usp=sharing)

Referring to repository question, we will need to reflect further on this
matter, but probably the GitHub is the best solution for that."

~~~
jacobwilliamroy
UPDATE (I can't edit my original comment):

Apparently the source code comes with the app:

From Bob:

"Hi Guys,

Publii is built with Electron, so the source code is available, you can read
it directly after installing the app. Here is where the files are located:
;[https://getpublii.com/docs/install-
publii.html](https://getpublii.com/docs/install-publii.html)

We know that there is no source code repository, we will publish it soon, but
before that we have to finish work on the implementation some key features and
polish the code.

The next release will bring a dev documentation with the Starter theme, I hope
this will help you to better understand app and find out how the themes are
built."

[https://publii.ticksy.com/ticket/1265759](https://publii.ticksy.com/ticket/1265759)

~~~
type0
Apparently it doesn't. When I click to download - it's .exe and .dmg files.
That this application is build with electron is beside the point.

~~~
RobGav
After installing, go to the app folder, there are stored all files/data
[https://getpublii.com/docs/install-
publii.html](https://getpublii.com/docs/install-publii.html)

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ryanashcraft
I definitely think there's demand for solutions like this. I probably would
like this even better if it worked on top of an existing static-site generator
platform like Jekyll or Gatsby.

I just wrote about immutable deployments with Ghost 1.0, which is also open
source (MIT licensed), and how that can be a nice compromise between static
sites and hosted CMSes: [https://ryanashcraft.me/ghost-and-
now/](https://ryanashcraft.me/ghost-and-now/)

I might've tried Publii out if I had heard about it beforehand, but right now
I'm really happy with the entire Ghost editing and consumption experience I've
set up (thanks to the Ghost and Zeit teams).

~~~
indigodaddy
Awesome post Ryan, I really like your approach! I just found out about now.sh
the other day, and found its features and capabilities to be very exciting,
and pretty unique for the most part. Does Ghost still have the capacity to
output static html (thought it did pre 1.0; not sure with latest) ? If so, can
I ask why you didn't go with using that feature, and then push the html via
now or to any other service, since you're composing/editing locally anyway?
Also, I looked for the ability to make this comment on your blog post itself,
but didn't see any facility to do so, and then realized that this was because
it's a read-only Ghost instance as you described. Is there any way to get
comments with this approach. I'm thinking with the an Ghost-to-html approach
(if available still in 1.0), you might be able to script something up to also
embed Disqus into the outputted HTML, but as far as comments with your read-
only Ghost on now.sh approach, no way to incorporate comments, correct? Anyway
your blog theme was pretty attractive on Chrome mobile BTW. Enjoyable read all
the way around.

~~~
ryanashcraft
Thanks! Great questions. I’m not 100% confident about supporting static
generation and Discus integration with Ghost 1.0, although I imagine it’s
feasible. That said, I’m personally not interested in pursuing either for my
own blog at this time. Maybe in the future.

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petepete
Can't seem to find a link to the repo on their site.

~~~
irishasaurus
No Linux option planned, and no public access to the source-code. That doesn't
feel very "open source" to me.

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thefreeman
how can they possibly call it open source without providing the source code.
Also on the website it says it is licensed under GPL, doesn't that entitle
users to source code access?

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johnchristopher
> Also on the website it says it is licensed under GPL, doesn't that entitle
> users to source code access?

What ? Why entitled ? I have some WIP and production ready code in some git
repo on my company's network and it's MIT licensed but there is absolutely
zero obligation to upload it on the internet.

Of course I don't go around making website about it so there's that.

Pretty sure those guys will upload the source code when they feel like it's
the time to do it.

~~~
masukomi
the GPL requires that you make the code available WHEN you distribute it. they
have distributed it, thus yes, we are entitled to it as of the time of
distribution, not whenever they feel like it in the future.

~~~
bachmeier
The GPL applies to other users. There's no such thing as a license that
applies to the person that wrote the code (that would imply that you could sue
yourself for violations). They'd only be required to make the source available
if they were using someone else's GPL code.

~~~
cyphar
That is incorrect. If a company gives you a copy of the program under the GPL,
then they must obey by that license because they made an implicit agreement
with you to obey that license. And you can't call any other license the GPL
(modifications are not permitted by the FSF).

Ultimately it does become a matter of "suing the copyright holder for a
license granted by that copyright holder", but it's definitely still not okay.
By that logic, no copyright license can ever be expected to be honoured by the
original author -- because "they own the copyright and thus cannot be sued for
breach of license".

Not to mention that you don't know why they went with the GPL. Maybe they used
some GPL code and thus have no choice in the license terms. So it would be a
matter of the original copyright holders suing them for breach of license.

~~~
bachmeier
> If a company gives you a copy of the program under the GPL, then they must
> obey by that license because they made an implicit agreement with you to
> obey that license.

The GPL is a set of conditions that others have to obey if they want to use
your code. How can you going to sue someone for violating the copyright on
code that's not yours? If you see someone selling copied Tom Clancy novels on
the street, you can't sue them. Only Tom Clancy and anyone else to whom he
grants the copyright.

> because they made an implicit agreement with you to obey that license

So Microsoft is bound by the license on MS Word?

~~~
cyphar
> The GPL is a set of conditions that others have to obey if they want to use
> your code.

Or distribute it. If someone distributes something to you under a license that
_explicitly states_ that it gives you certain permissions, they can't
arbitrarily decide to retract that license. That's sort of like saying "if I
write a song, and give you a license that allows you to get the sheet music
from me, I can refuse to give you sheet music if you ask". If you didn't want
to give me sheet music, why did you explicitly give me the right to do it? On
some level it sounds like a breach of contract, though of course licenses
aren't contracts.

Also you've forgotten that maybe Publii is based on some GPL source code, so
they might not be the sole author and thus are infringing on someone else's
copyright by not obeying the GPL.

> So Microsoft is bound by the license on MS Word?

Yes, of course they are! That's the whole point! If you read Section B of the
Microsoft Word 2013 License[1], it states quite explicitly that:

* In §B4, all disagreements outside of small claims or negotiations will be handled in a binding arbitration. This applies to both parties.

* In §B5, neither party can engage in a class-action suit (they must all be done on an individual basis).

* In §B7, it states that claims have to be filed within one year. That also will apply to both parties.

They also give you a limited warranty for non-trial software in the last
section, which obviously they are also bound by. Obviously terms in the
license that don't limit Microsoft don't affect them. But with the GPL, it
explicitly states that distributors must provide the corresponding source
code.

I think I know what you're trying to say, "are you saying that Microsoft
employees are bound to the single-seat terms of the license". But that's
missing the point -- Microsoft employees aren't given software under the
license I just discussed, they're given software under a different license
(implicitly) because they work for Microsoft.

[1]: [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/useterms](https://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/useterms)

~~~
bachmeier
> Also you've forgotten that maybe Publii is based on some GPL source code, so
> they might not be the sole author and thus are infringing on someone else's
> copyright by not obeying the GPL.

My comment was three sentences and I said exactly that in the third sentence.

> that's missing the point -- Microsoft employees aren't given software under
> the license I just discussed, they're given software under a different
> license (implicitly) because they work for Microsoft

Okay. That's exactly what I said. The entity releasing code under the GPL is
not bound by the conditions of the GPL, and does not need to distribute the
source.

~~~
cyphar
> My comment was three sentences and I said exactly that in the third
> sentence.

You didn't say exactly that, you said:

> How can you going to sue someone for violating the copyright on code that's
> not yours? If you see someone selling copied Tom Clancy novels on the
> street, you can't sue them. Only Tom Clancy and anyone else to whom he
> grants the copyright.

While I understand your point, the fact that you cannot personally sue them
does not change the fact that they're infringing on someone's copyright (so
_someone_ could sue them). The point of this discussion is not whether you or
I could sue them, but rather are they breaching the GPL by not releasing
source.

> That's exactly what I said. The entity releasing code under the GPL is not
> bound by the conditions of the GPL,

Odd, because that's not what I said. At all. What I said was that a Microsoft
employee is bound by a different license than a random consumer. This was
immediately after I _explicitly outlined_ several cases where Microsoft's EULA
_clearly places restrictions on Microsoft_.

Microsoft distributes software under a EULA, and they have to act in
accordance with what that EULA says (just like you do as the recipient of said
software). The EULA is not symmetric in its restrictions (unlike the GPL) so I
recognise the cause of confusion, but just because Microsoft isn't bound by
the no-redistribution policy of the EULA (because that's explicitly only
required of people who are receiving the software) doesn't mean the EULA
doesn't apply to them...

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zaphar
Just downloaded and tried it out. But selecting the SFTP key doesn't seem to
work and there is no local filesystem option that I can see so I have no way
to test at the moment.

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fiatjaf
It is not the CMS, it is also the site generator which comes with its own
themes.

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sattoshi
How is it different from a cms?

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fiatjaf
A CMS is supposed to manage the content, not the presentation.

~~~
sattoshi
Wordpress has themes

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jedisct1
Finally an alternative to Netscape Composer.

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indigodaddy
I posted this article, but have no affiliation at all, just thought it looked
quite excellent and fairly unique, and was surprised it hadn't been posted to
HN before this.

A feature that may be lacking that I don't see would be to get a local sync
option in play if you are using multiple instances of the app (say you are
using it sometimes on MacBook and also on Windows here or there). They do
support pushing/syncing TO github pages, but I'd like to see perhaps a Git
functionality used also to always keep any Publii instance synced locally with
each other, and with Github, etc. I think that would really put this app over
the top.

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aphextron
Where is the repo? I can't seem to find any info on the site or Google.

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thenomad
Looks very cool. If I hadn't already settled on a Hugo/Git/Netlify setup, I'd
be investigating this for sure.

Also, congrats on writing website copy to appeal to non-techie audiences. It's
well written, benefit-focused, and generally good stuff. I could actually see
myself introducing this to non-techie entrepreneur friends and having them
likely to use it.

P.S. - even more impressed that your docs seem to be written for non-technical
users in mind too! Nice one.

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johnchristopher
They actually support many languages out of the box (Ghost doesn't). I'll be
exploring it this evening, looks nice and tidy.

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linopolus
All I read is SEO.

All I see is a Mac app not feeling and behaving like a Mac app.

If I wanted these modern-Windows-style UIs, I'd use Windows. But I don't like
them, so why does everyone try to explain to me how cross-platform, which is
really pushing a windowsy UI and UX down the throats of all others, is so much
better?

~~~
thangngoc89
You can build an Electron app that looks and feel like Native app on both
Windows and MacOS. And this app doesn't look like Windows 10 to me

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linopolus
> You can build an Electron app that looks and feel like Native app on both
> Windows and MacOS

Show me one. Just one..

Most "cross-platform-apps" I used seemed to think moving the window frame
buttons to the left and making the interface the same grey is integration
enough.</slight_exaggeration>

> this app doesn't look like Windows 10 to me

Maybe my picture of windows is skewed, I haven't used it for many years now, I
apologize. But isn't it even worse then? If it feels at home neither on
Windows nor on OSX, but foreign to both?

~~~
gtirloni
I've had a similar experience with Electron apps. Quality (in terms of
"nativeness") varies a lot.

This article lists many things Electron developers have to be careful about:
[https://blog.avocode.com/blog/4-must-know-tips-for-
building-...](https://blog.avocode.com/blog/4-must-know-tips-for-building-
cross-platform-electron-apps)

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kostarelo
> It's a desktop app, so you can manage your pages anywhere. Take a laptop to
> the beach, write in comfort, then sync with one click once you're back
> online.

Really? Wouldn't a web app be better for this?

~~~
mistircek
If it was a web app, you'd need to install it, probably with a database for
settings, etc., which would invalidate their security claims.

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pmlnr
Aaaand no linux version. Pleae, people, cross-platform is not just win and
mac. Especially with electron apps this should be a simple to include.

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allover
They've said a Linux version is coming.

Aaaand chill your entitlement, they don't owe you jack, no matter how simple
you think it is.

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nik736
The concept is not bad, but how do I change the actual looks of my site? Can't
I edit the frontend somehow?

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Exuma
The themes are absolutely incredible... for once I'm actually impressed!

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janci
Xara web designer going popular again?

~~~
glasz
xara! that's some fringe memories right there.

